Gingerbread Chiffon Sponge Cake Food

CHIFFON CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 170°C. Separate the egg yolks and egg whites into two large mixing bowls.
• Whisk the egg yolks along with 20g sugar, flour, oil, milk, baking powder, and vanilla extract and set aside. Do not over-whisk.
• Using an electric whisk or stand mixer, whisk the egg whites until foamy, then whisk in the sugar in 3 small increments (20g at a time) and add the cream of tartar.
• Continue to whisk for about 10-15 mins until the mixture is light and airy. You can check if it is ready by turning the bowl upside down - if the mixture does not drip and stays in place then it is ready.
• Slowly fold the egg white mixture into the batter in small increments (about 3 times), and continue to cut and fold the mixture until it is fully combined. Do not over-mix.
• Grease the bottom of an 8-inch tube pan and pour the mixture in. Gently tap on the table a few times to ensure that it is evenly spread. Bake in the oven for about 40-50 mins, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• If you are using an angel-food cake pan, place the pan upside-down on a wire rack. If you are using a chiffon cake pan, place the pan upside-down on a tall heavy bottle. Cooling the cake upside-down will help it stretch downwards instead of collapsing.
• Allow it to cool fully before removing it from the pan. To release the cake from the pan, gently use a knife to remove the cake from the sides.

GINGERBREAD CHIFFON SPONGE CAKE

Steps:

• Grease and line a 9x5 loaf tin. Preheat oven to 180°C.
• Sieve flour, ginger, soda together and set aside.
• Beat egg yolks and sugar till very pale and fluffy.Gradually add in melted butter. Add in treacle, rum and milk. Mix well with electric mixer. Pour in sifted dry ingredients and mix.
• In a clean bowl whisk egg whites and the 1 tsp of sugar till foamy. Add in cream of tartar and whisk till stiff peaks form.
• Fold egg whites into cake batter and incorporate well. Pour into tin and bake for around 40 minutes or till a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• Cool for five minutes and take it out of the tin. Cool thoroughly before cutting.

GINGERBREAD CAKE ROLL

Steps:

• Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat an 11-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet or jelly roll pan with cooking spray; line the bottom with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a medium bowl.
• Whisk the egg yolks, melted butter and molasses in a large bowl. Beat the egg whites and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, 5 minutes. Stir the
• flour mixture into the yolk mixture until smooth. Stir one-third of the whites into the batter with a rubber spatula, then fold in the remaining whites in two batches. Spread the batter in the prepared pan; bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Immediately sift confectioners' sugar generously over the top of the warm cake and loosen the edges with a knife; lay a clean kitchen towel (not terry cloth) over the cake. Place another baking sheet over the towel and flip the cake with the baking sheets to invert it onto the towel. Remove the top baking sheet and parchment. Starting at a short end, roll up the cake and the towel together into a spiral. Transfer seam-side down to a rack and let cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Beat the heavy cream and 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar with a mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Beat in the mascarpone and vanilla. (Do not overbeat.) Fold in the chocolate chips and candied citrus with a rubber spatula.
• Make the topping: Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, the cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg and cloves in a bowl. Gently unroll the cake. Spread the filling over the cake about 1/4 inch from the edges; reroll (without the towel). Trim the ends with a serrated knife. Transfer to a platter; dust with the spice mixture.

BASIC SPONGE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325.
• Grease only the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan and cover with a circle of parchment paper. Do not grease the sides of the pan.
• In a large bowl, beat egg yolks until light, gradually adding in the sugar. Add in vanilla and lemon and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy, about 1 minute at high speed, then beat in the salt and cream of tartar. Continue beating until the eggs reach soft peaks. Fold egg whites, working in 3 or 4 batches, into the yolk mixture.
• Sift the flour over the egg mixture, again working in 3 or 4 batches, and gently fold it inches When the batter is uniform, pour into prepared cake pan and bake unil a tester comes out dry and the top of the cake springs back when gently pressed, about 35-45 minutes.
• Allow cake to cool in the pan before cutting around the sides with a sharp knife and turning it out.
• Slice the cake into 2 or 3 layers (or squares) and fill as desired.

SPONGE CAKE

Steps:

• Arrange an oven rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 325 degrees. If making a roulade, brush the bottom of a 10-by-15-inch jelly roll pan with a light coating of oil. Do not brush the sides, as the cake needs to be able to cling to the pan as it rises. Line only the bottom of the pan with a piece of parchment paper, smoothing to eliminate air bubbles. If baking in a 9-inch springform pan, leave the pan ungreased and unlined.
• In a wide, medium bowl, combine the egg whites, 1/4 cup sugar, the kosher salt and cream of tartar. Beat the mixture with a hand mixer fitted with the beaters on medium-low speed until the mixture looks frothy, then start to slowly increase the speed to medium-high. Continue to beat the egg whites until you have a dense, voluminous, glossy foam that forms stiff peaks, about 4 minutes. When you lift the beaters out of the bowl, the egg whites should come to a straight point that doesn't droop. Don't beat beyond this point, or the whites will become dry and lumpy. Set the bowl aside.
• In a separate wide bowl, combine the egg yolks and the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Beat with the hand mixer (no need to wash it after you beat the egg whites) on medium-high until the mixture is very pale and fluffy and forms a slowly dissolving ribbon as it falls off the beaters back into the bowl, about 4 minutes. Slowly stream in the 1/4 cup oil, beating constantly to ensure it emulsifies into the yolk mixture, until you have a smooth, light mixture that looks like mayonnaise.
• Reduce the mixer to the lowest speed, add half of the flour and mix just until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon water, mix until incorporated, then add the remaining flour and mix just until it disappears. The mixture will have thickened and look a bit like cake batter.
• Fold the yolk mixture once or twice with a large flexible spatula to make sure it's evenly mixed, then scrape about a third of the egg white mixture into the yolk mixture and thoroughly fold in the whites until the mixture is loosened. Working more gently, fold in half of the remaining egg whites until only a few streaks remain. Fold in the remaining whites, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl, until you have a light, smooth, evenly mixed batter.
• Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth into an even layer. Firmly rap the pan on the surface once or twice to pop any large air bubbles. Bake the cake until it's golden brown, firm and springy to the touch across the entire surface, 25 to 30 minutes for a jelly roll and 30 to 35 minutes for a 9-inch cake. Remove the cake from the oven and immediately invert the pan onto a wire rack. Let the cake cool completely upside down to prevent it from collapsing.
• Reinvert the cooled pan and cut along the sides with a small offset spatula or paring knife to loosen the cake. It will sink a bit, which is normal. If making a jelly roll, turn the sponge out onto the wire rack and peel off the parchment. If making a 9-inch cake, remove the ring of the springform pan, invert the cake onto the rack, and carefully peel off the bottom of the pan (it should come away cleanly, leaving behind just a thin film).
• Use the sponge as desired. The unfilled sponge cake will keep at room temperature, tightly wrapped, for several days, but will become sticky after the first day.

GINGERBREAD CAKE WITH CARAMEL BISCUIT ICING

Steps:

• Measure the milk and treacle into a saucepan (grease the measuring spoon with a little oil first and the treacle will easily slide off). Bring to a gentle simmer and stir until combined, then set aside to cool. Meanwhile, grease 3 x 20cm loose-bottomed cake tins with a little oil and line the bases with baking parchment (if you don't have enough cake tins, see tip). If the tins are any shallower than 4cm, line the sides with a deep collar too. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
• Measure the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sugar and spices into a large bowl, then add ½ tsp fine salt. Mix the dry ingredients together with a large whisk; if there are any large lumps of sugar, squeeze these through your fingers until you have an even, sandy-textured mixture.
• In a jug, whisk the oil, buttermilk, eggs, rum and vanilla. Add the milk and treacle mixture, and mix well. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and whisk into a smooth batter. Divide between the tins and bake for 25-30 mins until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cakes comes out clean. You may have to swap the cakes over to cook evenly, but don't do this until they've had at least 20 mins cooking. Cool the cakes in their tins for 10 mins, then transfer to a wire rack, peel off the parchment and leave to cool completely. Once cooled, you can wrap the sponges in cling film and store in a cool place for 4 days, or freeze for up to 2 months - the texture and flavour will be all the better for it.
• To make the icing, put the butter and half the icing sugar in a large bowl. Mash together roughly with a spatula, then whizz with an electric hand whisk until smooth. Add the remaining icing sugar, the cream cheese, vanilla bean extract and biscuit spread. Mix again until smooth and evenly mixed. Transfer half the icing to another bowl and set aside. Use the remaining icing to stack the cakes and cover the entire outside in a thin layer - don't worry about making the cake look too neat at this stage, as any crumbs trapped in the icing will be covered in the final coat. Chill the cake for 30 mins and the remaining icing for 20 mins (remove the icing from the fridge 10 mins before the cake to soften a little).
• When the icing on the cake is firm, remove it from the fridge and use the remaining icing to cover the cake. Smooth the sides using a palette knife, but leave peaks and dips on top for your snow scene. Top the cake generously with desiccated coconut, a dusting of sieved icing sugar and some edible glitter, if you like, then decorate the top and sides with gingerbread shapes (see tip). If you're not eating the cake within a few hours, store it in the fridge, but bring back to room temperature before serving. Wlll keep for 2 days.