Sponge Cake! It goes perfectly with all of those big, juicy strawberries I just picked and I just happened to have all of the ingredients hanging around in my cupboards. What I didn’t realize was the degree of difficulty in making one. Or maybe it’s not difficult and I just need more practice.
I started by setting up my ingredients. I always find it easier to pre-measure and have them ready before I get started. It tends to make clean up a bit easier as well.
The first part of the process, which I wasn’t expecting, was to separate the egg yolks from the whites and beat them individually. First the yolks.
Then the whites, which also needed a bit of cream of tartar during the beating process. This is where I may have made a little mistake. I was suppose to add the COT after the egg whites were foamy but the Sponge Cake recipe didn’t say HOW foamy and I think I put it in there premature.
Once all of the ingredients were gently folded I ended up with a fluffy, light and foamy batter. I’m not sure if it was suppose to be that consistency but as it was baking everything appeared to be correct. The problem that showed up after the cake cooled was the bottom layer was more like a heavy gel while the top was stiff and spongy.
The really fun part started the night before when I decided to make edible dessert cups. This all started with two large glass bowls with melted almond and chocolate bark, along with air filled water balloons. Again, this was completely new to me and very much a learning experience. And because I love ya’ll enough to help you avoid a messy kitchen, I’m going to share with you a very important tip.
When dipping the balloons in the chocolate it’s best to wait until the chocolate has almost reached room temperature. Do NOT dip while the chocolate is hot. I repeat, not while it’s hot!
Why? Evidently the heat makes the balloons expand and burst just as you place them on the wax paper, leaving you with a splattered chocolate mess all over yourself and your kitchen. See? I did this about 6 times before I got the hint.
Once I took my own advice and let the chocolate and almond bark cool down a bit, the balloons dipped beautifully. All you need to do next is leave them on the wax paper overnight in a cool room.
When you are ready to use the cups, just pinch the tip of the balloon and prick a small hole in it to release the air and toss the balloon in the garbage.
The sponge cake combined with my fresh strawberries made into a sweet strawberry sauce [1] topped with whipped cream and a few dipped strawberries made an absolutely delicious treat!
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