Sponge Cake

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• 2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp milk or water
• 1 pinch salt
• flavouring
• 2 cup flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• butter

Method

Separate the eggs while they're cold — the yolks slip cleanly from whites without contamination. Whisk the yolks alone until they pale and thicken, then add the caster sugar in stages, beating hard for 8–10 minutes. The friction creates an emulsion where trapped air expands during baking, and the sugar's hygroscopic nature keeps the crumb moist. Stir in the milk and flavouring once the mixture ribbons.

In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks — they should hold their shape without collapsing, but still look wet and glossy, not dry or grainy. This is your aeration engine. Sift the flour and baking powder together twice to break up lumps and incorporate air before it reaches the batter.

Fold one-third of the whipping|whipped whites into the yolk mixture to slacken it, using a spatula to cut down the centre, under, and over in one motion. This first fold is rough work — you're loosening the dense yolk base so the remaining whites don't collapse under their own weight. Now fold in half the flour mixture with the same slow, deliberate strokes, then the final whites, then the remaining flour. Stop the moment you see no white streaks — overworking knocks the air out and toughens the crumb.

Pour into buttered and lined tins (two-thirds full) and bake in a preheated 170°C oven for 35–40 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the centre comes away clean and the cake springs back when you press the surface lightly. The cake will dome slightly and pull away from the tin edges. Cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack. The structure depends entirely on the folding discipline you've shown — each fold either preserves or destroys the foam you've built.