Sponge cake, fruit, and cream
Not quite unpacked yet but I had to make something to feel sane again.
I surprised myself with how much I missed cooking. I guess food has been at the forefront of my life in one way or another for pretty much my entire adult existence until this extended period. To be completely honest though… I’ve felt pretty uninspired and unmotivated to cook anything because of how busy life has felt. There’s just a lot to do and the guilt of not being productive and checking those things off is a lot of mental load. It’s a vicious cycle.
But Noah forced my hand when he went peach picking last weekend with some of his co-residents and brought back a slightly awkward amount of peaches. Too little for jam, but too much for eating or any single recipe. Can’t let perfectly fresh in-season farm fruit go to waste! So I decided to go really simple and summery with it with this recipe from NYT.
I also had on-sale generic grocery store strawberries to use up, so I made a huge batch of batter and made the cake in two forms.
Claire’s Sponge Cake With Summer Fruit and Cream
The Syrup - start this before prep, and it’ll be ready by the time the cakes cool!
Over a barely simmering double boiler, place a bowl with:
250g-ish fruit, roughly diced
100g sugar
pinch salt
optional additional flavors
Once the sugar begins to melt, occasionally give the bowl a couple of gentle swirls to ensure even heating.
Cook mixture over the very gentle water bath for about 25-30 minutes.
Strain the mixture, pressing down gently on the fruit to maximize yield without clouding the syrup.
Claire suggested saving the (now relatively flavorless) fruit pulp for yogurt or oatmeal or something.
Let cool completely before use.
Note: This recipe makes more syrup than you need to dab the cake. I reduced my leftover syrup in a pan to make a thick drizzle as garnish.
To gauge consistency, watch for when the bubbles to grow slower and bigger. If it’s too thick after it cools, just add a few drops of water to loosen.
The Sponge Cake - This is a good recipe for beginners! Harder to mess up compared to a traditional chiffon.
Yield: I tripled the original recipe to make 1 half sheet of cake + 2 9-inch rounds (one layer cake). This is probably the biggest batch that will comfortably fit in a 6 or 7 quart stand mixer.
Prepare pans:
For the half sheet or regular cake pans, use just enough oil to coat the bottom so a piece of parchment will stick. Do not oil or parchment the sides.
For a springform cake pan, do not oil or line anything - this is by far the best way to bake sponges, and gives it the best rise.
Whip to stiff peaks:
12 egg whites (reserve yolks)
150g sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp cream of tartar or other acid (for stability)
Transfer the whites to another (very large) bowl. Use the same beater/mixer bowl to whip to ribbon stage:
12 yolks (reserved from above)
150g sugar
Stream in slowly while whipping on medium speed:
150g neutral oil
The mixture should form a thick emulsion.
Mix in:
2 Tbsp vanilla
3 Tbsp water
Add in two additions and gently incorporate:
225g cake flour (I used AP and it was fine)
Gently fold in egg whites over 3 additions.
If making this batch size in a 6qt stand mixer: fold in 1/3 of the whites, then another 1/3 whites, and then dump all the contents of the stand mixer bowl into the (very large) bowl where you stored your egg whites. If you made the batter correctly it shouldn’t fit in a 6qt stand mixer.
Divide the batter into the prepared pans: (total weight ~1300g)
780g for the half sheet
260g for each 9” cake pan
Bake at 325F regular or 300F convection for about 18 minutes(?), rotating half way if necessary.
Purely a guestimate since I forgot to set a timer for some of it. Just …bake until done.
If it’s in a springform, you can cool it upside down for even more fluffiness.
Assembly - kind of by eye and feel. This amount of frosting should be just enough to assemble both cakes.
Whip to medium-stiff peaks:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1.5 cups sour cream
measure the cream into a pitcher, then scoop sour cream on top and measure with displacement
generous pinch salt
Gently dab the cakes with syrup, add cream, top with fruit, and repeat.
Don’t pick up too much syrup at a time or you’ll make the cake soggy, and don’t drag the brush or you’ll tear the cake.
Roulade assembly notes:
I have always found the pre-rolling kind of unnecessary. In this case, I sealed it with cream so it would be fresh the next day, but I promise it didn’t even crack a little (because it wasn’t overbaked!)
I cut the strawberry into dices for the roulade so it would be easier to roll and slice.
Leave a little 1-inch margin without any cream at the end of the cake so it can properly seal when you roll it. Otherwise, cream will spill out.
Cake assembly notes:
Peach is a tricky one because of the wedges. You definitely don’t have to make it all neat like I did, but I wanted it to be a fruit-forward.
When you cut this one, use a serrated knife and make a gentle sawing motion with long strokes. Try not to apply downward pressure.
Garnish: Whatever you want! I used additional soaking syrup for the layer cake and a thicker decorative syrup for the strawberry cream roll.
If possible, garnish right before serving.
Notes
I literally haven’t stopped thinking about this syrup technique from Claire’s video since it came out. And it is truly a revelation. It yields such a clear and beautiful syrup and is an easy task to slip in between active prep.
To store, cover the cake loosely and refrigerate. The cream will give the cake plenty of moisture, so it will last a few days.
For the most balanced cake, season the cream to almost taste slightly salty on its own. When combined with the fruit, syrup, and sponge, it will really make the flavors pop.