· by Jenn @ The Spice Kit Recipes · 2 Comments
Mmmmm…. Homemade sponge cake with fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream…. Can life get any better?
Actually, it can. But this cake is making life a whole lot better.
You see, I’ve been doing bookkeeping and preparing for the upcoming tax return and it’s a real drain…. a drag…. a buzz kill…. a joy kill…. you get the idea. I can’t wait for this to all be over. It stresses me out simply because it’s no fun.
I’d rather be doing fun things like making this cake…. and eating this cake….. and thinking about what toppings I could put on this cake… You get the idea. Just look at it! How could I not?! But we all know the 2 guarantees in life so I won’t say it. For those that don’t. I’ll give you hint: one word starts with a “D” and the other a “T.” I really should stop crabbing because life is good!
Back to this cake! This recipe is from Gary’s Uncle Jimmy straight from Italy and it’s fun to make. Yes, we’re geeks. We like whipping egg whites and watching them transform to into something completely different.
Then, after the cake is baked, hanging it upside down so it stretches, fingers crossed it doesn’t fall out. It never has! Then more whipping! Whipping cream until it becomes soft and silky. Just thinking about this cake makes the tax tension leave my body!
This sponge cake is so customizable. This recipe is just the basics, folks. You can add lemon or orange zest to it, or layer it by cutting it in half and adding frosting. I mean just look how tall this baby stands. It’s kinda shouting, “layer me, why don’t ya!?” I’m not gonna lie, we were short on time when we made this or we would have layered it. The toppings are also endless. You can eat it plain, dust it with powdered sugar, slather it in whipped cream and top with fresh fruit, drizzle a simple glaze, or ladle a sweet fruit sauce.
We chose to whip cream and serve it on the side with sliced fruit and let everyone decide how much they wanted. It works for us! We put together a quick video showing Gary making this delicious cake.
Italian Sponge Cake
Author:Gary @ The Spice Kit
Ingredients
- 1½ cups sugar
- 10 eggs, separated
- ½ cup oil
- ¾ cup cold water
- 2½ cups flour
- 1 Tbsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. vanilla, more if want
Whipped Cream Topping
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 3 Tbsps. powdered sugar or 4 Tbsps. regular sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 cups sliced strawberries.
Vanilla Glaze
- 2½ cups powdered sugar
- 3 Tbsps. butter, melted
- 3 Tbsps. milk
- 1-2 tsps. vanilla extract
Sweet Fruit Sauce
- 1 bag of frozen fruit of choice
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Beat egg yolks with an electric mixer and gradually add sugar, oil, water, flour, baking powder, and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
- Transfer batter to a large bowl.
- Beat egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks are formed.
- Fold egg whites into the batter until well combined.
- Transfer to a tube pan (see notes) and bake 1 hour.
- Remove from the oven and flip upside down and place on the neck of a wine bottle to cool, about 45 minutes.
- Flip upright and run a butter knife around the outside and inside edge of the cake. Gently remove.
- Slice with a serrated knife.
Whipped Topping
- Place all ingredients in a bowl and whip the cream with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Do not over whip of you will have butter. Store frosting in the refrigerator.
Vanilla Glaze
- Whisk ingredients together in bowl and drizzle over the cake.
Fruit Sauce
- Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and cook over medium heat until the fruit is soft.
Notes
You typically do not grease the tube pan when making sponge cake so the cake can "crawl" up the sides and get tall and puff. We do not own a non-stick tube cake, but rather the 2 piece aluminum kind. We greased it with Crisco and you see how tall it got. This is how we did it to get the cake you see.
If you make homemade whipped cream...place the whisk of the electric mixer and the bowl in the freezer while the cake is cooling, or about 30 minutes, before you make it.
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