Recipe: Soft Sponge Cake
Makes: 8" square baking pan - eaten on its own OR
6" square tin if you are making a 3 layer sponge cake
Ingredients:
A
• 60g butter, melted
• 80g cake flour (sift)
• 80ml milk
• 1 egg + 5 egg yolks
B
• 5 egg whites
• 120g sugar (i use 80g)
• pinch of salt
Method:
1. Preheat oven at 170*C for 15 mins.
2. Beat 1 egg + 5 yolks until creamy & fluffy on high speed for a few minutes (i go 3mins) or until it double its original volume. Add in flour & alternate it with milk. Add in melted butter and mix well. Set aside.
3. Beat egg whites on high speed until white & frothy for about 40sec - 1min. Add in salt & sugar a bit at a time. Beat for about 2 mins until its stiff & thick formy. Once mixture clings & does not drip, it is ready.
4. Fold 1/3 whites with egg yolk batter with a spatula till well combined. Take another 1/3 egg whites, repeat the same step. And same for the last 1/3 egg white. DO NOT OVER MIX
!
5. Pour batter into fully lined baking pan. Give the pan a few good shakes to remove air.
6. Bake a preheated oven 170C for 10mins, then reduce heat to 150C for another 30-35min or till done.
7. Remove from oven and
Normal baking tin - overturn for 5mins (to prevent cake from sinking) before unmould (to prevent cake from sinking).
Removable tin - Cool for 5min-10min, run a metal spatula or a small sharp knife around inside of pan to lossen cake and unmould.
8. Place them on a wire rack to cool completely (for at least half an hour), remove baking paper if any and spread the sponge with jam/cream/frosting as you desire.
Tips:
- Make sure that the mixer attachment and bowl are washed extremely clean at this point. If not, any fat that remains on these utensils will negatively affect the whipping of the egg whites. Keep the items spotless.
- Do not add the egg whites until you are ready to begin cooking your project. Sometimes batters may require refrigeration prior to the actual cooking, but folded egg whites tend to "settle" rather quickly, losing the benefit of having added them to begin with.
- Always fold the lighter ingredient (egg white) into the heavier ingredient (batter).
- Eggs at room temperature whip better than eggs straight out of the fridge.