In this recipe, you will learn how to make Hongkong cotton sponge cake, this cake is actually a type of chiffon cake as we need to follow the chiffon cake method to make it but different from traditional chiffon cake because you do not need a tube pan to bake it. It rises very well in a normal pan and it has a great texture which is soft light soft moist and fluffy just like a chiffon cake. This cake can be used on any occasion it can be eaten just plain with frosting or you can serve as a good base for mousse cakes, entremets, or layer cakes. First-line a round pan with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

To make the yellow batter in a mixing bowl add egg yolk, sugar, oil, milk, vanilla extract, and blend everything very well using a wire whisk. Next, sift into the bowl the flour and corn starch and mix very well until you get a nice and smooth batter. Add all of the egg whites into another bowl with some salt and start beating on low speed for about 1 minute until you see a lot of large bubbles in the egg whites. Then stop mixing and add the cream of tartar and continue beating for 2 to 3 minutes at low to medium speed until the egg whites turn foamy.

Next, add in the sugar little by little set the mixer on low speed and beat very well for the sugar to be dissolved in the egg whites before adding extra sugar. When all the sugar has been added raise speed to high and continues whipping. So while you are whipping the egg whites you should note the following: first, there should be no forms of fats such as oil, butter, egg yolks in the egg whites as well as the bowl and the whisk otherwise we won’t be able to whip the egg whites it won’t turn foamy.

Another thing it is easy to separate the egg whites and egg yolks when the egg is cold but beat the egg whites once they are at room temperature. When the egg yolk reaches a soft peak reduce speed to medium and continue to beat for 2 to 3 minutes until it reaches a stiff peak. Whipping the egg whites at medium speed in the last minutes helps the bubbles in the egg whites to become more stable and the cake will rise better.

Take about a third of the beaten egg whites add into the bowl of the yolk and flour batter and mix thoroughly this steps helps to loosen the yolk and flour mixture make it lighter so that it will be easier to fold the remaining egg whites in. Next, take another portion of egg whites and gently fold it into the yolk batter you want to keep the air bubbles in the beaten egg whites so that our cake will rise easily and will be fluffy and soft so at this stage fold it gently does not whisk and try not to deflate the egg whites.

Continue to fold the rest of the egg whites into the yolk and flour mixture and in the end, the batter should be very thick and foamy with almost no large air bubbles inside. Pour the cake batter into the pan then use a spatula to smoothen it out. Next, tap the pan onto the counter to break the large air bubbles inside the batter and bring it the oven. You want to bake this cake in moderate heat so that it can rise slowly in the oven and bake for about 40 to 50 minutes.

If the temperature is too high the cake will rise too fast and crack or deflate. Also in many ovens, the upper heat can be higher than the low heat if this is the case, the cake surface may crack and have a dark golden color in this case you can lower the rack so that the cake is far from the upper heat.

Note that baking temperature and baking time depends on the type of the oven. When the cake is done tale it out and immediately remove from the pan and remove the parchment paper from the bottom of the cake and let it cool down then slice into it and enjoy it.

Ingredients;

  • 4 egg yolks (18 – 20 grams/yolk)
  • 20 grams of fine-grained sugar
  • 40 ml of unsweetened fresh milk
  • 30 ml of vegetable oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 50 grams of all-purpose flour
  • 50 grams of cornstarch
  • 4 egg whites (30 – 35g / whites) at room temperature
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
  • 70 grams of sugar-fine sieve