Sponge Cake ~ The All in Method

Sponge Cakes have ingredients that is so basic yet it is not easy to make at all. It is believed to be the first unleavened item made and usually it is the first cake for any beginning bakers like horse stands are to Chinese kungfu.

To qualify as a good sponge cake, it needs to very soft, moist yet light, a little like cotton candy. The whole cake will have very even airholes and hence making it airy fluffy and the texture fine. It looks plain yet it is flavourful and not many people can refuse a good sponge.

Sponges can be eaten as it is, sometimes added with other flavours like chocolate, pandan etc. Sponge cakes are also commonlt used as bases for many cakes thus creating a whole new range of delightful treats ~ swiss rolls, ladyfingers, madelines, cupcakes, lamingtons; bases for cream cakes, cheese cakes, mousse cakes and so forth. Chiffon in fact is derived from sponge cakes.

There are quite a few types sponge making methods. All methods need great care in incorporating air into the batter and hence lifting the cake. The method chosen will determine the mainly the texture of the end results.

First and foremost, there is the chiffon method. With this method, you need separate the egg yolks with the whites . Beat egg whites with sugar till glossy. Beat egg yolks and add them to white mixture. Then gently fold in the dry ingredients and finally the fats like melted butter or corn oil. This type of sponge is usually soft and foamy, almost like you could feel the water coming out of the cake.

Then there is the Victorian Sponge method, which is the most traditional method. This will require you to beat the eggs till thick. Then adding the sugar and continue whisking to glossy and pale. Finally gently fold in the dry ingredients, milk and melted butter. This method will tend to produce sponges that is soft but somehow coarser in texture (larger airholes).

Victorian method had also been modified slightly with heating of the eggs to 40 deg celcius, then whisking it with sugar to the pale and thick (will take approximately 4- 5 min or so). Then the dry ingredients are added followed by milk and melted butter or corn oil. This sponge tend to be finer in its texture and is soft and light. It is however, lacking of the fluff.

And there is also the modern modification which is an easy all-in method. This method requires you to whisk all ingredients except melted butter together at high speed. This method produces very soft, light and fluffy sponges with fine airholes. However, it has a substance called ovalette added. Ovalette also know as cake emulsifier or sponge stabilisers are commonly added to butter and sponge cakes to create volume, fluff and smoothness. It is nearly impossible to to whisk without it unless maybe adding additional egg whites to the recipes to create the volume. I had experiment whisking with and without ovalette. The wonders of baking sciences!

Left: With ovalette, results was obtained within minutes. Right: Without. Whisking after 15 minutes.

Besides, the methods and recipes of making, the procedures in making sponges must also be done with care. It is a sensitive cake. Failed sponges are usually caused by two culprits the beating to incorporate air (over or under) and the motion of folding in dry ingredients or fats like melted butter (uneven mixing).

All in Method:

This is the most common method of sponge making.

4 no of big fresh eggs

1/4 tsp of cornstarch

115 gm of plain flour sifted

3/4 tsp of baking powder

115 gm of fine or icing sugar

50 gm of water

45 gm of melted butter

1/2 tbsp of ovalette or cake stabiliser

OR

200 gm of sponge mix (no ovalette is used but sponge mixes would have cake emulsifier and most bakeries will use this and ovalette at the same time to create more volume)

200 gm of eggs

50 gm of water

45 gm of melted butter

1) Put all ingredients in the mixing bowls with the wet first, followed by the dry on top. Set aside melted butter to cool slightly.

2) Start mixing at low speed for 30 sec or so or until dry ingredients are slightly wet. Turn to high speed whisking at max. The mixing is only completed when deep whisking lines started to appear and when you stop machine, the batter will hardly drip from the lifted whisk. Usually 8-10 min depending on volume and your mixer.

3) Gently fold in melted butter. Use hand with the motion reverse S. Make sure that the incorporation is even. Uneven folding will cause lumps in the sponges or even worse a whole layer of hard cake at the bottom.

4) Pour into bottom greased and lined 8 inch cake tin. Spread mixture evenly and bake at 165 -170 deg cel without fan for 25-35 minutes. Test for doneness with skewer. If you press baked cake and a LOUD 'Sha sha' noise is produced, surface may not be entirely baked. Continue baking for another 3- 5 min. High heat may caused sponges to dry out and top cracked.

5) Turn out cake after at least 10 min after it comes out of the oven. Cool on cooling rack. Keep sponges in airtight containers if you are not using immediately. Otherwise, serve or use.