It can be so easy to remember a recipe when you are aware of the ratio of the ingredients to each other.
This Sponge Cake recipe is the one that opened my eyes as to how you can (and should) simplify a recipe to make it easier to remember. More importantly, in doing so I think it takes some of the fear away from trying to make a seemingly complicated dish.
This recipe has many variations and uses. The same formula can be used as a plain but delicious Vanilla Sponge Cake, the cake for a Jelly Roll, the cake for a Christmas Yule Log, a Chocolate Sponge Cake, etc.
Here’s what you need to remember:
For One 8” Cake or One Cookie Sheet
6 Eggs, Extra Large
6 ozs. Sugar
6 ozs. Butter, unsalted
6 ozs. Flour
That’s the basic recipe.
You can memorize that easily, and the only thing you need to remember besides that is to add a pinch of salt, and a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. If you are making a chocolate sponge just add 2 heaping Tbsps. of cocoa powder.
The recipe that I illustrate below is the Chocolate Sponge Roll which I will be using to make my Yule Logs on Tuesday.
OK so besides the formula you obviously need instructions on how to make the cake. If you are like me then you can remember techniques quite easily. I’m fine on my own once I have made something after having been shown how to do it properly.
One way to simplify communication in baking is by categorizing each type of cake based on the method of preparation.
This cake is made using the Sponge Method. So once you have made this cake you will have mastered one of the major cake methods!
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Warm the eggs, sugar, and vanilla in your mixing bowl. Do this by immersing the bowl in hot water but be careful not to let the eggs cook at all – you just need to bring them to about 110 degrees which should just feel warm to the touch. Warming the eggs increases the amount of air that you can whip into them.
3. Melt the butter in a saucepan.
4. Sift the flour and salt together (with the cocoa powder if using).
5. Whip the eggs at high speed about 5 minutes – you cant over-whip them because they will reach a certain height in the bowl and then they wont go any higher.
6. Remove the whisk from the bowl and, using a rubber spatula, fold in one third of the butter, and one third of the flour. When adding the flour try to add it slowly so that it forms an even layer on the surface before you begin your folding.
Repeat until all the butter and flour are incorporated. Don’t over mix; it’s OK if there are small lumps of flour in the batter.
7. Pour the batter into your cake pan or cookie sheet (buttered and sugared). Spread batter evenly in pan.
Bake about 30 minutes for an 8” cake, or about 10 minutes for a sponge roll. Either way a toothpick or knife inserted into the cake at the center should come out clean.
8. Turn cake out onto a cooling rack and cool to room temperature.
I hope that the way that I have presented this recipe will take the fear out of trying it. Please send me feedback as to how it could be simpler, or if more explanation is needed in any area.Let me know if you tried it and it worked out well, or if you had any problems.
Remember:
Cooking should be One Part Knowledge and Two Parts Fun!
When I used to make jelly rolls I was instructed to roll the cake around a clean kitchen towel, as if finally rolling the cake with the jelly in it, WHILE IT WAS STILL WARM. That way, when I unrolled it to add the filling, it would roll up more easily without any cracks or breaks in it, which tends to happen if you wait until it is cool. Thanks (Mom!)
Matthew replies:
Thanks for the excellent tip Mom – I’m still learning things from you!
Matthew
where you find that out at?
I learned about the sponge cake ratios when I was a student at The Culinary Institute of America
I tried making the sponge cake, but the top part of the cake tasted like sponge cake, but the bottom half was dense and firm and had a gelatinous texture to it. It almost seemed as if the batter separated as it cooked in the oven. Where did I go wrong?
Hi Jennie,
It sounds like you didn’t mix the batter sufficiently for the flour to be distributed evenly. Conversely, you may have overmixed it (thus deflating the air in the eggs too much) so that only the top part was able to rise. It’s a little hard for me to tell without seeing the batter before baking. I hope you give it another try – it’s a simple recipe to remember but the technique might take a few tries to get it right.
I remember about 31 years ago when I got my first kenwood chef mixer there was a 6 egg sponge receipe in the book alway been great, I add cocoa power or coffee and walnut, lemon zest all ways great Oh and my mixer is still going strong after 31 years
Thanks for the comment Catherine – how does the recipe from your mixer brochure compare to the one on my blog?
Is this the american way sir x
The Pastry Chef who taught me this recipe was Swiss so I would say it’s an international recipe – why do you ask this question?
Awesome! What ever happened to Tokyo Pop?
Unfortunately we never did enough business at Tokyo Pop to keep it going – win some lose some!!
How would this ratio work with the addition of a liquid ingredient, for example pumpkin puree? All the pumpkin roll recipes seem to be cakes and not sponges.
The addition of pumpkin puree would definitely change the ratio. It would be too heavy for the cake to remain light. You would need to add some baking powder to counteract the weight of the pumpkin. When working with baking powder I add about 1 tsp per cup of flour. Thanks for the question – Let me know how this turns out.