Nothing says family love than a 1950’s sponge cake with fresh blueberry sauce! Our belated graduate school celebration for our niece simply required something different for a hot Labor Day Weekend visit. I hadn’t made a sponge cake in so long, I had to visit William Sonoma to find a removable bottom tube pan. The cake turned out fantastic! I had forgotten about this cake since my son had been allergic to eggs for 10 years and I still enjoy Vegan baking. This cake was a home run!
I used the Dairy and Nut Free Sponge Cake Recipe from the Epicurious and it is a keeper. For the blueberry sauce, I winged it with fresh blueberries. This is going to be added to my list of baking basics as I call them. I have a few recipes that are my go to recipes. What I really like about the sponge cake is that you can do anything with it and this recipe is dairy and nut free. I’ve substituted eggs in the past but I never even dreamed of trying to replace whipped egg whites, so this cake was big fun for my son.
Here are some specific tips about this recipe if you are going to take it for a test drive in your kitchen:
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- The sponge cake is all about incorporating air into the eggs and gently folding into flour.
- Eggs must be warmed up to room temperature to achieve maximum volume.
- Follow the recipe closely when you are directed to use high, medium or low speeds when mixing–that will influence the outcome–trust me on this one!
- The tube pan needs to be ungreased so that the cake sticks to the sides and does not fall down. Like a miracle, you can use a spatula to loosen the cake from the sides of the pan.
- Get creative—fill the sponge cake. Back in the day, I used to cut off the top, scoop out a tunnel and fill it with chocolate whipping cream!
- Visit your local farmer’s market to see what season goodies might work? I’m trying to figure out to use fig jam and real figs for my next sponge cake attempt.
loosening up the cake from the pan with my favorite skinny cake spatula
Knowing how to beat egg whites is very important and this video from Epicurious is perfect and offers all there is to know about soft and stiff peaks!
Folding is another great skill to have under your belt that is needed for this recipe…again, the good folks at Epicurious offer a good video…
I like to add more liquid to cakes that are a tad on the dryer side, so I served this cake with a nice big spoonful of our blueberry sauce on each slice. For grins I looked up the history of the sponge cake and the first recorded recipe was in 1615 in a book with a title that send me laughing, “The English Huswife, Containing the Inward and Outward Virtues Which Ought to Be in a Complete Woman.” I did stop laughing when I saw that you can buy a copy on Amazon. Now, I just want to buy one as a gift. Looks like a kick!
One of the hardest things I find about managing both life threatening food allergies and asthma is talking to others. I hate to be the one that might be perceived as demanding, pushing or for asking too much. What I now know, fourteen years later, is that honest, clear information presented with kindness works!..
My fave cake since I was a tot AND it’s milk free!! Thank you for reminding me how easy it is to make.
Here’s one for you: http://eatingwelllivingthin.wordpress.com/2009/10/16/youre-kidding/ (modify as needed).
Fabulous Judie…thanks for the recipe!
….you know I’m going to have to try it…beans? I love it!