King’s Birthday Baking: Sponges and cupcakes fit for King

June’s Baking Club theme is sponges and cupcakes fit for a King and Queen. With King’s birthday coming up and the coronation it’s time to celebrate and make a tea fit for the palace. There's nothing so enticing as all that icing heaped up on a cupcake and served on a dainty plate .

Know your sponge

You'll remember from the Great British Bake Off there are many different types of sponge cakes. Here are some of the main ones:

Biscuit sponge is light as air with only eggs used as the rising agent the whites are separated and made into a meringue and added back to the cake. You have to be careful with these as they can be a little on the dry side. They truly shine when paired with fruit syrups and the like to moisten and add flavour, and whipped cream. Perfect for that classic sponge sandwich recipe they can be used in anything from large cakes, tortes, Swiss rolls to small dainties. 

Genoise sponge uses the whole egg which is whipped over heat until it triples in volume, a tricky business with many an anxious moment on screen, the reward is a moist high sponge which can be used in multiple ways including my favourite, Black Forest cake.

Angel Food Cake is made using only the egg whites whipped into meringue producing a lovely light airy cake which can also be on the drier side, so is excellent as a ring with fruit and whipped cream.

Chiffon Cake is the easier option. This cake uses a baking powder and oil or the like as well as beaten egg whites which are mixed into a batter. Perfect for the Kiwi traditional lamington or trifle sponge recipe? What do you think?

Try these titles

The perfection of the cakes in Bake it like you mean it may be beyond most of us but a there is nothing quite like the timeless recipes celebrated in Vintage cakes.

Keep your cupcakes simple, fancy them up with paper cases or take them to the next level like the funky ones in Planet cake cupcakes. 

Get inspired icing ideas from our new Creativebug resource available free with your library card number and password. Here you will find videos for beginners on how to ice a cake to festive cake toppers like the tasselled number below.

Last month's baking

Here are some biscuits and slices from our Baking club members and delicious cream scones from last month's meet up. There is nothing quite like enthusing about shared recipes, troubleshooting disasters, and sharing baking tips, all washed down with a cup of tea or coffee. 

Why not give it a go? Your baking doesn't have to be perfect; we are all learning together, and it all goes down the same. 

Don’t forget - it's free with no need to book. Just bring your home baking along and a friend or two to share it with to Tūranga, Tūhuratanga | Level 3 on Wednesday 7 June 10.30 to 11.30.

Can’t make to the Baking club? Why not shake down those baking skills and whip up a sponge or cute cupcakes for the family from one of our lovely cake baking books.