My grandmother taught me how to make 'granny cake,' which has been a family favorite for more than 50 years and is the easiest recipe I've ever followed

Looking back at my childhood growing up in Glasgow, Scotland, one of my stand-out memories was my granny's sponge cake made with raisins. She made it for special occasions, like birthdays, and whenever my sister and I would come to visit.

Speaking to her over the phone this week, my granny told me that the recipe was given to her in 1965 by her husband's grandmother, Esther Brown, who was a confectioner.

The cake originally didn't have a name, as Esther introduced the recipe as a cake to fill up the "wains," which is a Scottish word for children. My grandmother made it for her kids, and named it "granny cake" after Esther.

I decided to make the recipe following instructions from my granny, who gave me her recipe and method over the phone.

Here's the ingredient list:

• 2 cups of self-raising flour
• Half a cup of sugar
• 2 ounces of butter
• 2 eggs
• 3 quarters of a cup of milk
• A pinch of salt
• 3 quarters of a cup of raisins or sultanas.

My granny recommends pre-heating the oven to 320 degrees Fahrenheit if it's a fan oven (like mine) or 355 degrees Fahrenheit for a regular oven. After that, the first step is to use your hands to rub the self-raising flour with the butter until both ingredients are combined.

My granny said it's best to add only half of the milk at first just in case you don't need it all. After that, she said it's best to add it in slowly and mix well in order to avoid a batter that's too runny.

I did as granny instructed, and found that she was correct about the milk. Although I ended up using most of it, there was a small portion left over (just less than a quarter of a cup).

Granny recommended baking the cake for around an hour to 95 minutes, or until it's golden brown. She said a good rule of thumb is to place a skewer or a fork in the middle, and if it comes out dry then the cake is ready.

I checked the oven after around 45 minutes, and noticed that the cake already looked golden brown and fully baked. I inserted a fork in the middle just to be sure, which came out dry.

I had no idea just how simply "granny cake" was to make. I can understand why the recipe has been passed down through the generations — it's both delicious and simple.

Granny recommended serving the cake with custard, but she said if you don't have custard you can serve it with anything, such as jelly, ice cream, or icing. I opted for custard, as cake and custard was one of my go-to comfort foods as a child.

Trying the cake again as an adult brought back a wave of nostalgia, and I'll definitely be passing the recipe down to future generations in my family.