cake texture, 1-2-3 cake

I think the superfine sugar is probably critical to the texture of the cake recipe I posted. And if substituting a different kind of sugar, one should probably substitute by WEIGHT rather than volume. Also, various fine-ground sugars around the world (superfine, confectioner's, icing sugar, powdered sugar) vary in at least two ways (setting aside the diferent names): the coarseness of the grind, and whether or not thickeners such as cornstarch have been added. The South African "icing sugar" I used was pretty much like what we call powdered sugar in the US, although I think it was a tiny bit coarser - probably not enough to matter. I do not know if it had cornstarch in it, but thinking back on the very pleasantly toothsome character of the cake it produced, I wouldn't be surprised if it did. Sorry I can't be more specific and certain, but the huge variation in sugars in the various countries I've inhabited has long been a baking frustration for me, so I have pretty much given up worrying about it!

I recall making 1-2-3 cake in the past and thinking it was extremely good, although I have not thought about it for years. Now that I think about it, it was just as good as the recipe I posted.