How to make a Whisked Sponge Cake

We will follow the whisked sponge technique for this recipe. A whisked sponge boasts the lightest texture of all cakes. Its volume relies on the amount of air incorporated when eggs are whisked with sugar over a gentle heat.

In this example we use a wide shallow tin to make the base of a Swiss Roll however you can use different sized tins according to your requirements.

Ingredients

4 eggs
125g caster sugar
75g plain flour

Directions

Step 1

Preheat a fan forced oven at 180 degrees.

Put the eggs and sugar in a large bowl and whisk vigorously for a few seconds to break up the eggs and start mixing them with the sugar.

Step 2

Put the bowl over a pan of hot water. Take care that the bowl does not touch the water or the mixture will start to cook. Whisk until the mixture is quite thick.

Note: The technique for doing this is similar to that used when melting chocolate.

Step 3

Remove the bowl from the heat and continue whisking until the mixture has cooled and is very thick. This can take about 5 minutes.

Step 4

Fold in the flour in batches with a rubber spatula. Cut cleanly through to avoid knocking out any air.

Step 5

Line a 25cm by 35cm rectangular tin with baking paper and pour in the mixture. Cook in the preheated oven for 5-7 minutes.

Step 6

Cover a wire rack with a baking paper. Then, using the lining paper, lift the sponge out of the tin and place on wire rack with the crust-side down.

Step 7

Allow the cake to cool before peeling off the lining paper.

Recipes that use this technique:
Christmas Opera Cake - In a slight twist to the traditional Opera usually made with butter cream, the Chestnut cream and Brandy syrup give this recipe has a Christmassy feel.