Tortenboden (plain sponge cake base)
The plain whisked sponge that most German layer cakes are built on, no butter and almost no fat at all, so it stays light enough to carry a heavy filling without turning dense. It is a component, not a cake in its own right, and is deliberately unsweetened enough to need something on top or between its layers.
Prep15 min
Cook25 min
Oven175°C
Servings12
Christoph's plain sponge base, written as a component for layer cakes rather than a dessert on its own.
Ingredients
Written for a 26 cm round tin
Units
Temperature
Servings
Sponge
- 6 eggs, room temperature rounded
- 180 g sugar rounded
- 1 g fine salt rounded
- 150 g flour rounded
- 40 g cornstarch rounded
- 6 g baking powder rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Whisk the eggs, sugar and salt together with an electric whisk on high speed for 5 to 6 minutes, until pale, thick and roughly tripled in volume; the mixture should hold a ribbon on the surface for a few seconds when the whisk is lifted.
- Sift the flour, cornstarch and baking powder together, then sift a third of it over the egg mixture and fold in gently with a large spatula. Repeat with the remaining flour in two more additions, folding just until no dry streaks remain.
- Pour into a lined 26 cm springform and smooth the top. Bake at 175°C for 22 to 25 minutes, until it springs back when pressed and a skewer comes out clean.
- Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack, peel off the lining paper, and cool completely before slicing into layers.
Notes
- Whip the eggs properly before the flour goes in. This sponge has no other leavening beyond the whipped air and a small amount of baking powder, and an undersized ribbon stage gives a flat, dense sponge no amount of baking powder will fix.
- Fold gently, not vigorously. Beating the flour in deflates the whipped eggs and undoes the work of the first step; a few decisive folds are better than many rough ones.
- This sponge is deliberately plain and dry-ish on its own. It is meant to take on syrup, cream or filling in a layer cake, not to be eaten unadorned.
- It keeps for 2 days at room temperature, wrapped, and freezes well for up to 2 months, which makes it worth baking a spare when you have the oven on anyway.
Ingredient substitutions
- A splash of vanilla extract or lemon zest can be whisked in with the eggs for a base with more character on its own.
- For a chocolate version, replace 30 g of the flour with 30 g of cocoa powder, sifted in with the rest of the dry ingredients.
- This base has no dairy or nuts in it, which makes it a useful starting point for building an allergy-friendly layer cake.
- Split into two thinner layers, this same batter also works baked in two 20 cm tins for about 18 minutes each, if a specific torte calls for thinner sponge.
From Christoph Mayer