When it comes to food, texture and contrast is almost as important as taste for me. But what I don’t understand is why people eat whipped cream with something as heavy as pound cake or apple pie (it’s a Dutch thing), when you have something so heavy and sweet, eating the cream is like taking a bite of air so why bother? I think whipped cream goes better with something in the category as “angel food cake”, something light which doesn’t make the cream feel like thin air.
I was actually looking for a right name for this cake, it’s not like “angel food cake” because it has egg yolks, but doesn’t contain any other form of fat, so it’s not a chiffon cake either. Personally I don’t think plain would be very enjoyable, it’s best with jam and cream maybe some fruit, or basted with flavored syrup would be very nice as well. For this version I of course used mango jam (so good!), but any jam will work. And you can make it a lot prettier than I did, use some extra cream to cover the top and sides and decorate with fruit or ground nuts.
The main thing you have to keep in mind is that you don’t open the oven door whilst it's cooking, it could collapse in the middle (start checking after 20 min), other than that it’s a very easy (and fast!) cake to bake especially for beginners, and a real crowd pleaser.
I was actually looking for a right name for this cake, it’s not like “angel food cake” because it has egg yolks, but doesn’t contain any other form of fat, so it’s not a chiffon cake either. Personally I don’t think plain would be very enjoyable, it’s best with jam and cream maybe some fruit, or basted with flavored syrup would be very nice as well. For this version I of course used mango jam (so good!), but any jam will work. And you can make it a lot prettier than I did, use some extra cream to cover the top and sides and decorate with fruit or ground nuts.
The main thing you have to keep in mind is that you don’t open the oven door whilst it's cooking, it could collapse in the middle (start checking after 20 min), other than that it’s a very easy (and fast!) cake to bake especially for beginners, and a real crowd pleaser.
Basic Sponge Cake
125 grams(1 scant cup) flour
50 grams(1/3 cup) cornstarch
150 grams (2/3 cup) sugar
6 big eggs, separated
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla (or sub in some vanilla sugar)
To finish
125 ml (½ cup) jam of choice
450 ml (about 1 7/8 cup) very cold double cream
2 tbsp sugar
Sponge base
Prepare two 23 cm (9 inch) cake tins, grease them and line the bottoms with greaseproof paper.
Preheat the oven to 190C (375F/ gas mark 5)
In a bowl sift together cornstarch, flour, and baking powder, preferably twice and set aside. In another bowl add sugar and egg yolks, and in a third bowl add egg whites and salt. Begin by beating the egg whites until stiff and set aside. Then beat the yolks and sugar until pale yellow and creamy. The easiest way is to use an electric mixer but it’s very doable by hand.
Prepare two 23 cm (9 inch) cake tins, grease them and line the bottoms with greaseproof paper.
Preheat the oven to 190C (375F/ gas mark 5)
In a bowl sift together cornstarch, flour, and baking powder, preferably twice and set aside. In another bowl add sugar and egg yolks, and in a third bowl add egg whites and salt. Begin by beating the egg whites until stiff and set aside. Then beat the yolks and sugar until pale yellow and creamy. The easiest way is to use an electric mixer but it’s very doable by hand.
By beginning with the egg whites you don’t have to clean the whisk in between. (if even a small amount of fat comes in contact with the egg whites they won’t get stiff enough, so make sure your bowl is clean as well and don’t use a plastic one )
Spoon the flour and vanilla in the yolk- sugar mixture, this will be a very stiff batter. Spoon about a third of the egg whites into this mixture and stir to loosen it up. Now gently fold in the rest of the whites until you have an airy batter.
Spoon the flour and vanilla in the yolk- sugar mixture, this will be a very stiff batter. Spoon about a third of the egg whites into this mixture and stir to loosen it up. Now gently fold in the rest of the whites until you have an airy batter.
Divide over the cake tins, and level the tops. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Set on a rack to cool for 10 minutes or so, run a knife along the sides and remove from the tins remove parchment paper and let cool completely.
Assemble the cake
Beat the cream with sugar until soft peaks form. Slice each cake in half so you’re left with 4 layers. Lay the first layer on a plate or cake stand. Spread about 2-3 generous tablespoons of jam over the top and spread evenly, then about a third of the whipped cream and spread that out evenly as well. Proceed with the other layers.
Beat the cream with sugar until soft peaks form. Slice each cake in half so you’re left with 4 layers. Lay the first layer on a plate or cake stand. Spread about 2-3 generous tablespoons of jam over the top and spread evenly, then about a third of the whipped cream and spread that out evenly as well. Proceed with the other layers.
Like I mentioned before you can use more whipped cream to cover the whole cake and get creative with a piping bag, but I simple dusted some powdered sugar over the cake and called it a day. Let the cake stand in the fridge for a few hours before serving.
0 comments:
Post a Comment