American Sponge Cake

American Sponge Cake

In search of another low calorie dessert, I decided to try a sponge cake. It's basically the sister of the angel food cake, both from the foam cake family. What's great about the sponge cake, is just like angel food cake, there is no butter or oil added so one slice is a mere 85 calories and 1 gram of fat. The difference between the two you ask? Sponge cakes have egg yolks in them where angel food cakes do not. Some contain levening, but being the 'cooking purist' I am, I chose to try the real deal. They are not quite as delicate and 'squishy' as angel food cakes, but are certainly still very light and moist! The strawberries keep coming, so I decided to stuff this cake with a creamy combo of mashed berries and low fat whipped topping. You can do the same technique with an angel food cake, but the sponge cake is much easier to handle.
origin - The Joy of Cooking *the best all around book I have ever owned
difficulty - medium
health meter - high
*remember high is good, low is bad!

Have all ingredients as room temperature. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Have ready 1 ungreased 9 inch springform pan or 10 inch tube pan.

Sift together 3 times and return to the sifter:
1 cup sifted cake flour
1/4 tsp salt


In a medium bowl, beat on high speed until thick and pale yellow at least 2 to 3 minutes:
2/3 cup sugar
7 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla

Beat in:
1 tsp. grated lemon zest (optional)
1 tsp. grated orange zest (optional)
3 tbsp water or orange juice

Scrape the yolk mixture into a large bowl. Sift the flour mixture evenly over the top, but do not mix in. In another large bowl, beat on medium speed until soft peaks form:
7 large egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Gradually add, beating on high speed:
2/3 cup sugar

Beat until the peaks are stiff but not dry. Use a rubber spatula to fold one quarter of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remaining whites. Scrape the batter into the pan gently and spread evenly. Bake until the top springs back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes. Let cool upside down for at least 1 1/2 hours. To unmold the cake slide a slim knife around the cake to detach it from the pan including the center tube. Turn upside down to remove.

to stuff the cake.....

1 pint strawberries hulled and chopped
1 container light whipped topping
1 tsp sugar

To prepare the cake, slice the top off horizantally about 1 inch down from the top and set aside. To hollow out the inside, take the bottom part of the cake and starting at the top cut a frame of about a 1 inch border all the way around - do not cut all the way through to the bottom. Very gently, tear out the cake to create a tunnel. In a bowl, mash the berries with the sugar and then mix in about 1 cup of the topping and the torn up cake pieces to create your filling. Next, gently fill the tunnel with this yummy concoction and replace the cake top. Lastly frost the entire cake with the remaining whipped topping. Refrigerate and let sit for 1 hour, slice and serve.