Italian Chocolate Sponge Cake Recipe

TRADITIONAL ITALIAN RECIPE: Victoria sponge cake is a bit old-fashioned and not everyone wants to make them any more.

The taste of a homemade sponge cake is totally different from anything else bought in a shop and it is not that difficult to make. It’s just like a giant cup cake... I hate that word "cup" cake.

I can remember one Christmas our cooker blew up taking my father's eyelashes, eyebrows and a good chunk of his last hair... he was bald... that night reached a new low!

His only crime was to open the oven door. Apparently this was the tried and tested scientific method to see how the gas was performing in the cooker.

Some people taste it putting their heads in the oven... but that's not a great idea! TRUST ME!

As a child I would know that a particularly good slice of Victoria sponge cake could be had at my house only during particulary days of the year. Christmas and birthdays.

The cake was always appearing in the fridge. My sister always followed my mother in the kitchen ( sometimes me too ) helping her out and fingering every bowl with some wisked egg foam drawned into sugar. In our ritual a well trained index was all we needed.

One cake my mother actually never tried wasche Chocolate Sponge Cake... and this is a tribute to her!

( she is not dead yet! Just a tribute! :D )

Skill Level:	Time: 1.5 Hours
Price:	Serves: 6 People

Ingredients:

Directions:

01 - Using an electric mixer, mix in a large bowl the 3 whole Eggs for about 10 minutes. You'll have to end up with a creamy foamy mixture.

02 - Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F.

03 - While the mixer is still on, add the 8 Egg Yolks, and carry on mixing for 10 extra minutes.

04 - Now, switch the electric mixer off and add the Flour, the Starch and the Cocoa Powder and mix everything with a spatula or a whisk, without breaking the mixture or unfoaming it.

05 - Pour the Batter into a buttered and floured cake pan 24cm / 9.4in in diameter and bake for 45 minutes.

06 - Leave the Pan Di Spagna cooling a little before removing it from the pan, and then let it cool completely on an oven rack to avoid condensation.

Notes:

- You can save the Pan Di Spagna in fridge, on a plate covered with cling film for 48 hours, only if the expiring date of the Eggs will allow it.