Heat and whip sponge cake
This is a pan di spagna sponge or Italian genoese (genoise in
the French) which has many brilliant attributes: it’s stable due
to the heated eggs and sugar, porous for dairy-soaked joy like
the Toasted coconut tres leches (page 169), and it has no added
fat, so you can add milky goodness and/or swathes of cream
without it tilting too rich.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F). Lightly spray a 12 cm × 25 cm
(4¾ in × 10 in) deep loaf tin with cooking oil and line the base with
baking paper. Dust the inside of the tin with plain flour and tap out
the excess.

Choose a saucepan that will allow you to nestle the stand mixer bowl
on top, without it touching the water below. Fill the pan with 5 cm
(2 in) of water and bring to a bare simmer on the stove.

If the mixer bowl is too narrow for the saucepan (the bowl base will touch
the saucepan base), heat the mix in a mixing bowl and then decant into the
stand mixer bowl to whip.

Put the egg and caster sugar into the bowl of the stand mixer. Place the
bowl over the pan of simmering water and gently whisk – just enough
to keep it moving; your aim is to warm, not add air. At 40°C (104°F)
or when you put your finger in, you’ll register ‘that’s lovely and warm’.

Watch the mix like a hawk! You don’t want sweet scrambled egg.

Only heat to 40°C (104°F). Heating the protein in the egg creates a sponge
with a sturdy structure and a porous crumb. But too hot and the foam won’t
reach its maximum loft. If you overheat slightly, continue; you may just have
a slightly lower and denser sponge cake.

Remove the bowl from the pan and place it onto the stand mixer.

Using the whisk attachment, whip on speed 8 (under high) for
4–5 minutes until the mix is a thick, moussey foam. Turn the speed
down to speed 5 (medium) for 3–4 minutes to stabilise the foam.

It will become paler yellow and even thicker. A dipped-in finger will
show a medium peak that holds a nice shape.

continued …

Keeps Best eaten or used for layering

on the day it was baked, but can be
frozen for future cakes.

Makes 1 loaf. Can also be made in

a 20 cm (8 in) round × 7.5 cm (3 in)
deep cake tin.

Takes 1 hour.

cooking oil spray
300 g (10½ oz) egg (approx.
6 eggs)
180 g (6½ oz) caster (superfine)
sugar
180 g (6½ oz) soft plain
(all-purpose) flour
3 g (¹⁄₁₀ oz/heaped ¼ teaspoon)
fine sea salt
3 g (¹⁄₁₀ oz/½ teaspoon) baking powder