Torta Maddalena (Sponge Cake)

     While on winter break I wanted to continue to improve my baking skills, so last week I took a crack at Torta Maddalena also known as sponge cake. I found this recipe in The Il Fornaio Baking Book by Franco Galli. This classic recipe is used to construct the famous Italian Tiramisu, but before I try that trickier desert I wanted to practice the cake. Galli explains that he doesn’t know where the Italian name of this desert came from, “But Italians often name dishes after saints, so perhaps it honors Santa Maria Maddalena,” (Galli 159). No matter where the name came from the dish is a great classic that can be used in a multitude of sweet treats.

Mixing the egg mixture into a mousse. 

     For a perfectly formed sponge cake Galli recommends a springform pan which has sides that can be easily removed from the bottom. This pan allows for cakes with soft and fragile bottoms to be easily removed from the pan. They are commonly used to bake cheesecakes, quiche, and coffee cakes. I greased my pan and placed a sheet of parchment paper  on the bottom. The paper helps stop the cake from sticking to the base of the pan. I then preheated the oven to 350* F. Next, I sifted flour and baking powder together into a bowl before mixing the wet ingredients.
     To mix the wet ingredients I made a double boiler. I filled a pot filled with water and set a bowl on top of it.  As the water in the bottom pot reached a boil, the top bowl heated up warming the ingredients.  I added the honey, lemon zest, eggs, sugar and the egg yolks to the warmed ingredients in the top bowl.  To separate the yolks, I squeezed a plastic water bottle over the yolk so the yellow center of the egg was sucked into the bottle. It was tricky to get the yolk in to the bottle without it popping but eventually I got three yolks separated and added to the double boiler.

The cake baking. 

     Once the double boiler had heated the mixture to about 120* F. I poured the yellow liquid into a bowl and began to whisk it at high speeds. After about 10 minutes of whisking the mixture had formed a fluffy, creamy, and smooth mousse. Slowly I sifted the flour mixture into the wet mousse. Galli explains the best way to combine the wet and dry mixes, “Using a wire whisk combine the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients with a folding motion: gently move from top to bottom of the batter in a continuous action until no lumps remain” (Galli 159). Once I had carefully followed Galli’s instructions, I poured the batter into the cake pan and placed in the cake in the oven. I baked the cake for about 40 minutes before pulling it from the blistering oven. The cake had 5 minutes to cool before I carefully unclasped and lifted off the sides of the pan.  Then, 10 minutes later I lifted the base of the pan off the cake bottom and then pulled the paper from the bottom. Thanks to my prep, the cake easily came free of the pan with having to be cut. After freeing the cake from the pan, it was ready to enjoy.

Finished slice of sponge cake. 

The cake after it was cut. 

     For my first time baking a sponge cake and my first time using a double boiler the cake came out pretty good. Next time I try this recipe, I want to combine the wet ingredients in a bowl and then pour the mixture into the boiler so everything starts cooking at the same time. I would also whip up a creamy frosting to cover the cake and add more flavor. I learned a lot from this recipe and I’m excited to use my new skills on other recipes. Have you ever used a double boiler? Did it work for you or do you need to keep practicing? Let me know in the comments below.