Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla sugar until light and fluffy. I beat this in a stand mixer on medium-high speed for about 10 minutes.

Sift the flour and cornstarch and add to the mixture. Fold this gently into the mixture; you don’t want all the air you whipped in to disappear.

Pour the batter into a greased baking pan. Bake the cake base at 180°C/350°F (conventional oven) for 30 minutes. The cake is done when you press lightly on the top and it springs back. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing it to a cake rack.

Meanwhile, prepare the nougatine and jam according to the recipe if you haven’t already.

Let the cake cool completely before you cut it. If, like me, you used a 20 cm/8 inch spring form pan, cut the cake into three layers.