3 Egg Sponge Cake Recipe | CDKitchen.com (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to a good sponge cake? ›

Eggs also contain a variety of proteins that create the structure of a cake, and when beaten, they can act as a leavening agent by adding air to the cake batter. However, if you add too many eggs to your cake batter, then your end result could be spongy, rubbery, or dense.

While oil has a more neutral taste, which means that other flavours in the cake can stand out more. Our preference is still butter for a lot of recipes where possible, especially when you are aiming for a classic tasting cake such as Victoria Sponge.

Room temperature, please.

To assist beating, bring your eggs to room temperature at least 30 mins before starting your cake. You can speed this up by cracking your eggs into a clean, glass bowl, which will allow warmer air to circulate around them.

Once the mixture goes lighter in colour stop beating.

The mix goes lighter in colour because you have incorporated air into the mix and this makes your sponge light and delicious. BUT if you overbeat the mix your cake will collapse during baking because it has too much air and it can't maintain its own structure.

Using too few eggs will make your desserts dense, but using too many will make them rubbery. The explanation for this lies in the fact that eggs are made up of protein. As Fine Cooking explains, when the protein in eggs combines with the protein in flour, they produce the overall structure of the baked good.

Sponge cake comes in many forms, with angel food cake being the most well-known in America. Basically, a sponge is a cake made very light by whipping the egg and carefully folding in the flour mixture. The two types of sponge cake that appear most often on the show are Victoria and Genoise.

In British English, layer cakes like the Victoria sponge are called "sandwich sponge". This type of buttery cake was not possible without baking powder, which was discovered by English food manufacturer Alfred Bird in 1843, allowing the sponge to rise higher.

What's the difference between Joconde sponge and Genoise sponge? ›

A joconde is a close relative of a Genoise sponge, the major difference being the inclusion of ground nuts (usually almonds). It is probably best known for its use in an Opera gateau. A dacquoise is ostensibly a meringue with nuts added (usually hazelnuts and almonds) and occasionally a little cornflour.

Joconde is nutty and rich but still light as a sponge cake should be. It provides the perfect base for layered cakes like the opera cake. The name comes from Da Vinci's Italian model for the Mona Lisa—Lisa del Giocondo, which translates in French to Joconde.

The primary difference is that angel cake relies solely on egg whites and contains no fats, while sponge cake uses both egg yolks and whites and can often include fats like butter.

Fun fact: Sponge cake is thought to have originated in the Caribbean. However, the earliest English printed recipe for sponge cake comes from an English poet and author, Gervase Markham.

Most cakes begin with creaming butter and sugar together. Butter is capable of holding air and the creaming process is when butter traps that air. While baking, that trapped air expands and produces a fluffy cake. No properly creamed butter = no air = no fluffiness.

Make sure that all of the ingredients are at room temperature. If the ingredients are at different temperatures then they may not combine properly and the cake will be dense. If the eggs are stored in the fridge then remove them several hours before using, so they are properly at room temperature.

Room temperature, please.

To assist beating, bring your eggs to room temperature at least 30 mins before starting your cake. You can speed this up by cracking your eggs into a clean, glass bowl, which will allow warmer air to circulate around them.