Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Traditional Sponge Cake

For those who run out of optima flour or don't want to spend too much on a basic sponge cake , here's one that I love to use.. This sponge cake can be used for any cakes that calls for sponge cake.




Ingredients:

7 small eggs (50 gm) or medium eggs about 60 gm. each or 5 triple "A" size eggs (85 gm)

185 gm. castor sugar
185 gm. plain flour
40 gm. cornoil

Method:

(1) Whisk eggs and sugar till fluffy and pale in colour.
(2) Fold in flour and cornoil lightly...taking care not to deflate the eggs. Preferably use your palms to do the job and you can feel some rough flour, press them into the eggs with your fingers.
(3) Pour into a 9" round cake tin and bake at 175C for about 40 to 45 mins.
(4) Remove from oven and leave to cool before slicing.

For chocolate sponge cake, add in about 25 gm. of cocoa powder and cut down the flour to 160 gm. Increase your sugar to 200 gm. If the colour is not dark enough, add in 1 tsp. or more of chocolate emulco. Each individual cocoa powder gives out a different colour.

78 comments:

Anonymous said...

hi aunty, just like to check, this sponge cake, is it the ones that are like those birthday cakes in cakeshops, where they sandwich in between cream?

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi gillian,

I don't know what sponge cake recipe each individual cake shop used for creaming but for me...this is it..

Enjoy baking.

rgds..

miss cupcake said...

Hi Yochana,

I've just discovered your blog, it is really interesting, i love it. May I just ask how many tbsp or mi is 40g of corn oil?

All the best..

Anonymous said...

Hi yochana,

just wondering no baking powder/soda is require for this sponge cake? will it be light and soft?

Aunty Yochana said...

jacelyn,

Yeap...no baking soda and no baking powder is needed for this sponge. As you can see from my picture, it still rise...because of the eggs..

rgds.

Aunty Yochana said...

Miss cupcake,

40 ml. of cornoil is about 3 Tbsp.

rgds

Anonymous said...

hi aunty, thank you for sharing this recipe. really feel like trying it out. can i check with u, the weights you gave for the eggs, is it weighed with the egg shells included? thank you.

Aunty Yochana said...

lynnette,

Yes...weigh the eggs with the shell.

rgds.

Anonymous said...

Lucy...what kind of sugar to use? Icing or castor? TIA.

Roy

Aunty Yochana said...

Roy,

I've added the word castor into the recipe.

Happy baking.

rgds

Anonymous said...

hi yochana,

how to fold in the flour and oil without deflate the eggs?

and why i always can't slice my cake horizontally? a lot of crumbs keep falling out.... hehe

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi Jessi,

Use your hands to fold in the fold and oil and then for slicing , use a sharp serrated knife (Victorinox is the brand.

rgds

Anonymous said...

Dear Yochana,
Love your blog. May I know for the sponge cake, what kind of cake tin should be used? Do I have to grease and flour the cake tin?


Rookie

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi Rookie,

Use a normal aluminium cake tin will do.

rgds

Anonymous said...

hi yochana,

i tried the sponge cake on sunday, at first it came out so nice, smell good and soft but the next day, the texture start to become coarse.

y it is unlike those we buy? stay soft for so many days.

thank you.

p/s: i tried cut it horizontally but...hehe....not as beautiful as yours.

Aunty Yochana said...

jessi,

this sponge cake can keep for weeks in the fridge and still stay soft when it's thawed.

Did you wrap up your cake when you put it into the fridge? If it's exposed to the fridge, it will become dry and crumbly.

rgds

Anonymous said...

oh, i didnt wrap it, i put it in a container after slicing into pieces.

ok, got it, i 'll wrap it next time, tq!

Anonymous said...

Hi Yochana,

Can I use this sponge cake and use fondant to wrap the cake as decoration? What kind of cream/ spread can I use for the sandwich so that the fondant will not become soft?

Trif

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi trif,

this cake is not suitable for fondant cakes cos the sponge is too soft. Use butter cake or madeira cake for fondant. They are stiffer and easier to handle.

rgds

Anonymous said...

Hi Yochana,

Thank you for your prompt response! I was already going to make this sponge cake tonight and try with fondant covering. Phew!

If this cake is too soft, then can I use your recipe for the peppermint and coco marble cake? The green and chocolate colour one (can't remember which month you posted that in). Is that cake hard enough?

I also have a few questions that i hope you can help me with:
1. After i lay the fondant on the cake, do I put the cake in fridge or leave it at room temperature?

2. If put in fridge, when i take it out, will the cake 'perspire'?

Thank you for helping. You see, I've been tasked by a friend to do a 3 tier fondant wedding cake for her and I'm getting jittery given my little knowledge of cakes and all. Greatly appreciate your advise.

Trif

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi trif,

yes..any butter cake will do.

Normally when I make my fondant cakes, I don't put into the fridge unless is too many days old. Yes it will perspire if you take it out from the fridge. If you use store bought fondant, it will last longer and it's more dry than the marshmallow fondant which is softer in texture.

rgds

Anonymous said...

Hi Yochana,

Thank you so much! I'm going to try making a sample tonight! Since it can't be refrigerated, it means I'll have to make the wedding cake for my friend 1 day before, or even skip sleeping! I guess a cake 1 night old without refrigeration should still be edible right? *gulps*

Trif

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi Trif,

You can actually make a few days in advance. The cake is covered with fondant and this helps to preserve the cake. If I want to make it last longer at room temp, I will use a fruit cake soaked in rum or brandy or a semolina cake with brandy. It does help to last longer. Before covering with fondant, ice the whole cake with apricot jam and then cover with marzipan and then the fondant. This way, you don't have to worry about the freshness of the cake. It can last very long at room temp.(no refrigeration).

rgds

Anonymous said...

Hi Yochana,

Do you have any recipe for fruit cake? I have never tried making one as I've read alot about problems with fruits sinking to the bottom.

And what is marzipan? Sorry if my questions sounds silly, I'm just starting to seriously learn to bake. And thank you for your patience in answering my questions. If it's inconvenient to post your recipe here, you can send it to skylight19@hotmail.com

Aunty Yochana said...

hi anonymous,

marzipan is a paste made of ground almonds, egg white and sugar.

O.K. one of these days I will post a fruit cake.

rgds

Home Baker said...

Hi Aunty Yochana,
I have come across a recipe for Japanese sponge cake and wonder do you know what's the difference between the normal sponge cake? Also, what's the difference between sponge and shortcake?

Thanks!
CSee

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi Cyndi,

I have not come across a Japanese sponge cake. I will only know the difference if I compare the recipe side by side. You can leave the link here for everyone to see. Thanks for your info tbough.

For shortcake, I'm quite blur too. Some ppl put shortcake, but it's more a finger sponge and some turned out to be a cookie dough for wrapping fillings. Again I should say, we need to verify it by looking at the recipe. Sponge cake is definitely made with flour, sugar, eggs and oil and they are good for cake base and softer in texture.

rgds

Home Baker said...

Hi Aunty,
Thanks for reply. I came across the recipe from one of the baking gook that I borrow. Think I still have the recipe, I will type it out and send to you for reference and comments. Can I confirm sponge cake is the best cake for birthday cake with decoration like buttercream / fresh cream icing?

Cyndi

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi cyndi,

if you want to make a birthday cake, yes, a good steady sponge cake is good for icing.

rgds

Home Baker said...

Hi Aunty,

This is the Japanese Spong Cake recipe that I mentioned previously:

Ingredients:
80g Low Gluten Flour
3 Egg Yolk
3 Egg White
80g Sugar
10g Non-Salted Butter
10g Milk

Method:
1) Beat egg yolk lightly.
2) Add 1/3 sugar and beat over hot water till sugar dissolve and mixture about body temperature.
3) Beat egg white and balance sugar until peak form.
4) Split egg white misture into 2 portion.
5) Blend 1 portion into egg yolk mixture.
6) Add flour bit by bit and blend.
7) Repeat until no more flour streak.
8) Add balance egg white and blend.
9) Add warm butter and milk and then blend.
10) Bake at 170 degree for 25 to 30 mins.

Let me know what's your comment on this recipe.

BTW, my email address is cyndi_see@yahoo.com

Cyndi

Aunty Yochana said...

I need to try out the recipe Cyndi before I comment. Judging from the recipe, I need to use small eggs.

rgds

yummybakes said...

Aunty,

I can use this choc sponge cake for black forest cake right ?

Can i use butter or canola oil instead of 40 gm. cornoil ?

Thanks
Maha

yummybakes said...

Aunty,

Can I use cake flour or self raising flour to bake this sponge cake instead of plain flour ?

Thanks
maha

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi Maha,

You can use cake flour for this traditional sponge but not self-raising flour.

rgds

yummybakes said...

Thanks aunty,

Last doubt, can I use canolo oil or butter instead of corn oil ?


Thanks
Maha

Aunty Yochana said...

Yes you can Maha,

rgds

yummybakes said...

Aunty,

Am very depressed .. I tried this ingredients and the spongy turned out to hard and very tough to even bite and had to throw away the sponge :((

Isit because I used cake flour instead of plain flour ?

[I did the choc sponge]

Sad
Maha

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi Maha,

This sponge cake is not easy to make. I suggest you use the optima flour sponge cake.

rgds

Anonymous said...

Hi aunty yochana,

Can I beat the flour and oil into the egg mix instead of folding it??


Regards,
Min

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi Min,

No you can't. You must do the folding method otherwise the cake will be very dense,

rgds

rajrat said...

Auntie,

I am a great admirer of your cakes.

Could you please tell me what is cake flour? It's not self raising flour, right?
Is it tepung gandum rose in M'sia?
TQ n rgds

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi rajrat,

no..it's not self raising flour. It's like Hong Kong flour for making pau or you can just use plain flour.

rgds

Anonymous said...

hi
u mentioned about the sponge cake using optima flour. can i have the recipe for a normal sponge cake using that? u can email me at xiaogua_kelly@hotmail.com
thanks so much
regards
kelly

green said...

Hi aunty yo,

i've been browsing your nice food recipes everyday and always want to try to bake some of it(i just don't have the courage coz i'm not really good baker and afraid it might not be as great as yours of course) i only bake simple cupcakes,banana bread he he he...

and i have a Q to ask:
how high will this cake rise?

what should be the height of the cake pan to use?

this is the basic cake, so i guess it's ok to put mangoes(w/ the whip cream) right?

would appreciate your ans..

thanks a lot...

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi green,

for this recipe, I used a 9" round (ht should be 3")tin and the height should be around 2 1/2 to 3". It varies...no definite height tho.

Yeah..you can decorate the cake to your desire.

rgds

WendyinKK said...

Aunty,

I see that your cakes always have those wire rack marks on top of the cake. Do you invert the cake when you cool them the first 5 minutes, or just leave them stay upright??

Cos my sponge cakes tend to sink when cooling down.. And I don't have problem with chiffon cakes cos they cool when inverted.

tx

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi Wendy,

for this sponge cake, I normally leave for 5 mins in the tin then I will take it out and cool on the wire rack upside down.

rgds

Anonymous said...

Hi Aunt Yochana,

Was it due to my oven too hot that why the top side of the cakes alway crack and hard. Please advice.

Regards

Bebe

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi bebe,

It could be that your cake is too near the top heating element or your oven's temperature is out. Get an oven thermometer and test the temperature.

rgds

Anonymous said...

Hi Aunt Yochana,

I'm making this sponge cake for a friends birthday and want to make it a day early and then decorate with buttercream the next day. Do I have to wait for it to cool down completely before putting it in the fridge (can I wrap the sponge cake in cling film?). I'm just worried that the longer I wait before putting it in the fridge the harder it will get, would love your advice.

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi Jo,

don't worry, it won't get harden. In fact I just made it today and using tomorrow. Easier to slice when they chilled.

rgds

Anonymous said...

Hi again Aunt Yochana,

I made the cake then wrapped it in cling film, the next day when I unwrapped it the top was a bit soggy and the cake was not soft and fluffy. Do you wrap yours in cling film when the cake has cooled and do you store the cake in the fridge or can you store out the fridge?
Also the cake tin I used is rectangular (10 x 8) so I added 1/2 more in each ingredient, do you put the cake in the middle or bottom of oven shelf? Sorry for all the questions, I'm so stuck!

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi Jo,

what you did is correct.

Normally for this type of sponge cake, we need to dampen the sponge with sugar syrup + liquer to make it moist.

rgds

Anonymous said...

Hi Aunty,

Is this the same type of cake that are found in the chinese bakery sotre? If so, do you know how to make that light frosting?

Anonymous said...

Hi Aunty Yochana,

I tried to bake this sponge cake. But I don't where I make mistake. But I follow exactly the way as you written. My cake was very hard. Ended up in the bin. :(

Can you please guide me?

Thanks in advance.

Jae

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi Jae,

Learning the technic of mixing is very important.

You could probably have overmixed the batter .

rgds

Anonymous said...

Dear untie,
I visit and enjoy reading your blog, especially looking at all the goodies, make me drooling. Today, I decide to bake chocolate sponge cake using your recipe, but I didn't add more sugar cause my hubby doesn't like sweets. The cake turn very nice and spongy. Thanks for sharing the recipe and keep good work. I might interest to join any of your cooking class in the future if I have chance to stop by in Singapore.

rgds,
Lenny-Melbourne

Aunty Yochana said...

Thumbs up Lenny..

rgds

Anonymous said...

hello aunty :)

ive jst tried baking ur cake.
but when i over turn the cake jst now. i saw a dent in .
haha~

why would this happen ?
anyway it turn out to smell nice.
ive yet to try it (:

:D happy new year ~

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi rumblyandtumbly

It could be due to overmixing or your ingredients weighing is not right or it could be the size of your eggs.

rgds

Anonymous said...

ohh auntie~ my cake didnt raise as much as urs :(

pratically half only o.o

Anonymous said...

Hihi Aunty, this cake turned out to be a dense and rubbery(at the sides) cake for me. Is it because Id used a hand whisk to beat the eggs?
It rose to prolly 1 inch only.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v507/pink3/DSC01887.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v507/pink3/DSC01887.jpg

The surface browned in ard 10mins and Id used an aluminum thing to cover for the rest of the baking process alrd. But baking the cake only required ard 30min for me..Whats wrong..?

And for the batter is it supposed to have lumps of flour in it?

Thanks !

Aunty Yochana said...

hi theswit,

your hand whisk is not powerful enough to get the right texture.

rgds

Anonymous said...

Hi Yochana

I tried making the sponge cake. After baking, it looks OK but next morning the top of the cake is abit wet. Any idea what is wrong?
tks Florence

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi Florence.

Looks like it's unbaked.

rgds

Anonymous said...

Hi Yochana

I used the satay stick to check whether it is baked. Wud you suggest I bake longer? TIA regards Florence

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi Florence,
Yes bake longer.

rgds

Anonymous said...

Hi Yochana
Thanks for the advise. Will try again. Rgds Florence

Anonymous said...

Hi Aunty,
can I know if vegetable oil is also consider as cornoil? also, what is the difference using butter and oil? texture? smell? or easier to mix?\
Thanks!
twinkie

Anonymous said...

aunty,
hi may i knw if this recipe could make into cup size? thanks

Anonymous said...

Hi aunty,

For sponge cake, should we beat egg yolks and egg white separately?
If so, could you share one with us please?

Regards,
Chefmate

Aunty Yochana said...

Hi chefmate

this special is separating egg yolks from egg white.

rgds

Anonymous said...

Dear Aunty Yochana,
Thanks for your recipe.
may I ask you that how many medium eggs I need?


Thanks, rgds.


Rose

Anonymous said...

Hi Yochana,

I would like to bake a coffee-flavored sponge cake. Can I substitute coffee powder for cocoa powder in this case? And probably add some coffee essence?

Thanks!

CikGu Sekolah said...

dear aunty,just find your blog.thanks for sharing great recipe.

Frances said...

Dear Aunty,

just want to check, how long do you need to beat the eggs on a kitchenaid mixer and at what speed?

Thank you!

BTW, have emailed to you before about macarons, but no reply.:(

Valen said...

Hi Aunty Yochana,

Thanks for sharing this recipe! I have used this sponge cake as the base for a buttercream birthday cake. My 4-year old niece and friends loved it! :)

Anonymous said...

Hi, may I know if the eggs should be at room temperature other chilled? Thanks!