Today the recipe is simple and classic: the Cocoa Sponge Cake!
The sponge cake (Pan di Spagna) is a very classic preparation of Italian pastry — it is a basic recipe that is perfect both for simple cakes and for cakes that must be filled and decorated, perhaps with creams like GANACHE and FONDANT.
The soft sponge cake is an extremely delicate and spongy sweet dough which, unlike genoise, is prepared cold by mixing flour, eggs and sugar and generally does not involve adding baking powder (I added a little) because it is the egg whites beaten to stiff peaks that give the mixture a very pleasant lightness.
The classic sponge cake recipe on the blog is a long-established family recipe while today I prepared the Cocoa Sponge Cake — why? … well, you’ll find out very soon!
You can now fill the chocolate sponge cake with whipped cream, Italian chantilly cream, vanilla cream, diplomat cream, chocolate cream ….
P.S. This cocoa sponge cake recipe that yields a tall and soft sponge is for a 20 cm (8 in) cake pan and makes a sponge that can be filled; if you use a 22/24 cm (approximately 8.7 / 9.4 in) pan it will be lower and less suitable for filling.
I opened a free recipes channel on WhatsApp (no notifications or sounds) that anyone can join by clicking this link: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaHbGIn9cDDig7Cw2x0F — every day you’ll be able to read one sweet and one savory recipe!
Here are several sponge cake recipes for you:
Sponge cake with rice flour;
Whole wheat sponge cake;
Classic sponge cake;
Gluten-free sponge cake.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 6-8 servings
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients FOR COCOA SPONGE CAKE
- 5 Eggs (medium)
- 4 tbsp Water (hot)
- 6 oz (about 3/4 cup) Granulated sugar
- 3.5 oz (about 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp) All-purpose flour
- 1 oz (about 3 tbsp) Unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 oz (about 3 tbsp) Potato starch
- 1 tsp Baking powder (optional)
- as needed Butter (optional for the pan)
- as needed Flour (optional for the pan)
Tools FOR COCOA SPONGE CAKE
#ADV
- Electric mixer
- Stand mixer
- Bowl
- Spatula
- Cake pan
Preparation FOR COCOA SPONGE CAKE
First of all separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and then beat the yolks for a long time with the hot water.
You should obtain a very frothy and very soft mixture that will double in volume when beaten.
Now add the sugar while continuing to whisk everything together.Now add the flour mixed and sifted together with the unsweetened cocoa powder. (If you prefer, add the baking powder now, also sifted together with the cocoa and flour).
Then beat the egg whites to stiff peaks and carefully fold them into the previous mixture with a soft spatula using gentle upward motions.
Pour the batter into the pan lined with wet and wrung-out parchment paper (or buttered and floured).
Bake in a preheated oven at 356°F (180°C) for 35–40 minutes or according to your oven.
Let it cool, then unmold it and remove the parchment paper.
Now all that remains is to fill the Cocoa Sponge Cake — delicious, soft and bitter — with pastry cream, whipped cream and strawberries, ganache, mascarpone, or you can cover it with fondant or simply enjoy it plain with a light dusting of powdered sugar!
Enjoy your Cocoa Sponge Cake!
Annalisa
ALL ABOUT SYRUPS, FILLINGS, DOUGHS READ → https://blog.giallozafferano.it/asilannablu/le-bagne-per-dolci/
Tips and notes
Generally the sponge cake is made without baking powder, but many very famous food bloggers who are successful on TV add it… forget the rules and do it the way it works best for you — listen to an invisible cook!
Bye Annalisa
