Basic Sponge Cake

Posted on | January 29, 2013 | 12 Comments

Sponge cake

Baking is easy.

Well, mostly. There are some things I definitely can’t bake – you may remember the disaster that was macarons. But cakes are mostly easy. Except for my nemesis:


Sponge Cake

The humble sponge cake.

It’s a classic, it’s supposed to be easy, and yet in the past all I’ve managed to bake are heavy, stodgy things that could be used as a door stop.

It’s a freaking sponge cake. It’s nothing special. It only has four ingredients in it and it frustrates me that I can’t make a good one.

Sponge Cake

I gave it another go recently. I made sure that I followed the instructions precisely – room temperature eggs, melted and cooled butter, triple sifted flour, and I whisked the eggs until they were super thick.

And…

My sponge still turned out heavy. :( I must’ve knocked out too much air when I was mixing the flour in. Waaah.

I’m still determined to crack this thing. I know that if I can make it well just once, then I’ll be set for life.

Print
Basic Sponge Cake

Rating: 21

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: Serves 10

Basic Sponge Cake

Ingredients

  • 80g butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for brushing
  • 240g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 8 eggs, at room temperature
  • 220g caster sugar
  • Seeds from 1 vanilla bean

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. In an electric stand mixer, whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla bean seeds on med-high speed using a whisk attachment. Whisk until it’s thick, pale and tripled in volume. This will take about 8-10 minutes.
  3. While the egg mixture is whisking, prepare two 20cm cake tins by brushing them with melted butter, lining the bases with baking paper, and dusting the sides with flour.
  4. Sift the flour three times to get as much air in as possible and set aside.
  5. When the egg mixture is ready, sift a third of the flour over it. Gently fold the flour in with a large metal spoon until just combined.
  6. Repeat with another third of the flour, and then with the last third.
  7. Add a tablespoon of the egg mixture into the melted butter and mix together (this lightens the butter a bit so it doesn’t sink to the bottom).
  8. Add the butter mixture into the main cake mixture and gently fold in using the metal spoon until just combined.
  9. Divide evenly between the two tins and bake until lightly golden and the centre springs back when pressed lightly (about 20-25 minutes).
  10. Turn on to a wire rack and cool completely before sandwiching with cream and jam/fruit.

Notes

http://www.offthespork.com/2013/01/basic-sponge-cake/

Related posts:

  1. Caramel apple sponge pudding
  2. Chocolate mud cake for my 3rd blog birthday
  3. Paper lined sponge cakes
  4. Chocolate and Cherry Ricotta Cake
  5. Chocolate and chestnut cake
Category: baking - cake, recipe

Comments

12 Responses to “Basic Sponge Cake”

  1. Trav
    January 29th, 2013 @ 11:44 am

    I’ve heard that duck eggs make the best sponges

    [Reply]

    Agnes Reply:
    February 10th, 2013 at 10:25 pm

    Thanks for the tip, Trav. I’ve heard that too! I’ll have to try it out at some point.

    [Reply]

  2. Hannah
    January 30th, 2013 @ 9:11 am

    But just think of all the peanut butter cake sandwiches you can make with the heavy versions! If I did it with mudcake, you can do it with this.
    Hannah recently posted..Mini Mint Choc Chip Protein Cookies, No-Bake and Vegan

    [Reply]

    Agnes Reply:
    February 10th, 2013 at 10:26 pm

    But I don’t want to ruin peanut butter by putting it in mediocre cake. :(

    [Reply]

  3. Daisy@Nevertoosweet
    February 1st, 2013 @ 11:34 am

    I totally know what you mean! I’ve harder cakes and desserts but some how never managed to make the simple sponge cake it was either too dry or too wet lol

    Yours looks AMAZING! and I like the simple way you decorated it :)
    Daisy@Nevertoosweet recently posted..Michelin Dim Sims – Tim Ho Wan

    [Reply]

    Agnes Reply:
    February 10th, 2013 at 10:27 pm

    Haha thanks Daisy. At least it looked okay, right!

    [Reply]

  4. Annette
    February 5th, 2013 @ 9:16 pm

    I think the secret to a good sponge is to beat the egg whites separately first –then add the sugar and beat hard as if you were making a pavlova. Then beat in the egg yolks until just mixed in. Then fold in the flour by hand making sure you trap lots of air in the process –again until it is just mixed in. Then pour into the baking dish.

    That said your sponge looks pretty good from the photo.

    [Reply]

    Agnes Reply:
    February 10th, 2013 at 10:28 pm

    Hmmm but all classic recipes have the eggs beaten together. I should try doing the whites and yolks separately.

    Mine was okay – just a bit heavier than I wanted.

    [Reply]

  5. Iron Chef Shellie
    February 6th, 2013 @ 8:48 am

    wahhhh :( It still looks bloody good though!

    Better luck next time, maybe get a virgin to fold in the flour for you :P and make sure your eggs are from free range, organic, classical music loving chickens too. I find that helps. bahaha!
    Iron Chef Shellie recently posted..Cheat’s Bombe Alaska

    [Reply]

    Agnes Reply:
    February 10th, 2013 at 10:30 pm

    Bhahahahahaha. Best comment ever.

    [Reply]

  6. Thanh
    February 24th, 2013 @ 10:18 am

    I hate sponges too. I shall conquer it one day. I never know where I go wrong but suspect it’s from being too heavy handed with the mixing.
    Beautiful food styling. Love the cake stand. Op shop?
    Thanh recently posted..The Aylesbury – Good Food In A Nice Setting

    [Reply]

  7. msihua
    March 2nd, 2013 @ 7:39 pm

    Beautiful beautiful food styling! *Clap clap clap*
    msihua recently posted..Oscar Cooper @ Prahran, VIC – Great Food, Great Atmosphere

    [Reply]

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