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Nougat passionfruit sponge cake

10/8/2013

33 Comments

 
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A whisked sponge boasts the most delicate texture of all cakes and can reflect the mark of a good cook. Indeed, it was sponge cakes that saved the day for cooks who entered the Royal Easter Show in 1948. According to a snippet in The Adelaide Advertiser on 25 March 1948, due to the less than perfect standard of entries the cookery section judges concluded that women were ‘poor cooks’ .

The writer noted that on scones the verdict was that 'the entries were terrible'. On light fruit cakes there were 'no entries worth consideration for any of the prizes'. And on dark fruit cakes 'no entry considered of high enough standard to be worthy of the first prize award'. Lordy!  Apparently, 'the only ray of hope was in the sponge cake section, where the entries received high praise from the judges'.

There are some golden rules to baking feather light sponge cakes of show quality. I learned this from a colleague — a no-frills, no-nonsense woman keen on hockey tournaments, who (to the huge surprise of her work mates) also happened to be a closet baker of Blue Ribbon sponge cakes. She explained that it is essential to aerate the eggs and sugar by beating the mixture for up to ten minutes. Hence a stand mixer plays a major part in the process.  Fresh eggs at room temperature are an absolute must, and getting the oven temperature spot-on is also important. 

Personally, I bake for the pure pleasure of baking and sharing the results with those I love, but if you are toying with the idea of entering sponge cakes into a show, then keep in mind these tips:

  • Never use a packet mix (unless the regulations allow it).
  • Use caster sugar for finer textured cakes
  • Don’t use cornflour in sponge cakes (unless this is allowed in the regulations)
  • Weigh the sponge cake mixture to ensure even heights of layers
  • Don’t use a skewer to test if a cake is cooked, as this will leave a hole
  • Never turn your cake straight onto a cooling rack, as no ‘rack marks’ are allowed

Sponge cake recipes vary from cook to cook and generation to generation. Tracing Australia’s gastronomic heritage in her book Bold Palates, renowned food historian, Barbara Santich, notes that 'cookbooks at the turn of the century listed only three, four or five recipes for sponge cakes, whereas by 1937 The Coronation Cookbook included 14'. Ms Santich also mentions a Passionfruit Sandwich Cake (a basic sponge cake with passionfruit filling and passionfruit icing) that featured in Miss Futter’s Australian Home Cookery in 1922.

The recipe I’m sharing with you is an old fashioned style of sponge cake, reminiscent of country cottages with rambling gardens, heirloom china and shabby chic furnishings. It’s baked with fresh eggs, melted butter, warm milk and a dash of custard powder; then filled with whipped cream and topped with lip-smacking passionfruit icing. A colleague shared the receipt with me many years ago and to this day I am grateful. Here is my adaptation, which has become a firm favourite at our place with visitors and family alike.

NOUGAT PASSIONFRUIT SPONGE
4 free range eggs, at room temperature
¾ cup / 165g vanilla infused raw caster sugar
1 cup / 110g self raising flour
1 tablespoon custard powder
1 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons warm milk
extra butter, for greasing the pans

Passionfruit icing:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
6 tablespoons pure icing sugar
pulp and juice of three passionfruit

Filling:
¾ cup lightly sweetened whipped cream

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease two 18cm* sandwich pans with unsalted butter. Separate the egg whites from the yolks. In a stand mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff, then gradually beat in the caster sugar until the sugar has dissolved; and then the egg yolks, one at a time, beating briefly after each addition.

Combine the flour and custard powder in bowl and run a balloon whisk through the mixture, breaking up any lumps (or use a sifter). Gently and slowly fold this through the egg and sugar mixture (taking care not to beat out all the air), then fold in the melted butter and warm milk.

Pour into the two greased pans. If there are any air bubbles at the top of the batter, tap the cake pan on a counter three or four times.  Bake for 20 minutes on the centre shelf of the oven until the sponge cakes are golden brown and spring back when gently touched.  Turn out immediately onto cooling racks lined with baking paper or clean tea towels.  Handle the cakes with care, as at this point their souffle like texture can settle and shrink quickly. When the cakes are cool, fill with slightly sweetened whipped cream and assemble. Spread the passionfruit icing over the top.

To make the icing, combine the ingredients in a small bowl, beat until smooth and then chill in a blast chiller or pop into the freezer to allow the mixture to set slightly. Smooth the icing over the top of the cake.

*Note: I sometimes use two 22cm pans, as I prefer a lower rise sponge cake. Standard Australian weights and measures are used in my recipes.

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A whisked sponge boasts the most delicate texture of all cakes...

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This post also appeared as two guest posts on live with ilve.

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Tell me, have you ever entered your baked goods or home preserves into a competition at a show? Did you win?
33 Comments
Serena link
10/8/2013 09:45:53 pm

I have always been the most basic of bakers. Usually just lunchbox treats, I will have to get more adventurous. Looks delicious.

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Lizzy
10/8/2013 09:52:50 pm

Hi Serena, lunchbox treats are good! I hope my recipes will guide you.

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john@kitchenriffs link
11/8/2013 07:54:08 am

Love the feather on the egg in that photo! Great looking cake - I love passionfruit. Alas, it tends to be a bit expensive in the US, but I can find find frozen pulp in some ethnic markets that's pretty inexpensive. Good stuff - thanks.

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Lizzy
11/8/2013 09:16:52 am

Thank you, John! Very kind of you. I love passionfruit too, and it can also be expensive here. Tell me, do you have canned passionfruit where you are?

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Celia link
11/8/2013 10:05:46 am

Oooh lovely Lizzy! There's something about passionfruit sponge which is just so very Australian to me.. :) Show regulations are tough!

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Lizzy
11/8/2013 08:08:22 pm

Thank you, Celia.... this is such a yummy one... truly.... Yes, the show regulations sure are! The colleague I knew used to really stress about it! Such a perfectionist!

Reply
InTolerant Chef link
11/8/2013 11:22:15 am

Very nice indeed Lizzy! The old fashioned sponge never seems to go out of fashion does it! :)

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Lizzy
11/8/2013 08:08:38 pm

True, Bec, and thanks for your kind words.

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e / dig in link
11/8/2013 12:00:03 pm

great guidance, lizzy. i think it is great to uphold traditions and standards, but i worry that some of the requirements for show baking - ie, no cake rack marks allowed! - would put the next generations off competing.

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Lizzy
11/8/2013 08:09:00 pm

Yes, particularly when some states are now allowing packet mixes!!!

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Krista Bjorn link
11/8/2013 12:42:07 pm

WOW! Who knew that sponge cakes had so many rules! :-) Yours is beeyootiful! :-)

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Lizzy
11/8/2013 08:09:15 pm

Why, thank you so much ; )

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Jane @ Shady Baker link
11/8/2013 01:53:50 pm

Beautiful post Lizzy and your cake looks truly delicious and so professional! I love your photos. I am fascinated by the whole 'world' of show cooking, it is a serious business isn't it?

I have entered eggs and bread in our little local show and won a few ribbons! It was fun and good to support a small show by getting involved.

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Lizzy
11/8/2013 08:09:57 pm

Jane, thank you... is sure is!! Nice work on your ribbons for eggs and bread... I can see your bread would be show stopping good!

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Maureen | Orgasmic Chef link
11/8/2013 02:24:56 pm

That looks heavenly! You even have a feather! I have some passionfruit witherin on the vines so maybe this is a hint I should give this a try.

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Lizzy
11/8/2013 08:10:35 pm

And it's a chookie feather too! It is quite exquisite, let me tell you... I think you should definitely put your passionfruit to good use!

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Joanne T Ferguson link
11/8/2013 02:57:31 pm

G'day! What an unusual combination Lizzy...your recipe and photo sounds and look YUM, true!
Wish I could come through the screen and try a slice now and the whisk is my fave gadget in the kitchen too! :)

Reply
Lizzy
11/8/2013 08:10:53 pm

Please do, Joanne... enjoy and thanks for your kind words.

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Marian link
11/8/2013 05:46:08 pm

Those cooking judges sure were tough! I'm sure show judges at every large and small Agricultural Show around the country are still judging using the same exacting standards! I wonder how my sponge cake would measure up! A great post!

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Lizzy
11/8/2013 08:11:28 pm

Weren't they, indeed! I think they are... Perhaps you should try it??! Thank you for your very kind words.

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Christine link
11/8/2013 08:09:59 pm

This sponge looks so inviting, especially with the passionfruit.

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Lizzy
11/8/2013 08:32:35 pm

Thank you kindly, Christine.

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kellie@foodtoglow link
11/8/2013 09:03:28 pm

Interesting to read all those rules! I am a big fan of the Great British Bake Off, and even know a couple of the contestants who made it through to the late stages and one winner. But,I would never so much as enter a local competition. I like baking but I am not so hot on presentation: if it is more than merely edible then I am happy. And I love passionfruit with plain cakes. I do a green tea and lime polenta cake (using olive oil instead of butter) covered in passionfruit, with a passionfruit curd. Your sponge looks much more straightforward! Your sponge-making tips are useful whether or not one is competing. Whisking ten minutes - wow. I manage five. One has to admire the Victorian bakers and cooks. They must have had arms like steel bands :D

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Lizzy
11/8/2013 09:50:30 pm

Wow, Kellie... I wouldn't either.... Your green tea and lime polenta cake sounds divine... I think I remember seeing that on your blog! Maybe I should hand beat my eggs too... I could do with arms like steel bands! : )

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Mandy - The Complete Book link
11/8/2013 09:39:52 pm

Ooo, I must try and make this for while my mom is still visiting.
:-) Mandy xo

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Lizzy
11/8/2013 09:48:55 pm

Oh, lovely! I hope you will xox

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My Kitchen Stories link
12/8/2013 01:17:57 am

I saw this when I was travelling in Malaysia and loved it then and love it now x

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Lizzy
12/8/2013 09:22:28 pm

Hiya... I hope you will try it .... I promise it's a beauty xo

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Valerie Lugonja is....A Canadian Foodie link
12/8/2013 08:43:59 am

OMG!!! does this ever look DELICIOUS,... the passion fruit seem a little over ripe - but you would know best, as we don't grow then here... they are 4 dollars a piece here.
LOVE THEM!
:)
V

Reply
Lizzy
12/8/2013 09:23:39 pm

Hi Valerie... do you mean because it's wrinkled?! The BEST most flavoursome, sweetest passionfruit is wrinkled like an old lady : ) I was wondering, do you have canned passionfruit in your part of the world?

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Laura (Tutti Dolci) link
12/8/2013 07:03:23 pm

Beautiful sponge cake, the texture looks perfect!

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Lizzy
12/8/2013 09:32:37 pm

Oh Laura, what a lovely compliment, thank you!

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DK Padhi
8/4/2016 01:01:31 am

Yes, I entered a Peach Blueberry Nectarine pie in a contest some years ago and it took top prize. The crazy part was I hadn't made a pie in some years and just made this one with the fruit I happened to find at the farmers market. All these other long-time pie makers that had entered were quite perturbed that I could win without ever having made that kind of pie before!!!

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