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SPONGE CAKE RECIPE

How can something so simple be so incredible? This basic sponge cake recipe is delightful. Whenever I make it's gone in less than 24 hours. Lovely texture, consistent results, just-right sweetness. Need I say more?

Lemon Sponge Cake

Ready to bake a perfect sponge cake? Dorie Greenspan has the best recipe and I'm delivering it to you. Have all of your ingredients sifted, measured and ready to go before you begin to make this cake. For the Lemon Sponge Cake (photo above) add 1 teaspoon of lemon extract and 1 teaspoon of lemon zest.

BASIC SPONGE CAKE RECIPE

Ingredients

6 eggs, separated
1 cup white sugar, divided in half cups
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup flour
2 TBS cornstarch

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9 inch cake pans. Line the bottom of the pans with wax or parchment paper. Put the cake pans on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

Sift the flour and cornstarch together. Place the egg whites in a large stainless steel (or heat proof glass) mixing bowl and the yolks in a smaller stainless steel bowl.

Place the stainless steel bowl with the egg whites in a pan over boiling water. Add 1 tablespoon of the sugar (of 1/2 cup of sugar), and whisk until eggs are warm to touch. Take off the heat and add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar to the warm egg whites and beat until stiff peaks form.

Do the same technique for the egg yolks as you did for the egg whites. Place the bowl over boiling water and whisk in 1 tablespoon of sugar (out of the remaining 1/2 cup sugar.

When the yolks are warm to touch, pour the remaining 1/2 cup sugar to the egg yolks and beat with a mixer until thick and light yellow in color. (When you lift the beaters it should resemble a ribbon) Now gently fold this egg yolk mixture and the pure vanilla extract into the egg whites and sugar.

Add 1/4 cup of flour mixture at a time and fold carefully until combined. Do not over mix; it will take the air out of the cake batter that you just beat in.

Bake for 25 minutes or when a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer to a rack and cool for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up. (These cooled cakes may be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months.)

This basic sponge cake recipe is the bomb, and is from the cookbook, "Baking" by Dorie Greenspan. You may purchase the book - SEE above on the right. She is so good that I wanted to pass this on to you.

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Baking by Dorie Greenspan

Dorie Greenspan
Cookbook

FEATURED RECIPE:

WISCONSIN CREAM PUFFS

Filling

whipped cream

or

homemade vanilla pudding, recipe below

Shell

1/2 cup butter
1 TBS white sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs
powdered sugar
dark chocolate, melted for garnish

Make the vanilla pudding first - let cool a bit and spoon into a resealable bag and place in the refrigerator to set; approximately 45 to 60 minutes.

PREHEAT oven to 400 degrees. Cut a piece of brown paper grocery bag and lay it flat on top of a baking sheet. Parchment paper also works. DO NOT GREASE.

In a large pot, bring the water and butter to a rolling boil and pour into your mixing bowl. Add all 4 eggs at once and IMMEDIATELY mix on medium until dough is tacky and starts to stick to the side of the bowl; approximately 2-3 minutes.

Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Immediately poke a small hole on each side of the puffs to let the steam escape.

Once puffs are cool, bring out the whipped cream or pudding mixture and cut about 1/8 of an inch off the tip of the resealable bag. This way, instead of trying to spoon the mixture into the cream puffs by hand, or transferring the mixture to a pastry bag, you can directly pipe the mixture into the puff.

Be sure to cut only an 1/8 of an inch or so off the bag to ensure maximum control of the amount of filling you're putting into the puffs.

Fill the mixture from the bottom of the puff by making a tiny incision (I used the tip of a steak knife), that way the puff will remain whole and look more appetizing when served (as opposed to slicing it in half and filling it like a sandwich).
Also a light dusting of powdered sugar and a drizzle of melted dark chocolate on top adds a scrumptious accent. I also have a homemade chocolate syrup recipe below.

When I am not stuffing them with whipped cream, I use this vanilla pudding in my cream puff recipe. You may use boxed pudding if you wish - but why? Great recipe for pies too.

HOMEMADE VANILLA PUDDING RECIPE

1-1/2 cups white sugar
1/4 cup flour
3 TBS cornstarch
3 egg yolks
3 cups milk
1 TBS homemade unsalted butter
1 tsp homemade pure vanilla extract
homemade whipped cream, for garnish

Combine the sugar, flour and cornstarch together with a whisk in a heavy saucepan.

Add the egg yolks, but do not mix yet. Gradually add the milk and stir all together thoroughly with a whisk.

Place pan over medium heat and cook until thick and smooth; stirring constantly with a whisk.

Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla. Mix well. Put into bowls. Follow pie recipe is used for pie or any other dessert.

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