The secret to achieving a perfect sponge cake every time

What if the sponge cake came out perfectly every time, like those from colourful culinary magazines? It's not a matter of luck but of practice and knowing the basic principles.

An even and beautifully risen sponge cake, without a sunken centre, is almost a hallmark of any amateur chef. Preparing such a cake may seem very simple, but it is also effortless to make a mistake. To boast a perfect sponge cake, you need to pay attention to proper aeration of the batter and cooling the cake under specific conditions.

To achieve a fluffy sponge cake, you must adequately aerate the batter. However, attention to detail is required. One such detail is preparing the ingredients in advance. Why? Firstly, they should be at room temperature, and secondly, the beaten eggs cannot wait for you to find and sift the flour. Everything should be ready to use.

The batter for the sponge cake can be prepared either cold or warm. In the first case, sugar is added to the beaten egg whites, followed by the remaining ingredients. In the warm method, eggs are beaten with sugar over a water bath, and everything else is added. Either way, the batter must be properly aerated. What does this mean?

Incorporating a large amount of air into the batter will raise your sponge cake beautifully. The key lies in well-beaten egg whites (here's how to do it correctly) and how you add the rest of the ingredients to the foam. We do this gradually so as not to weigh down the batter. Dry ingredients should be added last and folded in with a spatula. This process should not take too long to prevent the foam from deflating.

Before pouring the batter into the mould, prepare it well. Not everyone knows that the sponge cake mould should only be lined with baking paper on the bottom. The sides should not be covered with baking paper or greased. This allows the rising cake to "climb" up them, preventing the sides from collapsing and the centre from bulging.

Place the batter in the preheated oven immediately. Remember not to open the oven during baking. When the specified baking time has passed, you can slightly open the door to check whether the cake is fully baked with a toothpick. If it is not ready, extend the baking time.

The ready sponge cake should be removed from the oven immediately. Do not leave it in, as it could dry out too much. The sponge cake should be cooled in the mould—if you remove it too early, the centre may collapse. To achieve an even sponge cake, after baking, you can drop it from a small height onto the countertop or, if it collapses slightly, turn it upside down (together with the pan) and cool it on a rack.