Sponge Cake
1 c. cake flour (sifted 3 times?) – all purpose will do too.
4 eggs, separated
1 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice + water to make 1/4 cup
lemon rind
* You can substitute 1/4 c. of coffee and flavouring or other liquid (for the lemon juice and rind) to change the flavour.
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
- Preheat oven to 350 *
- Beat egg yolks until thick and lemon colour.
- Add sugar a bit at a time while continuing to beat.
- Add lemon water (with rind) alternately with flour, ending with flour.
- Mix well.
- Beat egg whites until almost stiff
- Have baking powder and salt ready to add to egg whites.
- Add them and continue to beat until very stiff.
- Fold egg whites into egg yolk mixture.
- Pour into ungreased tube pan.
- Bake at 350* for 40 – 45 minutes.
- Check after 40 minutes and possibly turn off oven for last 5 minutes.
- Invert cake pan to cool.
*****
I usually get the flour sifted and ready to use, the lemons (or limes or oranges) pressed so I have my 1/4 cup of liquid ready, and I have the 4 eggs separated (yolks into the mixing bowl and whites into a measuring cup – any cup or bowl will do).
I also set aside the baking powder and salt in a small bowl, ready to add to the egg whites later on.
So first I mix the egg yolks and add the cup of sugar very gradually while the mixer is whipping up the yolks and making them paler and creamy.
Into the egg yolk and sugar mixture, add the lemon juice and the flour, alternating and mixing between additions. Then pour the mixture into a fairly large bowl.
Wash out the mixing bowl and the beater and make sure the bowl is cold so the egg whites get stiff easier. When the egg whites are nearly stiff, add the baking powder and salt and finish beating to make sure the whites are stiff.
Put the egg white mixture onto the batter you made earlier and carefully fold the whites into the batter. Do not stir or you’ll ruin the air bubbles and the cake will not stay high and fluffy.Using a spatula, cut down the side (or the middle) of the batter and fold it over itself repeatedly until the batter is foamy and there are no clumps of egg white showing anymore.
Spoon or pour it into the tube pan (don’t grease the pan) and bake at 350 for 40 to 45 minutes.
When the cake is done, turn it upside down on something that the top of the tube will rest on (I use a tin from my canister set) so the cake can cool quickly and to stop it from collapsing onto itself.
When the cake is cool, run a knife along the outside edge of the cake and around the center tube to loosen the cake. Holding the pan upside down give it a sharp rap on a cutting board and it should come out of the pan.
Now you can cut it into slices to eat with berries and ice cream or whipped cream, or you can cut it horizontally to fill it with your favourite filling and add some of the filling on top. I like a pineapple/lemon filling sprinkled with coconut.
After you’ve made a few of these, you’ll be able to get a cake into the oven in 15 minutes. Easy and guaranteed to be good!
June 24, 2017 at 3:12 pm
Oh…that looks yummy, Anneli. Being the chocoholic that I am, a little drizzled chocolate sauce would do just fine. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
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June 24, 2017 at 3:13 pm
Oh yeah, a drizzle of chocolate on my strawberries and cream, please.
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June 24, 2017 at 3:12 pm
Wow! Now you’ve made me hungry!
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June 24, 2017 at 3:13 pm
These cakes are so easy to make. Buster could probably do it!
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June 24, 2017 at 3:13 pm
Aaaaaah, what a NICE Kitchen machine you’ve got, Anneli. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe and the workflow, makes it all easier – well, you make it sound lighthanded and easy. 🙂
I’ll try it out and report to you when I’m back in Cley. 😉
Warm greetings from Norway,
Dina
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June 24, 2017 at 3:14 pm
Please do try it, Dina. It’s SO easy and SO good.
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June 24, 2017 at 3:17 pm
I’m totally convinced. I’ll in fact try it out here in Norway. Yummy! 🙂
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June 24, 2017 at 3:20 pm
Good for you (and anyone else who will eat it!)
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June 24, 2017 at 4:25 pm
If I baked I’d be tempted to give this a try. Or, maybe I could get Gabriella to try this in her Easy Bake oven.
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June 24, 2017 at 5:56 pm
Never too late to try. It’s really worth it.
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June 25, 2017 at 3:27 pm
Doing the coffee version would definitely be my cup of tea!
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June 25, 2017 at 3:36 pm
I’ve tried it when I didn’t have any lemons at home and it worked just fine. Was good too.
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June 25, 2017 at 3:45 pm
Excellent instructions and photographs. It looks delicious.
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June 25, 2017 at 3:46 pm
Wish I could send you a piece!
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July 4, 2017 at 2:52 pm
Oh, my! Yummy, Anneli. This seems simple but this takes practice! My Mom was good at sponge cake and also, angel food cake. 😇
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July 4, 2017 at 6:48 pm
It’s one of my favourites!
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July 8, 2017 at 3:33 pm
You are quite proficient in baking, Anneli. I’m at the beginner’s level! I’m good at making meatloaf, pork chops, baked chicken, gravy or salads. Otherwise, all my baking pans and tins went to my two daughters and DIL. 😀
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July 8, 2017 at 4:44 pm
This recipe is so easy it will make beginners shine.
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