ITALIAN SPONGE CAKE (PAN DI SPAGNA)
Follow this simple sponge cake recipe and master the art of the classic Italian sponge cake (pan di Spagna). You will love this light, airy and delicious cake that is fat and dairy-free. Enjoy it plain with a cup of tea or coffee or upgrade it to a celebration cake.
Provided by Irina
Categories Cake
Time 40m
Yield 8
Number Of Ingredients 3
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 355 degrees F/180 degrees C. Generously butter and flour an 8-inch/20 cm round cake pan and set aside. Place eggs and granulated sugar in a large bowl and slightly beat with a hand whisk.
- Continue to whisk and bring the bowl over a bain-marie/water bath to warm the mixture up to 104 degrees F/40 degrees C (warm to the touch). Remove the bowl from the bain-marie/water bath and beat the eggs/sugar mixture with an electric mixer until the volume is doubled for about 12 to 15 minutes. Add sifted flour and mix with a rubber spatula.
- Pour the dough into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Check the readiness of the biscuit with a toothpick or a cake tester: once it comes out clean out of the sponge, the biscuit is ready.
- Let it cool for 10 minutes in the oven off (keep the door slightly open using a wooden spoon) to prevent deflating the sponge cake. Next, remove the sponge from the oven, let it cool for the other ten minutes. Then remove it from the pan by flipping it upside down and cool on a cooling rack, also known as a wire rack.
Nutrition Facts : ServingSize 1 slice, Calories 142 calories, Sugar 15.2 g, Sodium 31 mg, Fat 2.3 g, SaturatedFat 0.7 g, Carbohydrate 26.6 g, Fiber 0.4 g, Protein 4.3 g, Cholesterol 82 mg
GéNOISE CAKE
Yield For about 6 cups of batter, to make 1 round 9-by-1 1/2-inch cake, or 1 round 8-by-2-inch cake (or enough for 16 cup cakes, or a 12-by-16-inch sponge sheet)
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350°F, slide rack onto the lower-middle level, and prepare your pan (see below). Sift the flour with the 1 Tbs sugar and salt and reserve the clarified butter in a 2-quart bowl. Beat the eggs in your mixer bowl with the remaining sugar and the vanilla until you have "formed the ribbon." At once, rapidly sift on and fold in a quarter of the flour, then half the rest of the flour, and finally the last of it. Fold a large plop of this cake batter into the clarified butter, then fold the butter-batter back into the remaining batter. Turn batter into prepared pan, filling it to no more than 1/4 inch of the rim. Bang lightly on work surface to deflate bubbles, and bake 30 to 35 minutes, until puffed, lightly browned, and showing a faint line of shrinkage from sides of pan. Let cool 20 minutes before unmolding onto a rack. Let cool completely before filling and icing.
- SERVING SUGGESTION: WHITE MOUNTAIN CHOCOLATE-FILLED GÉNOISE. Prepare a double amount of the Italian meringue on page 102, and flavor half of it with chocolate, as directed. Using a long, serrated knife, cut the cake in half horizontally. Place bottom half on a rack set over a tray, and turn the top half cut side up. Sprinkle both surfaces with rum-flavored imbibing syrup (see page 101), and spread the chocolate meringue over the bottom half. Turn the top half cut side down over the filling, and frost the cake with the remaining white Italian meringue. Before serving, dust with a sprinkling of grated chocolate.
- CUP CAKES. Use the preceding génoise batter for cup cakes, following directions for almond cup cakes on page 98, which are some of my favorites with fruit desserts and tea.
- JELLY ROLL-ROULADE. Preheat oven to 375°F and set rack in lower middle. Grease the inside of an 11-by-17-inch jelly-roll pan with soft butter and line with a sheet of wax paper, leaving an extra 2 inches of it at each end; butter the paper where it lines the pan. Roll flour in the pan to cover inside and knock out excess. Spread in the génoise batter and bake about 10 minutes, until cake is lightly colored and top feels springy. Remove from oven. The following maneuvers are to prevent cake from cracking. Slice off 1/4 inch from each end of cake. Sprinkle top with confectioners' sugar. Cover with a sheet of wax paper and a slightly dampened towel. Set a tray over the top and reverse the two. Holding an end of the wax paper, lift off the jelly-roll pan. Then, very carefully, peel off the wax-paper backing. Sift a 1/8-inch layer of confectioners' sugar over the cake and roll it up in the damp towel; you may refrigerate it for a day or two. If frozen, be sure it has thoroughly defrosted before unrolling.
- Serving Suggestion: Apricot Roulade. Unroll the cake, sprinkle with imbibing syrup (see page 101), spread on the apricot filling (page 103), and frost with meringue butter cream (page 102).
- Smear inside bottom and sides lightly with softened butter. Cut a sheet of wax paper to fit bottom exactly, press it in place, and butter it. Pour 1/4 cup cake flour into pan, shake and turn in all directions to cover surface completely, turn pan upside down, and bang out excess flour.
- To avoid trouble, especially when making pastries, measure your flour accurately. For every recipe in this book, place the dry-measure cup on a large piece of wax paper. Scoop the flour directly into the sifter, and sift it directly into the cup until overflowing, then, using the flat edge of a big knife, sweep off excess flour level with the rim.
- When thoroughly cool, refrigerate in an airtight plastic bag for several days, or freeze for several weeks.
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