Saturday, August 20, 2011

Basic Sponge Cake

The basic sponge is something I've always wanted to master. It is easy to make, versatile, and can be the go-to recipe for last-minute birthday cakes.

How to enjoy it?
- Simply on its own, for afternoon tea
- Fill it with jam and whipped cream to make the classic Victoria sponge
- Ice and decorate with basic buttercream if you want to give the cake a more presentable look

Ingredients
5 egg whites
70g caster sugar
(1 tsp vanilla essence, optional)

5 egg yolks
70g caster sugar

120g cake flour or 100g all purpose flour plus 20g corn flour, sifted twice to aerate
80g melted butter, cooled

1. Preheat oven to 180˚C. Like round baking tin with baking paper.

2. With an electric whisk, beat egg whites until light and foamy. Add caster sugar a little bit at a time. Whisk until stiff.

3. In another bowl, whisk egg yolks and caster sugar until mixture increases in volume and is pale in colour. Very gently fold beaten egg yolks into the egg white mixture.

4. Fold in cake flour a little at a time until mixture is homogenous. Take care not to overmix otherwise mixture will deflate.

5. Pour in melted butter and mix well.
** Melted butter tends to collect at the bottom of the mixing bowl so make sure all the butter is incorporated into the batter.

6. Pour into baking tin and bake for 30-40 minutes or until wooden skewer comes out clean.
Invert tin and allow cake to cool before serving.


Sponge and chiffon cakes have a lot in common. They taste a little "eggy" and depend on the aeration of ingredients, instead of leavening agents, to help them rise. Once you master the folding techniques, they are really easy to make. So don't give up whenever you encounter failures. In the end it'll all be worth it :)

ps: Will post a picture when I bake it again in the future. Cannot stand iPhone quality photos.

xoxo

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