Who does not like to eat some cakes for their afternoon snack or dessert after dinner? You can imagine how great it tastes to enjoy your night by having some sweet desserts after working all day. It will taste even better when you have it together with a cup of coffee or tea to balance the sweet flavor of the dessert.
There are many kinds of cakes you can buy or try to make at home. One of everybody’s favorite is red velvet cake. This is a chocolate cake that has the touch of the redness in its features. The taste of the cake is enriched by the layer of cheese frosting which makes the flavor of the whole cake is so delightful.
Who does not like the classic banana cake? This is a very-easy-to-make kind of cake that you can savor not only for a snack but also for your energy booster in the morning. If you want to add a little bit of extra zing into your banana cake, you can do some experience by covering it with some peanut butter. It is guaranteed that the mix of banana’s sweetness and peanut butter’s nuttiness is something you do not want to miss.
Besides banana cake, there is also another example of a classic cake, which is sponge cake. Sponge cake is a light cake which usually made of only a few ingredients. They are eggs, flour, and sugar. You can also find some recipes that use baking powder to leaven the dough.
Russians have their famous sponge cake which is called Biskvit. Making sponge cake can be tricky but if you follow the right instructions, you will have the perfect Biskvit. Another very essential thing to not be missed is the ingredients. Make sure you have all the key ingredients.
So, what are the key ingredients to make Biskvit? Here are 3 important elements that should be there on Russian sponge cake.
Important Elements To Make Russian Sponge Cake
- Egg
The first important element that should be there on Russian sponge cake is the egg. As mentioned, making Russian sponge cake is a tricky thing. There is a chance that you will find your cake deflates when you remove it from the oven. This condition happens if you do not whip your eggs and sugar long enough.
When you mix the eggs with sugar and do not whip it long enough, it will form very big air pockets. It will even get bigger when you put the cake into the oven. The weight of the big air pockets will weaken the sponge cake structure. That is why when you take the cake out of the oven, you will find a shortened cake.
To prevent this condition, you need to whip the eggs and sugar until its structure reaches the proper thickness. Usually, it will take you around 15-20 minutes. But, it is always better to check if you have the right texture or not. The way to check it is very simple. Just raise the whisk out of the batter and you will see some of the batter will fall off the whisk. This is what you must observe. See if the batter that falls off blends into the batter right away. If the answer is yes, you must continue to whip. Check it again and make sure it will take 2-4 seconds for the batter to disappear after falling off of the whisk. Once you reach that, you can be sure that you will not have a deflated sponge cake.
- Flour
Flour is needed in the recipes of all cakes. As another important element that should be there on Russian sponge cake, you need to make sure that you do not over mix the batter. The most major thing you must remember when mixing the batter is to do it until there are no visible flour streaks. You must stop right away once you do not see any flour streak in the batter. Why? Because, if you keep on mixing it, the gluten in the flour will continue to evolve. It will cause the texture of your cake becomes dense instead of soft.
Another explanation of a dense Russian sponge cake is the minimum amount of air bubbles in the batter. If you mix the batter too much, you will knock out a great amount of air which you need to leaven the batter. Remember, you need the air because it will expand during the baking time and make your cake soft and tender.
Besides the technique, you also need to make sure that you add the right amount of flour into the batter. Too much of flour is also another reason behind a dense Russian sponge cake. The best way to get the right amount of flour is by using the measuring cup. Fill the cup with the right amount of flour and use a knife to scrape off the excessive flour at the top of the cup.
- Sugar
This is the ingredient we cannot forget to put in because this is the source of the sweet flavor of Russian sponge cake. Sugar, the third important element that should be there on Russian sponge cake, is the ingredient you mix with the eggs. Remember, you must whip the whole mixture long enough so you will not end up with a deflated cake.
Sugar does not only function to sweeten the whole batter but it is also the moistening agent. We can say that Russian sponge cake is pretty much a dry cake. It is better to moist it up a little to make the whole cake chewier. This is when you need the sugar. All you need to do is to mix 1 tablespoon of sugar with a cup of water. Then, take a couple of teaspoons of it and apply it to the cake. It will be enough to moisten your Russian sponge cake.
There it is, the 3 important elements that should be there on Russian sponge cake. The next time you bake it, remember to try on the tips above 🙂