A sponge cake with beaten eggs, sugar, and flour are light and fluffy. It can be served warm or cold and is a well-liked dessert in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.
Sponge cakes are typically prepared in a cake pan and divided into layers before being served. They can be offered with custard, ice cream, or fresh fruit. We know that if a sponge cake is left out for too long, it will become mushy. But how long can you store it in the refrigerator before it starts soggy? This article will discuss how to store sponge cakes properly and how long they may keep in the refrigerator.
What is Sponge Cake?
A cake without shortening is a sponge cake created with flour, sugar, and eggs. As a result, when the cake is properly baked, it is noticeably light and fluffy. These cakes are also incredibly porous and have recognisable holes that give them a sponge-like appearance.
Since sponge cake is a particularly solid, long-lasting cake, it is frequently used as the foundation for desserts in addition to being eaten on its own. Due to its absorbency, it is perfect for sweets that ask for cakes to be soaked in syrup or alcohol because the cake will do so without crumbling.
It does take some talent to make this kind of cake effectively. It uses eggs and a little baking powder in some recipes to leaven the food. To incorporate air, the eggs must be vigorously beaten, and the ingredients must be well combined to prevent the air bubbles from being driven out.
Additionally, sponge cake needs to be properly cooled because it might collapse and become very heavy if it cools too quickly. Sometimes it takes a baker several efforts before they are successful.
How Long does Sponge Cake Last in the Fridge?
Although the shelf life of the sponge cake is not predetermined, it does rely on temperature and humidity. The sponge cake stays in the refrigerator for about 4-5 days. Therefore, prepare your sponge cake two days in advance and keep it in the refrigerator for 5 to 6 days.
Sponge cake can be kept in the refrigerator for a few days or months. However, you ought to eat it as quickly as you can. The type of cake and the components will determine how long it may be stored. Sponge cake that has just been cooked should be consumed within a day or two, while sponge cake that has custard or another filling can be kept in storage.
What are the Most Effective Ways to Store a Sponge Cake?
We will go over the best techniques for keeping a sponge cake because they are tasty but challenging to preserve correctly.
It has become a significant part of our lives and is the most popular cake in the entire world.
Sometimes you must be aware of the sponge cake’s preservation procedure if you want to build a delectable cake.
The finest techniques for storing a sponge cake are listed below.
1. Employ Airtight Packaging
We’ll employ this technique frequently to store cakes and other baked items. The cake will remain fresh and help prevent the formation of bacteria in airtight containers.
Cakes can be kept in a Ziploc bag or a container with a cover. Plastic containers are acceptable, but glass jars are preferable because they shield the cake from light. Cakes should be kept in a cool environment as well.
2. Keep your Cakes Chilled
It is preferable to keep the cake in the refrigerator if you are creating a large batch. The cake will taste great and fresh thanks to this technique. Cakes with frosting retain moisture, which keeps them from drying out. The cake will keep in the refrigerator for three to four days. The cake should be wrapped in plastic and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
What are the Health Benefits of Sponge Cake?
Calorie-Conscious Dessert Choice
One piece of sponge cake contains 187 calories, which, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), only makes up 9% of the daily caloric recommendation. One piece of sponge cake has 187 calories, 77 per cent of which come from carbohydrates, 13 per cent from fats, and 10 per cent from protein.
Good Energy Source
Our body needs energy constantly, which is mostly provided by digesting carbs. What better way to increase your energy than to indulge in a delectable cake? A sponge cake’s flour (and sugar) ingredient makes up 77 per cent of the cake’s carbs.
The major (and sole) source of energy for the brain, neurological system, and muscles is glucose, which is found in particular in carbs. A sponge cake’s fat content contributes to its energy fuel as well.
Wheat Powder has a High Antioxidant Activity.
You no longer need to worry about the high-carb content of sponge cake flour. To make sponge cakes using other types of flours that may offer additional health benefits, such as wheat flour, wheat-chickpea flours, mugwort powder, tiger nut flour, and breadfruit flour, many food researchers—yes, some people do undertake research on cakes, a lot of them—have tried.
These attempts at creative baking produce health advantages. Although wheat powder alone has many positive health attributes, it is most well-known for its high concentration and varying antioxidant content, which includes phenolics, flavonoids, and lutein. All of these work together to combat free radicals and stop cellular damage in our bodies, thereby stopping diseases like cancer and other long-term inflammatory conditions.
What is the Best Advice on Making the Greatest Sponge Cake?
Make sure to whisk the eggs thoroughly. The cake’s fluffiness primarily depends on the volume of the eggs. Thus it’s critical to whip the eggs until a thick ribbon comes off the whisk and remains there for two to three seconds. Insufficiently beating the eggs will result in a dense cake and an eggy flavour in the final product.
To avoid flour clumps in the finished cake, sift the dry ingredients before adding them to the whisked eggs. Additionally, sifting aerates the flour, resulting in a light and fluffy sponge cake.
Avoid overfolding; doing so will cause the cake to deflate and result in a denser cake. Therefore, fold slowly to maintain the aeration created by whipping the eggs.
Even rise – use baking strips to ensure that the cake rises equally (like the ones here). To ensure that the cake bakes from the bottom up rather than from the bottom and the sides, these strips are wetted and attached around the baking pan before baking. This prevents the baked cakes from developing an ugly dome.
Avoid overbaking because this can cause the sponge cake to lose too much moisture and become dry.
What are the Basic Varieties of Sponge Cake?
Genoise
Genoa, an Italian city, is where Genoise got its start. It is a member of the family of fluffy, light sponge cakes. This recipe differs from a normal sponge cake batter in that it incorporates melted unsalted butter, despite using a similar method. Melted butter makes for a softer, more flavorful sponge cake.
Cocoa powder is used to create chocolate genoise. Genoise, the most basic type of sponge cake, may be baked without butter and is therefore referred to as a fatless sponge.
Chiffon Cake
A chiffon cake is an extremely light and fluffy sponge that combines elements of a sponge and a butter cake. A sweet tooth will find it quite appealing because of its sponge-like texture. In contrast to butter cakes, chiffon cakes employ oil, whipped egg whites for aeration, and baking powder to give them a sponge-like texture.
The recipe for this cake is produced by combining flour, oil, and a raising agent. Whipped egg whites are then incorporated in.
Angel Food Cake
Angel food cake is described as the “meal of the angels” because of its airiness, lightness, and pure white colour. Because this cake doesn’t contain fat, egg yolks, or chemical leavener, it depends on stiffly beaten egg whites for leavening. Egg whites, cream of tartar, sugar, flour, salt, and flavourings such as fruit extracts and essences make up the entire recipe.
The highest sugar content of any sponge cake is found in angel food cake, and more sugar is required to support and stabilise the whipped egg whites. Care must be taken when incorporating the egg whites with the dry ingredients to prevent collapse because the egg whites give the cake its volume and structure.
How to Make Sponge Cake at Home?
In a stand mixer, beat four eggs until frothy. Add 1 cup of sugar gradually, and beat until the eggs drop off the whisk in a thick ribbon, about 20 minutes.
In the interim, heat the oven to 350°F. Using foil and non-stick spray, line an 8-inch round cake pan (at least 2 inches tall). Alternately, butter can be softened and flour dusted inside the pan. Shake excess off. Wrap the cake pan in wet cake strips and secure them.
- Sift the dry components (flour & baking powder).
- All the wet ingredients together (melted butter, water, vanilla).
- To neatly make the number 8, fold the dry ingredients in halves.
- The moist ingredients are folded in.
- Fill the prepared pan with the batter.
- A toothpick in the centre of the cake should come clean after about 30 minutes of baking.
- Take out of the oven, allow it cool for five minutes, then flip over onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Before utilising the cake in a cake, let it sit on the counter for 6 to 8 hours for optimal results. If you proceed to divide the cake layer in half horizontally, this will lessen the amount of crumbling.
The physicochemical, nutritional, and organoleptic properties of sponge cakes made by partially substituting wheat flour with mango pulp and mango peel flours (MPuF and MPeF, respectively) at various concentrations (control, 5%, 10%, 20%, or 30%) were studied. Compared to the control, the results showed that sponge cake, including MPuF and MPeF, had a high dietary fibre content and low fat, calorie, hydrolysis, and anticipated glycemic index. The volume, stiffness, and colour of the sponge cake were significantly affected by increasing the levels of MPuF and MPEG.
Conclusion
If you want to store a sponge cake for a few days, ice it. Once the cake is iced, it can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days. You should also keep the cake’s frosting refrigerated. Otherwise, it may spoil.
When storing a sponge cake in the fridge, cover it with a layer of buttercream to prevent it from drying. This buttercream will also help to keep the sponge cake moist and fresh. However, if you want to save money, you can opt for a buttercream that doesn’t contain real butter and can be stored at room temperature.