Carinthia. xx
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That’s my feeling, too. Oven-spring isn’t really a thing with cake.
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I have a recipe for a fat-free sponge-cake that rises like a souffle in the oven; would that count?
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Possibly - but it’s not quite the same as yeast puffing up a loaf with its dying breath!
Seriously, I’m thinking of low-temp, slow-baked cake rather than sponge. (Would be interested in the recipe, though - a good fat-free sponge is always worth exploring!)
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My mum’s 1944 recipe (it was for fatless days if you had saved up the eggs and sugar)
two eight-inch sandwich-cake tins, well greased and floured
oven turned on to heat to Regulo mark 5 (electric 190, fan you-know-your-oven)
three, four or five eggs depending on size of cake wanted (or availability of eggs)
three, four or five ounces of caster sugar (ditto)
three, four or five ounces of plain flour (ditto)
separate the eggs
beat the whites up as for meringues until they stand up in peaks
beat in the yolks
beat in the sugar
fold in the sifted flour
divide evenly into the two tins, put the tins full of cake mixture into the middle of the oven, spend a few happy minutes licking out the mixing bowl
cook cakes for 20 minutes, watching them rise like a pair of souffles
hoik them out and watch them slowly collapse until they are more-or-less flat-topped
leave on cooling rack. Put jam or butter-icing or whatever else between the two layers and icing on the top. Serve
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Looks lovely - thanks!
Before I try it, is this a weigh-eggs-in-their-shells-then-match scenario? Asking because, what with one thing hen and another, egg sizes tend not to be particularly standardised in these parts…
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That’s an interesting question, Joe.
My Italian friend makes glorious cakes using 5oz Butter, Sugar & Flour plus 5 medium Eggs & beats the whole lot together like mad.
My suggestion would be 5 eggs ovvan similar size, or 6 if they are small, but I am no cake maker, & wait fer them as knows.
Carinthia. xx
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It works with most eggs other than bantam ones. It isn’t exact; it’s a pre-egg-marketing-board recipe! I tend to use Lidl large free-range these days because those are what I get.
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I tend to weigh eggs given to me by folk with hens as they differ in size so to keep the ratio of weight of flour eggs and sugar correct I go WI and weigh every thing twice
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I can appreciate that, Twellsy, but 5 eggs will surely weigh more than 5oz, won’t they?
With my friend, it’s the numbers. If she did a bigger cake with 6ozs dry goods, she would use 6 eggs.
Wherever the Majick lies, her cakes are fabulous.
Carinthia. xx
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Taking all the above into consideration, I suspect the key is getting as much air incorporated as possible. The beaten egg whites would certainly support that.
Bit overstocked on cake at the moment (i.e. we have an uncut one!) but will definitely give it a go. Being fatless, it probably won’t keep very long, though in my experience that has only ever been a theoretical problem…
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Falls over
Laughing…
Carinthia. xx
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That is exactly right.
Keeps for about three days in a sealed tin. If it hasn’t been eaten on the first day, that is; it generally has been.
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FTFY
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Oh, you want there to be some left at the end of day one.
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Don’t be silly. If I wanted that, I’d stick it in the oven at about 11.30pm
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While I would normally hesitate to dabble in mysteries meant to be beyond mortal ken, I would suggest ‘profligate use of eggs’ plays a large part. [reflects on the orange cake and sits down for chat with new bezzie, the kettle. Stops reflectin’, bein’ black*]
*yes, matte black. I should have specified. There’s always one, isn’t there?
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Carinthia dear Chatelaine
The ratio of all ingredients except eggs be in weight X and the eggs being X in number means that the weight of eggs will be X
Eggs are roughly 2ozs weight when weighed minus their shell
I have been weighing eggs lately to get pasta dough just right and eggs out of their shell weigh 2ozs on average*
I can get eggs that vary in size and colour and basically are properly free range and pets as well
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The weight of eggs will be 2X (imperial) in the Fishlly sponge. In a Victoria sponge, it will be X.
So “as sure as eggs are X” really isn’t very. owowstoppitgerroff
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Yerssssss
But…
Coat
Gorn
Carinthia. xx
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