Discovering European Sponge Cake

Growing up in India and Dubai, the only cake I’ve always had was genoise or sponge cake — definitely an imperial influence on our eating habits. I grew up with the simplicity of the cake's taste that brought

back many memories. I remembered my mom whisking those eggs over boiling water while I waited impatiently for the cake to be out of the oven.

Only when I arrived in America, I discovered another variation of cake—butter cake. Even to this day, I could not adapt to its heavy feeling. I cannot adapt to the sugary taste. I simply cannot get over the light taste of a good ol' sponge cake. Nostalgia caught up to me. My new ambition is to discover European-style sponge cakes.

Why make cakes like most people in this part of the world (United States)? European-style Sponge cakes are great with coffee and tea. The layered genoise cakes are the ones I'd seen in a cafe. There are many variations such as the simplicity of putting jam in the middle to frosting it and conjuring up other intricacies. A simple cake would be a plain sponge cake with fruit jam, that Queen Victoria of England loved with her tea. Or you can layer the cake with frosting, decorations and get creative. This could have also been the cake Alice, Lewis Carroll's heroine most likely had. Another variation is a roulade, a rolled cake that my six-year old tongue called "the roly poly cake." I may have gotten that from a nursery rhyme.

First Attempt: Genoise with Raspberry filling and Chocolate Ganache

Even though a newbie at baking cake from scratch, I thought why not make two 9-inch round cakes, layer with fresh raspberry filling, and top it with some chocolate ganache? I always loved raspberry and chocolate together. I will also confess that I am not really a fan of American frosting either. Ganache seemed like the answer, as I could use left over ganache for making truffles.

For the sponge cake, the first thing I did was whisk eggs and egg yolks and sugar in a bowl over hot water till the temperature was lukewarm. Then, I continued beating till it the mixture was fluffy and tripled. This is where patience would be beneficial. This is where I’d mix in vanilla, lemon juice, and some lemon grind. I decided to add some freshly ground cardamom to give it a kick. Then, I added the dry ingredients of cake flour with some corn starch till it was blended. As an insurance against the cake resulting to be very dry. Who wants dry cake? I added little butter, but not too much. The cakes almost came out the way I wanted it to be. The first task has been accomplished.

The filling was simple and made from raspberry jam and fresh raspberries.

The ganache topping was simple, I poured hot heavy cream over bittersweet chocolate pieces in a bowl. After letting it melt for a minute, I mixed it till it was creamy and then let it thicken. First, I used a spatula to smooth ganache over the rough edges of the cake. I could now pour ganache over the cake, and used some raspberries and mint leaves to garnish the cake.

The only thing was that I left the cake in the oven too long. You need to do a toothpick test as soon as you can smell the cake and take it out as soon as it's done. The cake ended up losing some of it's fluffy, light texture.

Overall, I thought this recipe was odd. It called for more egg yolks. I asked my mom and she said she never remembered that.

Regardless, I felt accomplished after putting the finishing touches. My quest continued to attempt another creation, maybe the next one will be light and fruity and a summer cake, to honor the warm weather Portland has for the time being.

Second Try: Strawberries n Cream Sponge Cake

I wanted something light, tasty, and fruity. I got my answer. This recipe was better than the last one. I made sponge cake as before, but this time didn't need more yolks than egg whites. I learned that I should whisk the eggs when they are room temperature, otherwise they wouldn't whisk properly.

For the frosting and fillling, I simply whisked heavy cream, with vanilla, and a little fat-free cream cheese. The cream cheese helped keep the frosting become thicker and retain it's shape when out for long time in room temperature. I frosted a layer in between the cakes and put a layer of strawberries. This time the cake turned out better than my first. The cake was a hit among my coworkers for a potluck. This cake pairs well with tea, coffee, or chai.

Third Try: Date-Nut Roulade and Chocolate-Hazelnut Roulade

A church home community potluck provided the next opportunity to experiment. Every two weeks, we have a person sharing their life story with food and the potluck theme is picked by them. That week it was Middle Eastern/North African food.

Sponge cake has it's influence all over the world, as it is the base cake for Latin American Tres Leche cake and Japanese Kastella cake among many other variations. For the event, I thought about a roulade that has regional influence. I thought of dates and traditional Arabic sweets.

My idea was homemade date jam with chopped pistachios and topping the cake with honey and nuts. My magnificent creation is pictured on the left. On the right, that's a chocolate roulade double-layered with nutella and almond-flavored cream and topped with hazelnuts.

To Make the Date filling: You need red wine, 2 tbsp butter, half cup sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg. Melt the butter, sugar in a saucepan, add wine and bring them to a boil before adding the dates, spices. Simmer for about 30 minutes till it becomes thick.

I made the roulade on a cookie sheet. Here's a tip for easy rolling. Line the pan with parchment paper as it helps with easy removal. Take another piece of parchment paper and sprinkle with confectioner's powdered sugar. Invert the cake on the parchment paper. Slowly and carefully peel off the parchment paper off the cake. If the cake is warm you may want to fill it right away. I then spread date jam on the cake and then sprinkled a layer of chopped pistachios. Then, with a serrated knife I cut the edges of the cake to make it look smooth and even. Finally, I slowly rolled the cake. As the finishing touch, I spread some honey on top of the cake and topped the cake with nut topping.

From my experience, I learned that practice makes perfect. I am more intrigued by sponge cakes. One recommended reading is Barbara Maher's Ultimate Cake. DK books are great for their pictures, illustrations, layout and plenty of mouth-watering recipes and tips. There are also several internet websites Joy of Baking.

Here are pointers from my experience:

• More egg yolks are not necessary. I didn't see much difference from the first recipe that called for more yolks from the latter recipes that used equal whites and yolks
• Do separate the eggs. It helps make the mixture fluffier and resulting is softer cakes
• Use cake flour if you can, but if all-purpose flour will do. Sift the flour.
• Use lemon juice and rind to neutalize the egg smell, otherwise when you pull the cake out of the oven, it'll smell like scrambled eggs. I add vanilla too, but lemon does the neutralization.
• Fold in ingredients very gently, or else the airy texture falls flat and the cake won't be as fluffy

I should also toss in a quick recipe on chai. It is said that only Indian parents would make their tea in a saucepan. The tea we drink is chai. For heaven's sake, don't call it chai tea, as chai translates to tea. This is how to do it. On a saucepan boil black tea, milk, ginger rinds, cardamom together. Pour it through a strainer and add sugar to your liking. Chai would go well with any of these cakes.

I would like to hear your experiences with European Sponge Cake. Please do share your tips, ideas, and thoughts. By the way, the recipes are in the comments section.