Chocolate Sponge Cake Recipe

Great chocolate birthday cake recipe

This chocolate sponge cake recipe is based on the basic sponge cake recipe. It is great for a birthday and what is important - it is easy to make.

You can let your imagination run wild with the decoration and best of all, it is delicious. Try this easy cake recipe next time you need to bake a birthday cake.

chocolate sponge cake recipe Sponge cakes will bake better if you don’t use the confection oven, meaning use heat coming from top and bottom only. Also, do not open the oven until the baking time is over.

These cakes are not very forgiving and it will not turn out right if you keep letting the heat escape. If you want to go on the safe side, add 1 teaspoon of baking powder to the batter.

I make these cakes when I have guests and whatever is left over (and that does not happen often) I freeze it. Just make sure to cut it in pieces before freezing.

Enjoy my delicious chocolate sponge cake recipe.

Chocolate Sponge Cake Recipe

For the sponge cake batter:
• 200 g flour (1 1/3 cup)
• 8 eggs
• 150 g powdered sugar (5.3 oz)
• Oil and flour for the form
• 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon of milk
Optional:
• Add 100 g of melted butter and 1 teaspoon of baking powder. If you do that, then you should add the butter to the beat yolks.
• Add 4 tablespoon of cream and 1 teaspoon of baking powder.
• Substitute part of the flour with grounded nuts, breadcrumbs, poppy seed, potato starch, or grounded lady fingers.

Preheat oven to 180°C – 355°F

Prepare the cake batter:
• Whip the egg yolks with the powdered sugar.
• Dissolve the cocoa powder in the milk and add it to the yolks.
• Add flour.
• Whip stiff the whites. Using a spatula carefully mix the egg whites with the yolks and move to a buttered and flowered form. I divide the whipped egg whites into two parts since mixing is not that easy. I mix first the one part of the egg whites with the sugar batter and when well blended I add the second part.
• Pour into greased and floured 9-10 inches round form
• The batter should not fill more then 2/3 of the form.
• Place the cake directly into the oven since when the cake sits, the air bubbles from the egg whites collapse making the cake dense instead of fluffy.
• Bake 35 minutes at 180°C - 355°F.

Buttercream Icing:
• ½ cup solid vegetable shortening (113 g)
• ½ cup butter or margarine (113 g)
• 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
• 4 cups sifter powdered sugar
• 2 spoons milk
Optional:
• Substitute the solid vegetable shortening with butter and just use 1 cup of butter.

Prepare the icing:
• Cream butter and shortening using an electric mixer, add vanilla, and slowly add sugar, beating on medium speed.
• When all sugar has been mixed in, the icing will appear dry.
• Add milk and mix until fluffy and light.
• Store the icing in refrigerator in a sealed container. Rewhip before using. This recipe yields 3 cups of icing.
• One can add 3-4 spoons light corn syrup to thin for icing cake.

Chocolate Buttercream:
• Add .375 cup of cocoa or 1.5 oz bitter chocolate melted, to the Buttercream Icing and additional 1 to 2 spoons milk. Blend until smooth.

To arrange the cake:
• Prepare the buttercream icing. Set aside a ¼ cup or as much as you need for some color contrast, and mix the rest with the cocoa or melted bitter sweet chocolate to make chocolate buttercream icing.
• Prepare strong tea with sugar.
• Cut the baked cake into two or three layers. If you have a cake leveler, that part is easy. If you don't and you like to bake cakes, I sugesst getting one. It is also ten times easier to lift the layers with a cake lifter. If you don't have one, you can use cardboard, but since they don't cost much, this little gadget has a great payback .
• Make the cake layers a little wet by pouring tea spoonfuls onto the layers.
• Spread some of the chocolate icing on the inside layer(s), cover with the top layer and ice the whole cake. Decorate with vanilla icing.
• Refrigerate and serve.