Mastering the art of sponge cake for perfect baked delights
A sponge cake serves as the foundation for many desserts, making it essential to ensure it's of the best quality. A simple cake can be challenging, but with a reliable recipe, you needn't worry about ending up with a flat pancake.
Sponge cake is a timeless classic among desserts. It's not only required for creating a birthday cake but also for many layered cakes with creams that impress guests. It often features at family gatherings, special occasions, or simple coffee meet-ups with friends. To achieve the perfect fluffiness and softness, it's crucial to not only get the proportions of the ingredients right but also to set the oven to the correct temperature.
How to make a sponge cake?
Although a sponge cake seems straightforward, it is one of the most finicky cakes. The key to success lies in the correct preparation technique. It's important for all the ingredients to be at room temperature. Eggs should be removed from the fridge at least 30 minutes before starting. This ensures better beating of the egg whites, which is essential for achieving a fluffy cake.
While beating egg whites, it's beneficial to add a pinch of salt to help achieve stiff peaks. Gradually adding sugar is equally important—do this spoon by spoon until you obtain a smooth, glossy mixture. Once the egg whites are ready, you can gently fold in the yolks and the sifted flour with baking powder. It's important to do this carefully to avoid damaging the structure of the egg whites.
At what temperature should you bake a sponge cake?
If the temperature is too low, the sponge cake will be flat and stodgy, and if too high, it will burn quickly and remain raw inside. Therefore, selecting the correct temperature is crucial.
A springform pan with the batter is typically placed in the oven preheated to 180 degrees Celsius without convection or to 175 degrees Celsius with convection. The average baking time is between 30 and 40 minutes. It's worth noting that each oven is different, and the baking time may vary.
Ensure the oven is properly preheated before placing the cake inside. To check if the sponge cake is ready, insert a wooden stick, such as a skewer. If the stick comes out dry, the cake is baked.
Recipe for a fluffy sponge cake
There are two schools of thought when it comes to baking sponge cake. One suggests that flour, sugar, and eggs are sufficient. The other advocates adding baking powder to the batter to guarantee proper aeration and fluffiness. For beginners, the second method is recommended.
Ingredients:
- 7 eggs,
- 200g of caster sugar,
- 150g of plain flour,
- 50g of potato starch,
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder,
- a pinch of salt.
Method of preparation:
- Separate the egg whites from the yolks and beat the whites until stiff along with the salt. Gradually add sugar while beating. It should dissolve well in the egg whites.
- While continuously mixing, add the yolks one by one.
- In a separate bowl, sift the plain flour, baking powder, and potato starch and mix.
- Gradually, at a low mixer speed, add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture. Mix just until combined.
- Line the base of a 25cm diameter springform pan with parchment paper and pour in the prepared batter.
- Place in the oven preheated to 180 degrees Celsius for about 35-40 minutes.
- Remove the baked sponge cake from the oven and set aside to cool.
Instead of a flat cake, you get a tall, fluffy cake that is just begging to be layered with cream and fruit. Enjoy!
