The only thing better than a sponge cake is a chocolate sponge cake.
Here I am finding a couple of quiet minutes in the day to bring you this celebration cake recipe. Early in the morning before the house is awake. Before the school rush starts and when everything is still; a thick frost outside, cold chill in the air.
Sipping on my coffee, I’m dreaming of a piece of this cake. Made up of two layers of featherlight sponge with a hint of chocolate and filled with swirled chocolate whipped cream, it’s deliciously light and not too sweet. It’s then topped with a layer of chocolate ganache and because that’s not enough – I’ve finished it off by drizzling a decadent caramel sauce over the top.
Master a sponge cake and your family will love you for it.
lo’s tip’s for the perfect sponge
a note on… eggs
Make sure that you use room temperature eggs (take them out of the fridge at least half an hour before you start baking). The reason for this is that eggs whip up to a higher volume when they’re not cold. This is important so that we have a lot of air in our cake mixture – giving us that incredibly high rise.
Also, the recipe calls for 5 x large eggs – really observe this. If your eggs look a little on the small side, don’t be afraid to use 6.
a note on… the mixing bowl
When making meringue or a sponge, when whisking egg whites with sugar for anything – you want a really clean mixing bowl. This means without any grease or residue left from the dishwasher or last time it was used. The reason for this is so that the egg whites whisk up well. My grandma Mim taught me to either add a splash of white vinegar to your mixing bowl; using a clean tea towel to wipe it dry or you can also use a fresh lemon. Simply cut it in half and wipe out the bowl with the cut side. The lemon juice will work the same way that the vinegar does. Use a clean tea towel to dry.
a note on… sifting the dry ingredients
DO do this three times. Yes. Three times. I know it’s a bit of faffing but I promise you that your sponge with double in size if you do. Have a look at all of the lumpy bits left by the custard powder, cocoa and corn flour in your sifter as you go. It’ll help you see the importance of this step. Always make sure that your sifter is 100% dry for this.
a note on… cake tins
I line the cake tins using either canola oil spray or melted butter. I line the base with baking paper and also line the sides of the cake tin. On my list of jobs to do – make an instructional ‘lining a cake tin’ video. Don’t hold your breath – my list is long.
As always with cake tins too, having the right size for the right recipe is always handy. I’ve heard of libraries that rent out different types of cake tins. Wouldn’t that be cool to have near you.
a note on… oven temps
The difference between a sponge masterpiece and a total flop can be the oven temperature. You really don’t want to make the mistake of opening the oven door too early because that results in the sponge deflating with the drop in oven temperature.
I bake these sponges on the middle rack in a 170℃ fan forced oven (as opposed to the top shelf or bottom shelf). I find that the heat tends to be more even on the middle shelf.
As with everything, practice makes perfect. My mother in law cooks her sponge for 18 minutes, and her mum, Lyn’s oven needed 22 minutes. Knowing your oven and how it cooks is essential to a perfectly baked cake. My old gas oven at our last house would burn everything on the bottom and my new oven, although big and fabulous, seems to be a lot slower to cook things through.
Trial and error here sorry.
a note on… featherlight sponges
Sponge cake traditionalists will tell you that it’s not a proper sponge if you use corn flour, bi-carb soda and cream of tartar (which I prefer to do). A real sponge like the ones that win prizes in local country shows, shouldn’t use these ‘cheat’ ingredients apparently. Don’t worry about all that though – if you like the type of sponge cake that’s ultra light and airy – then go for this recipe. Cheat all you like.
So why not try this recipe for your next birthday cake, family celebration or simply just because.
chocolate sponge
This sponge cake is beautiful with just the strawberry jam and chocolate swirled whipped cream, but add the ganache and caramel drippy sauce if it’s for a special occasion.
for the cake
5 x large eggs, at room temperature (which helps them fluff up when whipped)
3/4 cup of caster sugar
3/4 cup of corn flour
1/2 teaspoon of bi-carb soda
2 x teaspoons of cocoa
2 x teaspoons of custard powder
1 x teaspoon of cream of tartar
Strawberry jam, to serve
Chocolate ganache, to serve
Whipped cream, to serve
Caramel drippy sauce, to serve
Fresh strawberries, to serve
for the chocolate ganache
125 grams of dark cooking chocolate
1/2 cup of thickened cream
for the whipped cream
200 ml of thickened cream
1 x teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 x heaped teaspoons of icing sugar
A drizzle of the chocolate ganache
for the caramel drippy sauce
100 grams of brown sugar
30 grams of butter
1/2 cup of thickened cream
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- Preheat the oven to 170℃ and grease and line two 20cm round cake tins.
- Seperate the eggs – placing the whites in a clean*, large bowl of a stand mixer, reserving the yolks.
- Whisk the egg whites on a high speed until they’re fluffing up nicely, but are not yet stiff. This is the time to start gradually adding the sugar.
- Gradually add the sugar whilst continuing to mix until you have nice stiff peaks. (You should be able to turn the bowl upside down over your head without the egg whites falling out. My girls love doing this).
- Now mix in the egg yolks one at a time over a low speed, turning it up a bit to mix through once all are added.
- Now’s the time to sift the dry ingredients THREE times (so the corn flour, bi-carb, cocoa, custard powder and cream of tartar).
- Using a spatula, gently fold in the dry ingredients to your egg mixture until combined. (Be careful not to be too vigorous here as you don’t want to lose all of that nice air that we achieved by whisking the egg whites and sifting the flour).
- Divide the mixture into the two cake tins and bake for approximately 20 – 24 minutes until nicely cooked and slightly browned on top.
- Open the oven door, turn off the oven and give it a minute or so before taking the cake tins out of the oven (so as not to shock them with the change of temperature too much).
- Let them cool slightly in the tin before turning out on to a wire rack to cool.
- To assemble the cake, take one of your sponges and simply smother on some strawberry jam.
- Then dollop on the whipped cream and smooth it out before adding the second sponge on top.
- Smooth out the ganache over the top, drizzle over some caramel sauce and decorate with fresh strawberries.
- This cake is best eaten straight away.
*Making sure that the bowl is clean will help your egg whites fluff up nicely – you can use half a lemon or a splash of white vinegar to clean the inside of your mixing bowl.
To make the chocolate ganache: Add the chocolate and cream to a heat safe bowl and microwave on high for one minute. Take out, stir and add back to the microwave for another 30 seconds until the chocolate has melted nicely. Give it a good stir, set aside to cool.
To make the chocolate whipped cream: Simply whisk the cream, vanilla and icing sugar together using a stand or hand held mixer until you have a nice whipped cream consistency (don’t take it too far as it will start turning into butter). Drizzle a little of the ganache in and lightly stir it through using a wooden spoon to create a rippled effect.
To make the caramel sauce: Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in a saucepan and stir over a medium heat until the butter has melted and it’s all fully incorporated. Add the cream and heat through.
lo's kitchen 