Sponge cake is a cake based on flour (usually wheat flour), sugar, and eggs, sometimes leavened with baking powder. Flour is a powder made of Cereal grains It is the key ingredient of Bread, which is a staple food in many countries and therefore the availability Wheat ( Triticum spp is a worldwide cultivated grass from the Levant area of the Middle East. Sugar is a class of edible Crystalline substances mainly Sucrose, Lactose, and Fructose. An egg is a round or oval body laid by the female of many animals consisting of an Ovum surrounded by layers of Membranes and an outer casing which acts to nourish Baking powder is a dry chemical Leavening agent used in cooking mainly baking [1][2] The sponge cake is thought to be one of the first of the non-yeasted cakes, and though it does not appear in Hannah Glasse's The Art of Cookery in the late 18th century, it is found in Lydia Maria Child's The American Frugal Housewife[3], indicating that sponge cakes had been established in at least some Anglophone countries by the early 19th century. Written in 1747 Hannah Glasse 's (1708-1770 The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy represents one of the most important references for culinary practice in England Lydia Maria Child ( February 11 1802 &ndash July 7 1880) was an American Abolitionist, Women's rights activist
Variations on the theme of a cake lifted, partially or wholly, by trapped air in the batter exist in most places where European patisserie has spread, including the French Génoise, the Anglo-Jewish "plava" [4] and the possibly-ancestral Italian/Sephardic Jewish pan di Spagna ("Spanish bread" , from the Ladino pan d'Espanya)[5][6]. A pâtisserie is a French bakery that specializes in Pastries and Sweets. A Génoise Cake is a Sponge cake named after the city of Genoa and closely associated with French cuisine that does not use any chemical Leavening Italian cuisine as a national Cuisine known today has evolved through centuries of social and political changes with its roots traced back to 4th century BC Sephardi Jews ( Hebrew: ספרדי, Standard Səfardi Tiberian Səp̄arədî; plural Derivatives of the basic sponge cake idea include the American chiffon cake and the Latin American Tres leches cake. A chiffon cake is a very light Cake made with Vegetable oil, eggs, Sugar, Flour, Baking powder, and flavorings A Tres leches cake or Pastel de Tres leches ( Spanish, "Three milk cake" is a Sponge cake,&mdashin some recipes a Butter cake &mdashsoaked [7]
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Making a sponge cake
A basic sponge cake is made by beating the eggs with sugar until they are light and creamy[1][8], then carefully sieving and folding in the flour (depending on the recipe, the flour may be mixed with a small amount of baking powder, though some recipes use only the air incorporated into the egg mixture, relying on the denaturing of the egg proteins and the thermal expansion of the air to provide leavening). Baking powder is a dry chemical Leavening agent used in cooking mainly baking A leavening agent (sometimes called just leavening or leaven) is a substance used in Doughs and batters that causes a foaming action intended Sometimes, the yolks are beaten with the sugar first while the whites are beaten separately to a meringue-like foam, to be gently folded in later. Meringue is a type of Dessert made from whipped Egg whites and caster sugar. [2] The mixture is then poured into the chosen cake tin and baked. As can be seen, both methods take great care to incorporate air in the beating, whisking and sieving stages. This makes a very light product, but it is easy to lose the air by removing the cake before it has finished in the oven.
Before the mixture has cooled, after cooking, it is still flexible. This allows the creation of rolled cakes such as the Swiss roll, or the Bûche de Noël. Swiss roll is a type of Sponge cake baked in a very shallow rectangular baking tray and then filled rolled up and served in circular slices Bûche de Noël (" Yule log " is a traditional dessert served during the Christmas holidays in France and Quebec. This basic recipe is also used for many treats and puddings, such as madeleines, ladyfingers and trifles, as well as some versions of strawberry shortcake. The madeleine or petite madeleine is a traditional Cake (mistakenly translated as a Cookie in Polish) from Commercy, a commune Ladyfingers (called Savoiardi in Italian, meaning "from Savoy " or in French 'Biscuits à la cuillère A trifle is a Dessert dish made from thick (or often solidified Custard, Fruit, Sponge cake, fruit juice or more recently jelly Garden strawberries are a common variety of strawberry cultivated worldwide Shortcake is a sweet Biscuit (in the American sense that is a crumbly Baking soda - or Baking powder -leavened Bread, known in British [8][1] In addition, the sponge cake technique is used in angel food cake (where only egg whites are used) and some recipes for Belgian waffles (where the egg whites are separated from the yolk and folded into the batter at the end of preparation). A waffle is a light batter cake cooked in a Waffle iron patterned to give a distinctive and characteristic shape
Victoria sponge
The Victoria sponge cake was named after Queen Victoria, who favoured a slice of the sponge cake with her afternoon tea. Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901 was from 20 June 1837 the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland It is often referred to simply as sponge cake, though it contains additional fat. A traditional Victoria sponge consists of jam and whipped cream sandwiched between two sponge cakes; the top of the cake is not iced or decorated. Cream with 30% or more fat can be turned into whipped cream by mixing it with air Cake decorating is one of the sugar arts that uses icing and other edible decorative elements to make otherwise plain cakes more visually interesting But there is also a lemon filling option.
A Victoria sponge is made in two main ways. The traditional method involves creaming caster sugar with fat (usually butter, although margarine can also be used), mixing thoroughly with beaten egg, then folding flour and raising agent into the mixture. Butter is a Dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented Cream or Milk. Margarine (ˈmɑrdʒərɨn /ˈmɑrdʒəriːn/ or /ˈmɑrgəriːn/ as a generic term can indicate any of a wide range of Butter substitutes The modern method, using an electric mixer or food processor, involves simply whisking all the ingredients together until creamy. A food processor is a kitchen appliance used to facilitate various repetitive tasks in the process of preparation of Food. [1][2][8] In the latter case, a little extra raising agent is normally used, and some recipes call for an extra-soft butter or margarine. Both are relatively quick and simple, producing consistent results, making this type of mixture one of the most popular for children and people in a hurry. This basic 'cake' mixture has been made into an endless variety of treats and puddings, including fairy cakes, butterfly cakes, chocolate cake, Eve's pudding and many others. Fairy cakes are cakes made of fairy juiceThe faeries can usually be found in Neverland A butterfly cake is a classic Cake made from a simple fairy cake, also called a cupcake Chocolate cake is a common Dessert Cake served at many gatherings such as Birthday Parties and Weddings that contains Chocolate Eve's pudding is a type of traditional British pudding made from Apples and Victoria sponge cake mixture [1][2][8]
Sponge cakes can also be made that are suitable for vegan, lacto-ovo intolerant and low cholesterol diets. Most often this is done by using plant based milk instead of dairy (such as rice or soya) and vegetable oil instead of eggs (although many alternatives to eggs are used such as flax seeds, bananas and powdered egg replacers).
Other names for the Victoria Sponge are Victoria Sandwich and, less commonly, Victorian Cake.
Sponge cakes during Passover
Since Sponge cakes are not leavened with yeast, they are popular dessert choices for the Passover feast. Passover ( Hebrew, Yiddish: פֶּסַח Pesach, Tiberian: pɛsaħ Israeli: Pesah, Pesakh, Yiddish [9] Typically, Passover sponges are made with matzo meal or matzo flour since raw wheat products may not be used. [10] So popular is the sponge cake at Passover that most families have at least one recipe they pass down through generations which is referred to as the Passover Sponge Cake, and companies such as Manischewitz even make matzo meal-based cake mixes. Manischewitz is a leading brand of Kosher products based in the United States, best-known for their Matza and wine. Typical passover sponge flavorings include almonds, lemon, poppyseeds, apples, and chocolate.
See also
External links
- Delia Smith discusses sponge cakes in British cuisine
- Illustrated BBC.co.uk recipe for Victoria Sponge by Lesley Waters
- Passover plava at allrecipes.com
- Pan di Spagna recipe and discussion from Babbo Restaurant
References
- ^ a b c d e Be-Ro flour Home recipes 40th edition
- ^ a b c d Delia Smith's Book of Cakes Sixth Impression 1981. Castella or Kasutera (カステラ is a popular Japanese Sponge cake made of Sugar, Flour, eggs, and Starch Lamingtons is a Sponge cake (or more traditionally Butter cake) in the shape of a cube coated in a layer of traditionally Chocolate icing
- ^ Child, Lydia Maria, The American Frugal Housewife, 12th ed. , Boston: Carter, Hendee &co, 1832 (Project Gutenberg edition)
- ^ Roden, Claudia, The Book of Jewish Food, New York: Alfred A. Claudia Roden born 1936 in Cairo, Egypt is a Cookbook writer based in the United Kingdom, best known as the author of A Book of Middle Eastern Knopf, 1996, ISBN 0394532589, p 187-8.
- ^ The Silver Spoon, US ed. Il cucchiaio d'argento ( The Silver Spoon in English) (ISBN 8872122236 1997 ed , New York: Phaidon Press, 2005, ISBN 0714845310, p. 1013.
- ^ Roden, 1996, p. 595.
- ^ King Arthur Flour Co, King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion, Woodstock, VT: Countryman Press, 2003, ISBN 0881505811.
- ^ a b c d Mary Berry's Ultimate Cake Book 1995 printing.
- ^ FOOD; Healthful Tips for Passover Favorites by Florence Fabricant, New York Times, March 28, 1993. Accessed October 20 2007
- ^ FOOD; Meeting the Challenge of a Dessert for the Passover Meal by Florence Fabricant, New York Times, April 8, 1990. Accessed October 20 2007
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