A Conversation for Classic Sandwich and Sponge Cakes

Peer Review: A87924108 - Classic Sandwich and Sponge Cakes

Post 1

minorvogonpoet

Entry: Classic Sandwich and Sponge Cakes - A87924108
Author: minorvogonpoet - U3099090

Dmitri suggested I compiled an entry on sponge cakes. When I looked into this, I discovered that most of the light cakes I make are strictly speaking 'sandwich'cakes rather than sponge cakes. I've included both sandwich and sponge cakes in this entry.

Does this entry fit the bill? Do I need to add anything else - butter icing, for example?


A87924108 - Classic Sandwich and Sponge Cakes

Post 2

SashaQ - happysad

Great! smiley - applausesmiley - biggrin This will be an asset to the Edited Guide indeed smiley - ok

I did not know this about 'sponge' so I learned a lot from the Entry - concise and informative smiley - ok


A87924108 - Classic Sandwich and Sponge Cakes

Post 3

minorvogonpoet

Thanks Sasha.smiley - smiley


A87924108 - Classic Sandwich and Sponge Cakes

Post 4

minorvogonpoet

It's occurred to me that someone might want a photo, and you can't have a photo of a smiley - cake without a smiley - cake!


A87924108 - Classic Sandwich and Sponge Cakes

Post 5

Dmitri Gheorgheni, Post Editor

Good! And now, you can add all the American equivalents for the measurements... smiley - winkeye

Also an explanation for what caster sugar is. I think it's called 'superfine sugar' here. smiley - smiley

By 'electric whisk' do you mean 'electric mixer'? smiley - bigeyes


A87924108 - Classic Sandwich and Sponge Cakes

Post 6

Dmitri Gheorgheni, Post Editor

PS Isn't that a really small cake? smiley - huh

Over here, we usually use about double those ingredients, I think....

Of course my sister says you should always add an extra egg, but that's because she raises chickens. <tongueincheek)


A87924108 - Classic Sandwich and Sponge Cakes

Post 7

minorvogonpoet

Oh dear, isn't this complicated? smiley - headhurts

It looks as if caster sugar is unusual in the US. The conversion for 175 grams of granulated sugar is actually 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons. Do I have to be that precise?

For 175 grams of margarine would 1 1/2 sticks be better?

Do you use centigrade for temperatures in the US?


A87924108 - Classic Sandwich and Sponge Cakes

Post 8

SashaQ - happysad

Would it be 6oz for 175g?

That's what my traditional recipe says, and that makes enough for two 20cm (8in) tins.

This Entry has answered my question about my traditional recipe! It is from old Women's Institute rules for an exhibition cake that was to be displayed unfilled - I always wondered why it was just two sponges with no jam or butter icing filling, but I now know it is because it is the sandwich cake recipe, not just a sponge, and the judging focused only on the cake not on distracting additions smiley - ok


A87924108 - Classic Sandwich and Sponge Cakes

Post 9

minorvogonpoet

Yes, I think 6 ounces would be about 175 grams - but it's not precise. smiley - smiley


A87924108 - Classic Sandwich and Sponge Cakes

Post 10

Dmitri Gheorgheni, Post Editor

smiley - laugh Yes, those conversions are a pain.

No, Sasha, ounces won't help. 3/4 cup will be fine, you don't need the tablespoons.

1 1/2 sticks of butter is 3/4 cup. I'd use 3/4 cup. smiley - smiley

No, US ovens aren't calibrated in centigrade. 190C is about 375F. Almost all recipes in the US say to bake a cake at 350F until cake is springy to the touch, or until a broomstraw comes out clean. smiley - winkeye

One small thing: nobody has a 7" cake pan. It's 8" or 10".

This is excellent! We are achieving our goal of being so planetary that everyone on Earth can make our recipes. smiley - cool

This also reminds me of when I was learning Dutch at uni. My instructor was Belgian, and his wife gave me one of her ladies' magazines for practise. I took it home to my mom, who was delighted at the free dress pattern it contained.

So of course, I had to translate the pattern - and convert all the measurements from the metric system. The dress she created was awesome. She got compliments. smiley - smiley I got the satisfaction of improving my Dutch.


A87924108 - Classic Sandwich and Sponge Cakes

Post 11

minorvogonpoet

OK, I've made a few tweaks. smiley - smiley


A87924108 - Classic Sandwich and Sponge Cakes

Post 12

Dmitri Gheorgheni, Post Editor

Excellent! smiley - ok

One thing occurred to me while rereading - I think we call a sandwich cake a 'layer cake' over here. Maybe you could slip that in in parentheses or a footnote somewhere, just for search engines? We get a lot of our traffic by direct search, so slipping in the words helps it come up on google. smiley - smiley


A87924108 - Classic Sandwich and Sponge Cakes

Post 13

SashaQ - happysad

Yes, it won't be precise conversion, but as long as you work from one set of figures and the proportions are right, then that is all that is needed smiley - ok Eg the self-raising flour is 1 cup in the sponge cake recipe, but that isn't a precise conversion from 90g because it is in proportion with 2/3 cup of sugar smiley - ok


A87924108 - Classic Sandwich and Sponge Cakes

Post 14

Dmitri Gheorgheni, Post Editor

That's it smiley - ok So the British version of 'self-rising flour' is 'self-raising flour'?

Flatt & Scruggs would have had trouble singing about 'self-raising flour':

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxgBycCuqVQ

'Martha White self-rising flour with Hot Rize....' smiley - winkeye


A87924108 - Classic Sandwich and Sponge Cakes

Post 15

minorvogonpoet

Thanks Sasha.smiley - smiley The proportions are clear enough with metric measurements, but I was losing sight of them with cups.


A87924108 - Classic Sandwich and Sponge Cakes

Post 16

Tavaron da Quirm - Arts Editor

A very good collection of recipes. The last one sounds like the Biskuit my grandma used to make: 3 eggs, the weight of 3 eggs in sugar, the eggs of 3 eggs in flour and some baking powder.


A87924108 - Classic Sandwich and Sponge Cakes

Post 17

You can call me TC

I have always classified three basic types of cake mixture (which the Americans call "batter" but that just seems wrong because batter is liquid and cake mixtures should be of a "dropping consistency").

1. The Victoria sponge where fat, flour sugar are all the same weight.
2. Plain cakes, where the amount of flour is doubled. (In both cases, the eggs are calculated as 1 egg per 2 oz/50g of the fat/sugar weight.)
3. Angel cake. A mixture which uses no fat - the second one described in the entry.

1 and 2 are called "Rührkuchen" in German. (Stirred cake) You can, and should, beat the hell out of them up to adding the eggs to make a fluffy, airy, almost white mixture. But after adding the flour, only a minimum amount of stirring is necessary, or the cake will sink.

The dropping consistency, by the way, we learnt at school: after adding the flour, you add some liquid - e.g. milk smiley - milk or fruit juice smiley - oj until you can count to 7 before it drops off the spoon.


A87924108 - Classic Sandwich and Sponge Cakes

Post 18

You can call me TC

I'll give it to the Americans on "self-rising flour" though. Self-raising smacks of levitation, or, sacreligiously, of resurrection!


A87924108 - Classic Sandwich and Sponge Cakes

Post 19

minorvogonpoet

Thanks for the comments.smiley - smiley

The traditional method of using eggs when judging the weight of flour, fat and sugar makes sense because it's the proportions that matter.

I've got Good Housekeeping books going back to 1952 (inherited from my mother in law) and they are consistent in saying that

smiley - cake most cakes are made by the creaming method of combining fat and sugar and adding eggs and flour afterwards.

smiley - cake sandwich cakes are made by the creaming method but are characterised by the relatively high amount of fat, which is normally in the same proportion as flour and sugar. Just to confuse everybody, they aren't always made in two cake tins and sandwiched together.

smiley - cake True sponges have little or no fat and are whisked. I think true sponges are relatively rare, and a lot of people use the word 'sponge' to cover sandwich cakes.

Do you think I need to add to or alter the guide entry?



A87924108 - Classic Sandwich and Sponge Cakes

Post 20

Dmitri Gheorgheni, Post Editor

What you just said there about the creaming method and fat might be good background to add. smiley - smiley When I was a kid, I baked a lot of cakes for the family because it was fun to muck about in the kitchen in the evening, and it gave my mom a rest.

The first cake recipe I learned said 'creaming method'. I never knew what that meant until now. smiley - biggrin Thanks for enlightening me. So that's how I made a cake when I was 10. smiley - laugh

As far as 'batter' goes, in the US, there's only the distinction between batter and dough, as far as I know. I take your point, though: the consistency of 'batter' can vary a whole lot. smiley - huh


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