Sponge cake is a versatile fluffy cake leavened primarily by eggs. The egg whites and yolks are whipped up to incorporate air before baking, which makes for a very light cake. It pairs especially well with fruit. If properly made, it should nearly melt in your mouth.





Ingredients

6 egg whites (about 210 grams)

6 egg yolks (about 105 grams)

100 grams cake flour (all-purpose will also work)

150 grams white sugar

3 tablespoons corn starch

1 tsp baking powder

Equipment:

Stand mixer or hand beater for whipping the eggs. You can whip by hand but it will take a while.

8", 10", or 12" cake pan for baking the sponge

Rubber spatula

Sieve for the dry ingredients

The size of the pan can be adjusted to your recipe. A wider cake pan will mean the cake rises less and you will have fewer layers to slice off. For an 8-inch pan, you will get about 4 layers. For a 12-inch pan, you will get only 1 layer.

Method

Start by preheating the oven to 350°F. Sift the flour, corn starch, and baking soda together.

Separate the egg whites and yolks

Cream the egg yolks by whipping with about half the sugar

This mixture should be light, pale, and frothy. You can do this by hand without too much sugar, but a stand mixer will make it much easier. Dump this mixture into a bowl and clean the whisk for the egg whites next. Make sure the whisk and bowl are very dry or the meringue will not form properly.

Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the egg yolks

The yolks will deflate a bit here, but that is okay for this recipe. Set the yolks aside and prepare the meringue.

Make a French Meringue by whipping the egg whites with the other half of the sugar

It should be a stiff mixture like whipped cream. Try to work quickly on the next steps to avoid the meringue sitting for too long.

Fold the meringue into the yolk mixture

Start with a small amount to lighten the texture and make the rest easier to combine. The meringue will deflate here, so only use a small amount. Then, working one third of the meringue at a time, fold in the rest while deflating as little as possible. Err on the side of under-mixed rather than over-mixed to ensure a light and fluffy sponge.

Butter and flour your pan to prevent the batter from sticking

Cut a piece of parchment paper to stick to the bottom. Buttering and flouring the bottom may not be enough to separate the cake from the pan.

Fill the pan 2/3 of the way to the top of the pan, evening out the top

Bake this mixture until it sets

The batter will rise a bit and start to brown on the top. This will be about 30-35 minutes, but depends on your oven.

A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean

This means the center is done and the cake is ready to come out. You may have to test a few times, putting the pan back in the oven if it's not ready. Let the cake cool in the pan.

As the cake cools, it will begin to pull away from the pan

A properly buttered and floured pan will make a very clean separation. You can also use a paring knife to cut the edges.

Flip the cake onto a cooling rack

Slice the cake into about 1/2 inch slices

Seal the cake completely if you are not using it immediately

You can store this for quite a while, a week or more in the refrigerator or months in the freezer.

Save the cake crumbs for crumbles, cake pops, or garnishes

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