Jiggly Sponge Cake

Ever wondered what it’s like to eat a delicious foam mattress topper? Me neither.

Mom was craving some desserts, so naturally the first idea that came to mind was chiffon cake. I browsed the internet for some recipe inspiration—because let’s be honest, I get bored making the same things over and over again—and stumbled upon a very interesting technique being used for the sponge cake.

Similar to the tangzhong roux used in milk bread recipes like this one, this one uses tang mian (roughly translating to soup flour) in the batter. With this method, the flour is cooked in the oil and milk before being added to the egg yolks. The cake is also baked in a water bath like cheesecakes or custards. This allows the cake to heat up uniformly and gently, preventing it from rising too fast or cracking. The rest of the process is similar to your standard sponge cake recipe by folding in an egg white and sugar meringue.

Recipe adapted from Yi Reservation’s Perfect Soft and Jiggly Sponge Cake.

Jiggly Sponge Cake
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 70 mins
Yield: 1 8-inch round cake

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs
• 75 g vegetable oil
• 70 g all-purpose flour
• 12 g cornstarch
• 75 g milk of choice, I use skim dairy
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 90 g confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
  
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly grease an 8x3 round cake pan and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper.
2. Separate egg whites into a large bowl and egg yolks into a medium and set aside.
3. Add oil to a small saucepan and heat over medium for 30-45 seconds until slightly warmed through.
4. Using a balloon whisk, stir in flour and cornstarch until no lumps remain.
5. Pour in milk and whisk over heat for 5-10 more seconds. Remove from heat and continue to whisk to form a thick, smooth roux.
6. Transfer the flour roux to the bowl with the egg yolks. Add salt, vanilla extract, and almond extract (if using) and whisk into a thick but runny mixture. Set aside.
7. Create the meringue by beating the egg whites with an electric whisk on medium high speed.
8. After it becomes foamy, add in the cream of tartar and whisk to soft peaks.
9. Add the sugar in 30-gram increments and keep beating until it forms stiff peaks.
10. Use a spatula to transfer 1/4 of the meringue to the egg yolk mixture. Gently fold to combine into a homogenous batter.
11. Pour the egg yolk and meringue mixture back into the larger bowl with the rest of the meringue and gently fold until smooth. There should be no visible streaks left.
12. Transfer the batter to the lined pan. Use a skewer or chopstick to drag through the batter and remove any large air bubbles, and use a spatula to smooth the surface.
13. Fill a larger tray with 1 inch of lukewarm water. (I used a 9x13 cake pan.) Carefully lower the filled cake pan into the center of the water bath.
14. Bake on the bottom rack of the oven for 70 minutes (it may vary depending on the oven). The top of the cake should spring back if you gently press it.
15. Turn the oven off and leave it 1-2 inches ajar. Allow to cool in the oven for 10-15 minutes so the cake is not shocked by the temperature change.
16. Remove the water bath and cake from the oven. Let the cake rest in the pan for 15 minutes, then carefully tip out onto a cooling rack upside down and peel off the parchment paper. Let cool, slice with a serrated knife, and serve!

For 1/8 of a cake: 215 calories: 18 g carbs; 12.9 g fat; 6.2 g protein