Sponge cake
Description
Sponge cake "Gioconda" will make a wonderful base for any cake. It can be baked in a 24‑centimeter diameter pan, left as a simple base and cut into two pieces. Or it can be baked in a 16‑18‑centimeter pan, then it can be cut into three layers. Before making a cake with such a sponge, after it has cooled, it should be wrapped in plastic film and kept in the refrigerator to mature. Moreover, this sponge can be frozen, but for no more than a month; during that time it will not lose its flavor qualities. It is enough to wrap it very tightly in film so that it does not absorb odors from the freezer shelf. The baking is ready. Serve at the table.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Prepare all the necessary ingredients for making the "Gioconda" sponge cake. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
- 2
Step 2
Break the eggs into the mixer bowl and add 25 grams of sugar, whisk everything on high speed until a white, fluffy mass forms. This will take about 7–10 minutes.
- 3
Step 3
Add almond flour to the beaten eggs and gently stir with a spatula from bottom to top until the mixture is uniform and fluffy.
- 4
Step 4
Sift the flour through a fine sieve into the bowl with the almond mixture. Gently mix everything again with upward strokes.
- 5
Step 5
In another bowl, beat the egg whites until they form a fluffy mass. Add the remaining sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Transfer the mixture into the almond dough and gently mix everything again.
- 6
Step 6
Melt the butter and let it cool. While mixing from bottom to top, pour the butter into the dough along the edge of the bowl, stir until smooth.
- 7
Step 7
For this sponge cake it's best to use a removable pan without a bottom, which is simply placed on baking paper. But you can, as I do, use a silicone baking pan. For this, the bottom and sides need to be lined with parchment paper. Transfer the batter to the pan and smooth the top.
- 8
Step 8
Place the pan with the batter in a hot oven and bake for 15 to 30 minutes. Do not open the oven for the first 10 minutes under any circumstances, the sponge will collapse! The time depends on the height of the sponge and your oven. The doneness of the sponge can be tested with a wooden skewer. When piercing the sponge, the skewer should come out dry, without raw batter.
- 9
Step 9
Take the sponge cake out of the oven and let it stand for 5 minutes. Run a knife along the edge of the pan. Remove the sponge cake, discard the paper. Place the sponge cake on a rack until completely cooled. Wrap the sponge cake in plastic film and put it in the refrigerator for 8 hours.
- 10
Step 10
Use the ready sponge cake as intended. It can be used to make a cake or served as a standalone dessert.