Tips for the Perfect Sponge Cake

Aaaah, sponge cakes: so delicious and yet so deceptive when it comes to how difficult they really are to perfect. Well, the Stork team has come to your rescue with 5 handy tips on how to make your sponge cake superb.

Tip 1: Measure Your Ingredients Accurately

The key to a soft and fluffy sponge cake is accuracy. Make a point of properly measuring out your ingredients before you start baking and don’t be tempted to eyeball it.

TOP BAKING TIP: Eggs aerate better when they’re not ice cold so make sure all your ingredients, including the Stork Bake you’ll use, are at room temperature when you bake anything (unless the recipe states otherwise).

Tip 2: Separate The Eggs and Whip The Whites

Professional bakers suggest you split your whites from your egg yolks for a super fluffy cake experience. Just follow the recipe as normal but use the yolks when you’re making the main batter and fold in your whipped egg whites at the end, just before you pour your batter into your pans. You’ll know your egg whites are ready to be folded in when you can tip your bowl to the side and the mixture doesn’t move. Some chefs test the firmness of their whipped egg whites by tipping it over their heads, so feel free to try that trick at your own peril.

Tip 3: Use a Pan with a Removable Bottom

Most often associated with cheesecakes, we recommend using a pan that has a removable bottom. They allow for easy cake removal when you snap open the sides and push up the bottom of the cake pan.

Tip 4: Don’t Scrape the Bowl When You Pour Your Batter

As tempting as it may be to scrape the bottom of the mixing bowl into the already poured pans, don’t! There may be some egg yolk that has stuck to the bowl and then you end-up with hard pieces of egg yolk baked into the cake. Rather just tip the remainder of your batter out of the bowl while gently tapping the sides.

Tip 5: The Icing

If you don’t have a turntable on which to ice your cake, use a normal cake pan. Place the cake on top of the inverted cake tin (bottom facing up) and rotate the pan to frost your cake evenly. When icing your cake, always put a dollop in the centre of the cake and use a spatula to spread the frosting out evenly towards the edge.

And there you have it, 5 handy tips to craft the perfect sponge cake like a pro! But wait, there’s more! Here is a fabulous Mocha Victorian Sponge Recipe we L-O-V-E, to get you started on your road to sponge-cake-baking-greatness.