Baking for Beginners (Like Me) - Sponge Cake

Again, I love anything with eggs in it - omlettes, custards, meringues, popovers, and especially foam cakes. Angel cakes, sponge cakes, and chiffon cakes are all foam cakes. They contain a high proportion of eggs or egg whites in relation to other ingredients, and they rely on a foam created by beating eggs or whites for their leavning and delicate strucure. Leavening comes from air trapped in the egg foam that gets hot and expands in the oven, aided by the steam produced as the moist batter bakes.

Equipment: Two 8 or 9 inch round layers (for layered cakes), one 9 inch round cake. I like to bake my sponge cake in ungreased pans becuase it tends to cling to the sides and get more volume. Feel free to line the bottom of the pans with wax or parchment paper (here is how) to get a nice, smooth surface.

This recipe (and most of the informative facts above) are for the most part from the Joy of Cooking book. It yields a very light cake when made with 3 eggs, and a moister, larger one when made with 6 eggs. I just made mine with 8 egg yolks (leftover from my meringue fiasco where I had to battle crusty, dried meringue all over my kitchen with a scouring pad) with meringue powder to substitute for 8 egg whites. Yum, it smells so EGGY! I can't decide if I want to serve it grilled with a passionfruit compote or if I should make a layered cake out of it.

Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature (about 70 degrees) and remember to beat the egg whites using clean, dry stainless steel bowls and mixer attachments. The slightest bit of grease will make you want to kick and scream.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together:

1 cup sifted cake flour (click here for substitution)

1.5 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Beat in large bowl at med-high speed until thickened (about 1 min):

3 or 6 large egg yolks

Gradually beat in:

1 cup sugar and beat for 3 min longer

Beat in:

1/4 cup boiling water

Beat in:

zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

At low speed, gradually beat in the sifted ingredients.

Using clean beaters in large bowl, beat at med-high speed until stiff but not dry:

3 or 6 large egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar (can leave out or substitute)

I used meringue powder for simplicity and bc I didn't have egg whites

Fold one-quarter of whites into batter (see video on how to fold egg whites), then fold in the remaining whites. Scrape batter into the pan(s) and spread evenly. Bake until the top springs back when lightly pressed and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean; about 25-30 minutes for two round pans. Cool on rack in pan upsidedown.