Method

• 1.
  Preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan-forced. Grease a 4cm-deep, 25cm x 8cm bar pan with extra butter and dust with flour, tapping out excess.
• 2.
  Whisk the butter and sugar in a large bowl until pale and creamy. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder and a generous pinch of fine salt into a medium bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, to the butter mixture, whisking until combined and adding 1 tbs flour mixture after each egg. Add vanilla and fold in remaining flour mixture with a spatula until there are no lumps. Pour into prepared pan and level surface with a spatula. Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes.
• 3.
  Reduce oven to 170°C/150°C fan-forced and line a baking tray with baking paper.
• 4.
  Turn out the cake onto a chopping board. Cut off the very edges of both short ends and use a small serrated knife to carefully slice the rest of the cake crosswise into 2cm slices (you will get between 12-13 slices). Lay these on the prepared tray and bake for 25 minutes. Turn over and bake for a further 15-20 minutes until lightly golden. Biscuits will continue to firm up and become crunchy, but shouldn’t be hard.
• 5.
  Eat dunked in or alongside a cup of tea or, for the kids, with a glass of milk!