Sponge cake.... Help?

[parapaul]

Right.

At the risk of sounding like a complete imbecile, I need help. Haven't baked for years and years, but thought I'd give it a whirl yesterday. Plain sponge cake. Easy.

4 eggs
8oz butter
8oz sr flour
8oz sugar

In a bowl, electric mixer, into tins, into oven. Fan oven, 180 deg C. Opened the door 2 or 3 times, but only for as long as it took to stick a knife in and see if it came out dry. Total cooking time around 30-35 mins.

Cooled, iced and covered until today. Cut it and served it... might as well have served the rubber door wedge off the kitchen floor Whatever the opposite of light and fluffy is, that's what it was it tasted fine, but had the texture of a cake that had been made a week ago. Heavy, dry, crumbly... Not very impressive!

So, what did I do wrong?

[karona]

parapaul said:

Right.

At the risk of sounding like a complete imbecile, I need help. Haven't baked for years and years, but thought I'd give it a whirl yesterday. Plain sponge cake. Easy.

4 eggs
8oz butter
8oz sr flour
8oz sugar

In a bowl, electric mixer, into tins, into oven. Fan oven, 180 deg C. Opened the door 2 or 3 times, but only for as long as it took to stick a knife in and see if it came out dry. Total cooking time around 30-35 mins.

Cooled, iced and covered until today. Cut it and served it... might as well have served the rubber door wedge off the kitchen floor Whatever the opposite of light and fluffy is, that's what it was it tasted fine, but had the texture of a cake that had been made a week ago. Heavy, dry, crumbly... Not very impressive!

So, what did I do wrong?

It sounds like you've whisked the air out of the mixture.
Cream the butter and sugar together, then slowly add the (beaten) eggs, then fold in the (sifted) flour, then spoon the mix into the baking tins. At that temp your cake will need 20 minutes in the oven.

[Mobile Chicane]

karona said:

parapaul said:

Right.

At the risk of sounding like a complete imbecile, I need help. Haven't baked for years and years, but thought I'd give it a whirl yesterday. Plain sponge cake. Easy.

4 eggs
8oz butter
8oz sr flour
8oz sugar

In a bowl, electric mixer, into tins, into oven. Fan oven, 180 deg C. Opened the door 2 or 3 times, but only for as long as it took to stick a knife in and see if it came out dry. Total cooking time around 30-35 mins.

Cooled, iced and covered until today. Cut it and served it... might as well have served the rubber door wedge off the kitchen floor Whatever the opposite of light and fluffy is, that's what it was it tasted fine, but had the texture of a cake that had been made a week ago. Heavy, dry, crumbly... Not very impressive!

So, what did I do wrong?

It sounds like you've whisked the air out of the mixture.
Cream the butter and sugar together, then slowly add the (beaten) eggs, then fold in the (sifted) flour, then spoon the mix into the baking tins. At that temp your cake will need 20 minutes in the oven.

^^^ This, I think. Fold the flour in very gently with a metal spoon. (There is an art to this.)

Also weigh the eggs and use exactly the same weight in butter, sugar and flour. 4 eggs might weigh 8 ounces - or they might not - depending on their size.

[mattdaniels]

Thirded, esp. if you used an electric whisk, sounds like you overworked the mixture. 180 is a tad hot for baking in a fan oven too IMHO (160 better for mine) but ovens do differ.

[Pints]

Mrs Pints has added her opinion, and it sounds exactly like those given above.

She made a sponge cake on Friday and it was

[Turn7]

Hmm, Ive always used 3 eggs and 6/6/6 oz.

Agree with the mixing the air out of it.

[parapaul]

Thanks all I'll try again - after all, even if it doesn't work, scraping the bowl is the best bit

[mrsxllifts]

Do a quick you tube on folding in flour. I used to have to same trouble even though I was using a metal spoon, slowly etc then I realised I was over mixing the batter. Spongy sponges ever since!

[vladcjelli]

A bit O/T, but why do people not eat undercooked eggs, but the same would lick a bowl of cake mix clean?

[spikeyhead]

vladcjelli said:

A bit O/T, but why do people not eat undercooked eggs, but the same would lick a bowl of cake mix clean?

duh, because beating the eggs kills the germs

. ... and because it does taste soooooo good