8 rules of baking and 20 (!) recipes for making sponge cake

To bake a good sponge cake, it is enough to follow these 8 simple rules:

1. Fill the mold with batter to 3/4 of its height, as it will increase in volume while baking.

For the first 20-30 minutes, do not touch the sponge cake, as it may sink and not bake properly.

2. You can check for doneness by piercing the sponge cake with a wooden stick (for example, a toothpick); if the stick is dry, the sponge cake is ready.

3. Freshly baked sponge cake is difficult to cut and soak with syrup, so it is recommended to let it rest for about a day after baking or, at least, no less than 8 hours.

4. To make the sponge cake fluffier and crumbly, some of the flour can be replaced with starch. The quality of the sponge cake depends on the freshness of the eggs, the duration of whipping, and the correct temperature regime.

5. You can add grated lemon or orange zest, vanilla, cocoa powder, or crushed nuts to the sponge cake batter. These should be mixed with the flour beforehand.

6. If water or softened butter is added to the sponge cake batter, they should be mixed with the yolks.
Bake the batter immediately after mixing.

7. Grease the mold or baking tray with cold butter, and you can sprinkle it with flour or breadcrumbs.

8. Do not grease the sides of the mold; otherwise, during baking, the batter will rise only in the center of the mold.
20 recipes for making sponge cake

1. Cold method of making sponge cake.
Beat the egg whites into a strong foam with half of the sugar.

Beat the egg yolks with the remaining half of the sugar until white. You can add grated lemon (orange) zest or ground nuts. When making the batter with additives, incorporate them (sour cream, butter, cottage cheese, pumpkin) into the yolk mixture.

Mix with flour (and if necessary - with starch) and gently fold in 1/3 of the egg white foam. After this, the mixture will become more liquid, making it easier to fold in the remaining whites – mix not in circular motions, but by lifting from the bottom up. Transfer to the mold.

Preheat the oven to t=150°C, place the mold with the sponge cake, and increase the temperature to 180~220°C.

2. Warm method of making sponge cake.
Beat the yolks with sugar and, if required by the recipe, melted butter. Heat in a water bath while stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves.

Cool to room temperature by placing in cold water and continuously whipping. The mixture will become thick, fluffy, and yellow. Add flour or flour with starch. Then, fold in the egg whites just like in the cold method.

3. Dry sponge cake.
1 cup of flour, 8 eggs, 1 cup of sugar

4. Sour cream sponge cake #1
2 cups of flour, 0.5~1 cup of sour cream, 6 eggs, 1 cup of sugar

5. Sour cream sponge cake #2
1 cup of flour, 2 tablespoons of sour cream, 5 eggs, 1 cup of sugar

6. Sponge cake with starch.
0.5 cup of flour, 0.5 cup of starch, 8 eggs, 1 cup of sugar

7. Butter sponge cake #1
1 cup heaping of flour, 150 g of butter, 3/4 cup of sugar, 4 eggs, 2 teaspoons of baking powder

8. Butter sponge cake #2
1 cup of flour, 100 g of softened butter, 8 eggs, 1 cup of sugar

9. Viennese butter sponge cake
(made using the warm method; do not separate the whites and yolks)
1 cup of flour, 1 tablespoon of starch, 100 g of butter, 2/3 cup of sugar, 5 eggs, 2 yolks

10. Budapest butter sponge cake
2/3 cup of flour, 2 tablespoons of melted butter, 8 eggs, 6 tablespoons of powdered sugar, 100 g of ground almonds

11. Parisian butter sponge cake
(made using the warm method)
0.5 cup of flour, 3 eggs, 2 yolks, 1 cup of powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of melted butter

12. Cottage cheese-butter sponge cake
3 tablespoons of flour, 100 g of softened butter, 200 g of cottage cheese, 4 eggs, 1 cup of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda

13. Air sponge cake
2 tablespoons of flour, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 5 eggs

14. Corn flour sponge cake
0.5 cup of flour, 0.5 cup of corn flour, 6 eggs, 6 tablespoons of sugar

15. Pumpkin sponge cake
2 cups of flour, 1 cup of sugar, 8 eggs, 2 cups of raw pumpkin puree, a pinch of salt

16. Quick sponge cake
1 cup of flour, 1 cup of sugar, 5 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda (neutralized with vinegar) or 1 teaspoon of baking powder

17. Quick sponge cake with water
3/4 cup of flour, 100 g of sugar, 2 eggs, 4 tablespoons of hot water

18. Quick sponge cake.

flour - 1 cup (100 g),
eggs - 4-5 pcs,
sugar - 1 cup (180 g)

Beat the eggs with a mixer until fluffy.
Then, gradually adding sugar, beat until a thick foam forms.
Gradually add sifted flour and carefully mix the batter with a spoon, lifting layer by layer until it absorbs the flour.
Gently place the batter into a greased and floured or breadcrumb-dusted mold.
Bake the sponge cake for 25-40 minutes in an oven preheated to ~180-200°C.

19. Lemon sponge cake.

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 cup of sugar
zest and juice of half a lemon
3 tablespoons of flour + 1 tablespoon of potato starch (all heaping) - totaling 1 cup

Grate the lemon zest on a fine grater.
Separate the eggs into whites and yolks.
Mix the yolks with a spoon of sugar and lemon juice.
Beat the egg whites with sugar until a strong foam forms, then, while continuing to beat, add the lemon zest and gradually pour in the yolks with the lemon juice.
Gently fold in the flour and starch into the whipped egg mixture with a spoon, stirring from the top down.
Immediately pour the sponge cake batter into a greased or parchment-lined mold (preferably a springform) measuring 20x30 cm.
Place the future sponge cake in a preheated oven at 180°C and bake for about 25 minutes. Check for doneness with a wooden stick.

The lemon sponge cake turns out very airy and has a delicate, subtle lemon flavor. It can be served with tea as a standalone dish or used as a base for a cake.

20. Chocolate sponge cake

Separate the whites of 6 eggs from the yolks. Beat the whites into a strong foam (10 minutes with a mixer).
While continuing to beat, gradually add 2 cups of sugar. Add the egg yolks (one at a time).
Sift 4 tablespoons of cocoa through a sieve to avoid lumps, add to the batter, and gently mix the batter from top to bottom.
Then, in several stages, add 2 cups of flour and one-third of a teaspoon of baking soda, neutralized in half a tablespoon of lemon juice.
Grease the mold with butter and line it with paper. Pour in the batter and place it in the oven. Bake at 180 degrees until fully cooked. If the surface is already baked but the center is not, cover the top of the base with parchment or foil. The cake bakes for about an hour.