Instructions

• The first step is to heat up the eggs with the sugar (in a bain-marie or with short microwave sessions):
• eggs will incorporate the largest amount of air at a temperature btw 40 and 45°C.
• Beating eggs that have just been removed from the refrigerator will greatly lengthen your production time and the outcome will not match your expectations (small cavities).
• How long do I have to whip my eggs?
• Usually sponge cake should be whipped up 10/12 minutes.
• In any case, never exceed 20 minutes because otherwise you risk enervating the protein network.
• The eggs must increase by 5 times their volume: when the whipped mix is ready the whisk will form “the ribbon” in the batter of eggs and sugar.
• Adding flours
• At this point you can proceed to add the flours.
• Sieving the flour beforehand is very important to avoid the formation of lumps.
• This is the only way to evenly mix starch and flour together.
• Flours can be added in 2 ways:
• by hand -mixing from the bottom up to the top, without causing the compound to lose air;
• in a stand mixer – in 2 steps, gradually reducing the mixing speed.
• The baking pan should be buttered and floured, sprayed with a non-stick spray or lined with parchment paper.
• Baking times and temperatures vary from one oven to another: approximately 180/190°C for 20/25 minutes in a static oven and 160/170°C in a ventilated oven.
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Why does my sponge cake deflate when I add the dry ingredients?
• The common mistake lies in the way eggs are beaten:
• Use a whisk with thin wires (they incorporate more air) and avoid mixing the batter too fast in the stand mixer.
• Excessive speed forms larger and more delicate air bubbles which collapse more easily while incorporating the flours, thus making the dough lose volume.
• Creating smaller bubbles makes the whipped mixture more stable.
• When adding the flour try and take a little beaten dough at a time, then turn the container automatically.
• My advice is not to over-mix the batter; if you do, the gluten is activated and could make your cake rise in the middle during cooking.
• Why does my sponge cake dome in the middle?
• As written above, this is caused by the gluten activation or the use of inadequate flours (with too much protein).
• This is the reason why the flour is usually “blended” with starch.
• If fats are added (like in the Margherita dough) they should be melted and never be hot:
• it is always advisable to take some whipped mixture and add it into the fat, emulsify it like a mayonnaise and then add it to the rest of the dough.
• With this technique the fat is perfectly incorporated into the dough without leaving deposits on the bottom of the bowl.
• How can I tell when it is cooked?
• There are different ways to do it:
• Look:
• the sponge cake sides pull away a few millimeters from the edges of the pan.
• Touch:
• Delicately touch the surface of the sponge cake with your hand: if no finger marks remain the dough is perfectly cooked.
• Toothpick tester:
• it must come out dry, without residual liquid dough.
• Why does the cake collapse in the middle when I remove it from the oven?
• This can be due to a lack of structure:
• adding 20% starch to the quantity of flour will stabilize your sponge cake.
• My last useful trick, (though not always feasible since blast chillers exist only in professional laboratories), is to use a blast chiller just after baking:
• this will ensure a greater amount of moisture, keeping the cake softer over time.
• Have a nice dessert!