Soft and beautifully tall heart sponge cake. A recipe suitable for the creation of different types of desserts.
A perfect base to offer to the people we love the most, a romantic gesture.
For Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, or an anniversary.
It is part of the classic recipes of Italian cuisine: it is the most used base in pastry and thanks to its soft and light consistency, it serves particularly well as a base for filled cakes, but it can also be used in more complex preparations, like elaborate birthday cakes, special desserts, and so on.
The recipe itself is very simple and requires few ingredients: in this version, we will use potato starch which will help make everything softer and more supported during cooking.
It only requires the use of a bowl and electric whisks, or a stand mixer.
In fact, the secret is to beat the eggs with the sugar for at least 15/20 minutes to obtain a light and very frothy mixture.
Another fundamental step is that the flour must be sifted and incorporated very gently with a spatula with gentle movements from bottom to top, being very careful not to deflate the mixture.
Dairy-free: perfect to enjoy with powdered sugar or with a simple jam filling.
Versatile to use as a base for the creation of more complex cakes, perhaps in view of a birthday.
Here is an idea for the heart cake with strawberries.
Once completely cool, it can be cut and filled for filled cakes or spoon desserts.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 10/12
- Cooking methods: Electric Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
- Energy 134.30 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 27.51 (g) of which sugars 16.30 (g)
- Proteins 3.65 (g)
- Fat 1.81 (g) of which saturated 0.79 (g)of which unsaturated 0.96 (g)
- Fibers 0.22 (g)
- Sodium 92.45 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 60 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for the Heart Sponge Cake
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 0.5 cup potato starch
- 4 eggs (room temperature)
- 1 pinch salt
- Half teaspoon baking powder
Tools
- Mold
- Stand Mixer
- Kitchen Scale
- Spatula
- Sieve
Steps for the Heart Sponge Cake
First, prepare the heart mold, butter it and dust with flour, preheat the oven to 356°F (180°C), static mode.
Place the whole eggs in the bowl (the eggs must be at room temperature).
Add the sugar and a pinch of salt (vanilla flavor to taste).
Turn on the whisks and whisk the mixture.
The mixture should be fluffy and soft.
(To achieve this result, the whisks should beat for 10/15 minutes.)
Gently add the flour, potato starch, and a pinch of baking powder, previously sifted.
Mix with the spatula from bottom to top.
Pour the obtained mixture into the buttered and floured mold.
Bake in a preheated static oven at 356°F (180°C) for about 30/35 minutes (or in a convection oven at 320°F (160°C) for about 30-35 minutes), until the surface of the sponge cake is golden brown (if it tends to darken too much, cover the cake pan with parchment paper and then a sheet of aluminum foil).
(Always do the toothpick test avoiding pulling the cake completely out of the oven)
Wait for it to cool before detaching it from the base.
Ready to be cut and filled as desired.
Enjoy your meal.
Tips for Sponge Cakes of Varying Diameters
Dosage for a 20cm sponge cake. (150g of sugar, 100g of all-purpose flour, 50g of potato starch, 3 eggs)
Dosage … from 26cm. (200g of sugar, 130g of flour, 65g of potato starch, 4 eggs).
Unmold, let cool for 15 minutes in the pan. Use a knife to release the edges of the cake, open the pan, and allow to cool on a cake rack.
You can store the Sponge Cake for 2/3 days at room temperature wrapped in plastic wrap. You can also store it in the freezer for 1 month.
Lemon zest further perfumes the sponge cake, especially for fruit cakes or sponge cakes with custard.
If using a chocolate filling, I recommend flavoring your sponge cake only with vanilla, or consider using orange zest instead of lemon.
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FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Do I have to use baking powder?
You can definitely skip it, but I feel more confident using it.
Can I use rice flour?
Yes, if needed, I have the recipe on the blog.
