COMPARISON OF SPONGE CAKE AND POPOVERS.—See the recipe for Popovers.
Compare it with the recipe for Sponge Cake I.

SPONGE CAKE NO. I

4 egg yolks 1 cupful sugar 1 teaspoonful lemon juice Grated rind of 1/2 lemon 4 egg whites 1/2 teaspoonful salt 1 cupful flour

What two ingredients are similar in these recipes? What ingredients does Sponge Cake contain which do not exist in Popovers? What ingredients in Popovers are omitted in Sponge Cake? Note the number of eggs in each. What is the wetting material in Popovers? In Sponge Cake? By what means are Popovers lightened? Sponge Cake? How do you account for the difference in the number of eggs?

NOTE.—A typical Sponge Cake contains no baking powder or moisture except that contained in the eggs and flavoring material. To make a cheaper cake, the following modification may be made: Instead of 4 eggs, 2 eggs with 1/4 cupful of water and 1 teaspoonful of baking powder may be used.

METHOD OF MIXING SPONGE CAKE. Beat the yolks of the eggs until thick and lemon-colored. Add the sugar and continue beating; then add the flavoring and any other liquid that the recipe may call for. Beat the mixture well. Add the salt to the egg whites and beat until the whites are stiff. Sift the flour (and baking powder if used) several times. Add part of the dry ingredients through the sifter to the yolk mixture, then add some of the egg whites. Repeat until all the dry ingredients and the egg whites have been added. Mix by cutting and folding the ingredients. Turn at once into an unoiled pan. Bake in a moderate oven (325 degrees F.) for 50 or 60 minutes.

BAKING SPONGE CAKES.—The baking of a cake, as well as the manner of mixing the ingredients and the quality of the ingredients themselves, determines the success of the cake. A practical test for the temperature of the oven is the placing of a bit of flour or white paper in the oven. If at the end of 5 minutes the paper or flour is slightly browned, the oven is of proper temperature for sponge cakes or cakes without fat. The time required to bake a cake should be divided into quarters. During the first quarter the cake should begin to rise; during the second quarter it should continue to rise and begin to brown; during the third quarter it should continue to brown, and the fourth quarter it should finish baking.

If the mixing and the baking have been successful, failure may result after removing the cake from the oven. It should not be placed in a cold place or in a draft. Invert the cake pan on a wire rack and allow the cake to remain until cool. Remove the cake from the pan, and store in a covered tin box.

SPONGE CAKE NO. II

2 or 3 egg yolks l 1/2 cupfuls sugar 1 tablespoonful lemon juice 3/4 cupful water 2 cupfuls flour 1/2 teaspoonful salt 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder 2 or 3 egg whites

Mix and bake according to the directions given above. It is advisable to oil the pan for this cake.

WASHINGTON PIE

Sponge Cake with Cream Filling is termed Washington Pie. Follow the recipe for Cream Filling and put it between the layers of Sponge Cake, or as a filling between split sheets of a loaf or thick sheet of Sponge Cake.

QUESTIONS

What is the purpose of cutting and folding the egg whites and the dry ingredients into a sponge cake mixture?

Why is it necessary to add moisture and baking powder to Sponge Cake No.
II?

What is the effect of too cool an oven on Sponge Cake?