Biscuit de Savoie (Sponge Cake)

Biscuit de Savoy (pronounced Savwa) Cake, or Sponge Cake, dates back to the 18th century and is a simple cake using five pantry ingredients. The only odd ingredient in the second recipe is potato flour, which helps produce a more tender cake. Although similar to a pound cake, it's often baked in a mold that looks like a turban. After combining the yolks, sugar and vanilla, fold in the flours. Then, after whipping the egg whites, fold them into the yolk mixture. Bake at 350°F until the center comes out clean. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve with crème anglaise or fresh whipped cream and berries. Très simple.

With its hint of vanilla, it adapts well to dipping into chocolate or fruit coulis, but stands on its own as a mid-morning grumble-stopper.

(Note that it's best to use the metric measurements and a good scale, but I've tried to provide the equivalents in cups and spoons.)

7 egg yolks
250 g sugar (about 1 1/3 cups)
100 g cornstarch (about 2/3 cup)
100 g flour (about 3/4 cup)
2 ml vanilla extract (about 1 teaspoon)
7 egg whites
pinch of salt
30 g confectioners' sugar (about 1/4 cup)

Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Center a rack in the oven. Butter the pan and line it with parchment paper.

You could use:
• a brownie pop mould Wilton Brownie Pops Mould - Silicone
• 4 mini loaf pans Wilton Performance Mini Loaf Pans
• 4 paper cups Goldas Kitchen Baking Cups - Stripe - Brown/Gold
• 1 mini charlotte mold

Separate the eggs. Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt to stabilize the meringue. After whisking for a bit, the mixture will be foamy. At this point, add half the sugar. Whisk until the meringue holds soft peaks.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar (called Blanchir) until the mixture turns a light yellow and all the sugar has dissolved.

Fold the yolk mixture into the meringue.

In a separate bowl, measure the flour and cornstarch. Sift the flour and cornstarch onto parchment paper. Sprinkle it on top of the meringue and yolk mixture and gently fold it in.

Gently stir in the vanilla extract.

Pour the batter into the mold until it is two-thirds full.

Bake cake until it starts to puff (about 10 minutes), and then turn the heat down to 350˚F. Bake for another 10 minutes for brownie pops or 20 minutes for small loaf pans, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding. Cool to room temperature on the rack. Dust the top lightly with confectioners' sugar.

Makes 2 8x8 pans

A Second Recipe

Recipe Ingredients using potato flour.
You can find the recipe for Biscuit de Savoie (Sponge Cake) in the book Le Cordon Bleu at Home. Serve with crème anglaise and berries.

7 eggs, separated
1¼ cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup sifted all-purpose flour
¾ cup sifted potato flour

Confectioner's sugar for dusting
Unsalted butter, softened, for cake pans
All-purpose flour for cake pans