Sponge VS Sponge cake
I am reading alot of people talk about "sponge" because of the popularity of some cake TV shows that mention sponge referring to the cake they use to create their specialty cakes. It can be very confusing to alot of people especially the beginners because most people don't know the difference.
Sponge referring to "cake" is an old fashioned term. Many of the bakers that came to this country from Europe used a classic sponge cake as their base for cake decorating. It was made by the separated method which was to separate the yolks from the whites. The yolks were mixed into the batter and the whites were whipped up into a meringue and folded into the batter, causing the cake to rise.
When the bakers came to this country the flour manufacturers came to them , selling their flours and gave them American recipes, ususally for high ratio cake recipes using hi ratio shortening. The high ratio shortening allowed for a higher ratio of sugar and liquid to flour and the resulting cake was lighter and air-ier than classic American cake recipes, more like their traditional European sponge. My grandfather was a baker from Naples and he used to call cake "sponge" too.
Most Americans don't like traditional sponge cake because it is very dry. A simple syrup is made and typically has flavorings such as rum or kirsch. The sponge cake is moistened by brushing with syrup and then layered with mousses, cooked custards like pastry cream, jam fillings and also layered along with nut meringues like dacquoise.
Sponge cake is also very different than a roulade or cake roll. The cake roll is made similar to a sponge but has more eggs and strong flours to make it able to holdup to rolling. If you have ever tried to make a jelly roll with a cake mix you know how disaterous it can turn out to be... breaking open and not holding the round shape.
I hope this has helped the confusion of terms. I hate to see a trend of calling cake "sponge" here in the forums without clarifying the meanings. It may happenthat you might ask for a sponge cake recipe and get something very different than you expected and the result may just ruin the final finished cake.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Bunny Flowers on
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So when I am reading a cake book published in, say, the UK or Australia in the past 30 years ago, and it contains recipes for their traditional fruitcake and also for sponge cakes, if I were to make the sponge cake, would it be similar to an American cake-mix cake or closer to a chiffon or angel food cake? Are American box mix cakes "high ratio"?
I have also (at social events) had white cake that is very moist and full bodied and wondered if this is a type of pound cake -- it has a denser texture than a box mix cake, and is so delicious I want to learn what it is and how to make it. I think it was supposed to be a "white" cake basically but it's better. Am I making sense?
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Permalink Reply by Cynthia Jones on
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Thank you so much for this info
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Permalink Reply by Neryl Johnson on
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Try these links, I found the information very interesting!!!
http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/CakeHistory.htm
http://www.baking911.com/cakes/sponge.htm
Bunny Flowers said:So when I am reading a cake book published in, say, the UK or Australia in the past 30 years ago, and it contains recipes for their traditional fruitcake and also for sponge cakes, if I were to make the sponge cake, would it be similar to an American cake-mix cake or closer to a chiffon or angel food cake? Are American box mix cakes "high ratio"?
I have also (at social events) had white cake that is very moist and full bodied and wondered if this is a type of pound cake -- it has a denser texture than a box mix cake, and is so delicious I want to learn what it is and how to make it. I think it was supposed to be a "white" cake basically but it's better. Am I making sense?
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Permalink Reply by Karen Marie on
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The sponge cakes in those recipe books would be like the European cakes that are typically "dry" and moistened with flavored syrups which soak them up like a "sponge". The recipes for sponge cake weren't typically eaten alone but the basis for elaborate cakes with many components. So to answer your question, no they arent similar at all. Angel food and chiffon are cakes made by the "foam" method in which there are 3 types. Cold foam (Angel food) Separated foam (European sponge) and warm foam (Genoise). CHiffon is a hybrid of foaming method and creaming method because it is a foam based cake with a high fat content. Chiffon is completely American in origin. The major difference is that American style cakes are made with the creaming method (cream fat and sugar then add eggs and flour) which are high in sugar and fat and European cakes are made with the foaming method (whip eggs either separated or together until very foamy, then fold flour in) and are higher in eggs and flour.
Full bodied American cakes are closer to the pound cake formula: a pound each of flour, sugar, fat, eggs. Today the variations on this formula abound but if the cake is dense, sweet and moist it is usally a pound type cake. I find this type best for tiered cakes since it holds up well under alot of weight...with support of course! I hope I haven't confused you too much.
Bunny Flowers said:So when I am reading a cake book published in, say, the UK or Australia in the past 30 years ago, and it contains recipes for their traditional fruitcake and also for sponge cakes, if I were to make the sponge cake, would it be similar to an American cake-mix cake or closer to a chiffon or angel food cake? Are American box mix cakes "high ratio"?
I have also (at social events) had white cake that is very moist and full bodied and wondered if this is a type of pound cake -- it has a denser texture than a box mix cake, and is so delicious I want to learn what it is and how to make it. I think it was supposed to be a "white" cake basically but it's better. Am I making sense?
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Permalink Reply by Daisy Brown on
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Thank you so much for sharing that information. Learning proper information about baking is key in our industry.
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I completely agree Daisy...you are welcome!
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Oh to answer your question about hi ratio....this means hi ratio of sugar and liquid to flour. This formula need a special kind of hi emlulsified fat called hi ratio shortening. This type will allow the batter to "accept" more liquid before it breaks down or curdles. This makes a more tender cake. It is also a very fast method of mixing (also known as the 2 stage method) and that is why commercial bakeries use it. You may be familiar with the cakes made by the bakery chains in large department stores or chain bakeries within grocery stores...light, very fine crumb...not soft and moist like a cake mix.
Karen Marie said:The sponge cakes in those recipe books would be like the European cakes that are typically "dry" and moistened with flavored syrups which soak them up like a "sponge". The recipes for sponge cake weren't typically eaten alone but the basis for elaborate cakes with many components. So to answer your question, no they arent similar at all. Angel food and chiffon are cakes made by the "foam" method in which there are 3 types. Cold foam (Angel food) Separated foam (European sponge) and warm foam (Genoise). CHiffon is a hybrid of foaming method and creaming method because it is a foam based cake with a high fat content. Chiffon is completely American in origin. The major difference is that American style cakes are made with the creaming method (cream fat and sugar then add eggs and flour) which are high in sugar and fat and European cakes are made with the foaming method (whip eggs either separated or together until very foamy, then fold flour in) and are higher in eggs and flour.
Full bodied American cakes are closer to the pound cake formula: a pound each of flour, sugar, fat, eggs. Today the variations on this formula abound but if the cake is dense, sweet and moist it is usally a pound type cake. I find this type best for tiered cakes since it holds up well under alot of weight...with support of course! I hope I haven't confused you too much.
Bunny Flowers said:So when I am reading a cake book published in, say, the UK or Australia in the past 30 years ago, and it contains recipes for their traditional fruitcake and also for sponge cakes, if I were to make the sponge cake, would it be similar to an American cake-mix cake or closer to a chiffon or angel food cake? Are American box mix cakes "high ratio"?
I have also (at social events) had white cake that is very moist and full bodied and wondered if this is a type of pound cake -- it has a denser texture than a box mix cake, and is so delicious I want to learn what it is and how to make it. I think it was supposed to be a "white" cake basically but it's better. Am I making sense?
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