Happy new week! And Happy Passover to everyone out there who is still celebrating all the way through this coming Saturday. Today I have a very special treat for you. Instead of sharing a recipe of mine, my beloved mother has guest written my blog post for today. Are you ready? Here we go!
Hi, everyone. This is Anita, Mir’s Mom, and I’m writing my first-ever (and probably only-ever) guest blog for Just About Baked. I actually don’t love baking, and I’m not much good at it. I’d rather practice the piano. However, I just finished baking an amazing cake and thought that it was time for our family to share the recipe with the world.
When you grow up in a Jewish family, you know that at the end of the Passover Seder meal each year, you will receive a slice of sponge cake. And you know that no matter who baked it that year, it’s gonna taste more or less like, well, a sponge.
But not this sponge cake. This one tastes like a luscious slice of heaven with a bit of crunchy sugar on top.
When I met my wonderful husband (Mir’s Dad), I was invited for a meet-the-folks dinner. The dessert was this sponge cake, which my future mother-in-law (Mir’s future grandmother) used to bake not only at Passover but all year round. Yes, it’s that good.
It’s so good in fact, that my MIL used to bake a dozen at a time. She gave them out as gifts to family members, friends and neighbors. She never measured ingredients, though, so the way I learned to bake it was by watching her carefully and copying every step.
No one can resist this cake. When Mir’s biggest brother was three or four years old, he spied a sponge cake on the table, awaiting dinner. And every time he passed it, he snatched a little bit from the bottom. My MIL noticed the growing hole and observed with a smile, “What happened to the cake? I think we have a mouse.”
This cake isn’t easy to make, and it also takes the better part of an hour. But it’s worth the trouble. When you savor it, think of Mir’s grandmother—a tiny lady with curly white hair, who loved everyone she knew and baked them all cakes.
The Best Passover Sponge Cake
Ingredients
9 jumbo eggs
3/4 cup matza cake meal (note: not regular matza meal)
1/4 cup potato starch
1 and 1/4 cup sugar plus a bit more
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons sweet red wine (unsweetened grape juice also works)
1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325.
- Sift together the matza cake meal and potato starch. Mix together the vinegar, oil, lemon juice and wine.
- Prepare 3/4 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of sugar in separate cups.
- Separate 8 eggs (into 2 large bowls) and then throw the 9th egg whole into the yolk mixture.
- Beat the yolks at high speed until they’re frothy. Add 3/4 of a cup of sugar to the yolk mixture at low speed. Add the cake meal/potato starch mixture to the yolks at low speed. Finally, add liquids to yolks at low speed.
- Unplug the mixer and rinse the beaters. Beat the egg whites at high speed. Add 1/2 cup sugar slowly to the whites. Beat the whites mixture until there are soft peaks, but not stiff peaks.
- Gently fold the whites (don’t stir them, or the cake will fail) into the yolk mixture. Pour 1/3 of the batter into an ungreased tube pan and sprinkle some of the cinnamon mixture on it. Pour another 1/3 of the batter into the pan and sprinkle some of the cinnamon mixture on it. Pour the remaining 1/3 of the batter into the pan. You will have 3 shallow-looking layers.
- Lance the batter in five places with a spatula and sprinkle the top lightly with sugar.
- Bake for exactly 1 hour and 10 minutes.
- While the cake is baking, don’t let anyone jump on the floor and DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR (doing so will cause the cake to fail). Remove the cake and immediately turn it upside-down on a wine bottle.
- Leave it to cool upside-down overnight.
- To remove the cake from the pan, turn it right-side-up and then cut carefully around the outer and inner sides with a sharp knife. Then do the same with the bottom. Use a gentle sawing motion and don’t press.Then lift the cake out and place it on a cake plate for everyone to admire.
- Store in an airtight container to prevent the cake from hardening.
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http://justaboutbaked.com/the-best-passover-sponge-cake/
So nice to meet you Anita! 🙂 and thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe with us, the cake sounds delicious!
Thanks, Manali. It’s one of my favorites!
Hello Mir’s Mum 🙂 Happy Passover 🙂
You have shared a delicious looking recipe – I love a simple sponge cake.
Sometimes simpler is better!
What a wonderful post! Thank you for sharing, Anita! This sponge cake looks absolutely delicious. Wish it was my breakfast this morning!
Gayle @ Pumpkin ‘N Spice recently posted…Cranberry Mushroom Spinach Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette
A pleasure, Gayle. The cake does make a scrumptious breakfast!
Hi Anita (& Mir!) This was such a fun post! I loved reading about this Sponge Cake and will have to try it in the near future 🙂
Megan – The Emotional Baker recently posted…Lemon Poppyseed Loaf
Thanks, Megan. I look forward to finding out more about baking emotionally! 🙂
Well helllllllo Anita! And Mir (of course)! SO fun that you let your Mother take the JAB reigns, Mir! Love this post!! This sponge cake looks absolutely delicious, and the crunchy sugar on top has my heart going pitter-patter!! Not sure if you guys are up for adopting into the family, but if so I’m always looking for a second family… and cake as gifts. 😉 Hope you guys have a wonderful Passover! Cheers! <3
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary recently posted…Arugula Pesto Pasta with Blistered Tomatoes & Burrata
Cheyanne, you’re welcome to join us anytime!
Thanks so much for this gorgeous Sponge, Anita – and Mir! Even though I’m far from being 3 or 4, my grown self would probably pinch a bit of this sponge cake everytime I walked by it just like Mir’s brother did! My mom hardly ever measures her ingredients either – but you have done a phenomenal job replicating this!
Shashi @ RunninSrilankan recently posted…Lemon Blueberry Cookies
Thanks, Shashi. I can’t imagine baking without measuring, but for the really skillful, it certainly works somehow!
Anita!! First of all, you have the best daughter ever…she makes us delectable recipes and is such a great supporter of her fellow bloggers. And second, I love this sponge cake – I don’t think I’ve ever made one before, so I’m going to try yours! 🙂
Kate @ Framed Cooks recently posted…Coconut Rice Pilaf
So sweet of you, Kate! I hope the cake works for you!
Okay, how awesome is it that your mom wrote a post? And I’m sad I can’t have a meal with you this week because this cake? Holy cow, I want a huge slice!
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust recently posted…French Silk Brownies
Thanks, Dorothy. I’ve heard amazing things from my daughter about your blog. Best wishes!
Hello Anita! And Hi Mir! Such a great idea to have your mom write a post for your blog! Happy Passover! This cake looks perfect! Pinning!
mira recently posted…Crepes With Whipped Chocolate Coconut Cream
Mira, this was actually my idea, because Mir was overwhelmed with making 80 matza balls for Seders. Moms always want to help out . . . . Cheers!
Hi Anita!! Such a thrill to meet you!! And can I say, I adore your daughter! Reading her blog always brightens my day and this post is no exception! This sponge cake looks and sounds divine! I have a feeling if I put the cake out, the little mouse in my house (who goes by the name of Dom) will find his way to it as well! 😉 Thank you for sharing such a special recipe!
annie@ciaochowbambina recently posted…Orange Scented Chocolate Chip Cannoli Cream Dip with Pizzelle Chips
That’s so nice of you, Annie. I hope that Dom (a bigger mouse) likes this cake as much as our kids do!
Well, hello there, Mir’s Mom! Nice to meet you! So a mouse problem with the sponge cake, eh? I can’t imagine why. This sponge cake looks incredible! I think I might need to test out this cake…you know, just to see if a mouse shows up here in our house, too. Hope you make another appearance soon, Ma Mir! 🙂
David @ Spiced recently posted…Grilled Coconut Lime Shrimp
Thanks, David. I hope you enjoy the cake!
MM!! yummy!
Then you should’ve eaten more, my lovely son.
What a sweet story! I hope you and your family had a very happy Passover! This cake sounds fabulous. Family recipes are the best. 😉
Michele @ Alwayzbakin recently posted…May The 4th Be With You Cheese Crackers
They really are. Thanks, Michele!
The cake is now in the oven. I just wanted to point out that you neglected to specify in your directions to add the cinnamon to the bowl that contains the 1/2c of sugar. I figured it out, but someone who doesn’t bother to read carefully will probably not take notice.