I’ve gotten comments (complaints) from certain Polish family members saying that my layer cakes are too sweet, too heavy, and just too much, especially with the addition of American buttercream frosting! Polish frosted layer cakes, they say, are just not that way. They are light, less sweet, and don’t leave you feeling like you need to run a marathon to burn all the calories off. What they are really highlighting is the difference between fat-free (or nearly fat-free) Italian/French génoise where the rise of the cake comes from beaten eggs and American/British butter-based cakes which rise due to the power of baking powder or baking soda. For prime examples of butter-based cakes, check out a typical American birthday cake recipe (includes lots of butter and a liquid, like water or milk) or a British Victoria Sandwich recipe (lots of butter and no added liquid). Let’s face it, these cakes are moist, tender, and oh, so very tasty even if they are not slathered with frosting. The génoise-type of cake base, while requiring more skill to make, is on the dry side. It usually needs to be sprinkled with a simple syrup or liqueur or spread with jam or compote before frosting. This quality adds flavor dimensions to your cake and therefore a higher level of sophistication. Prime examples include German Black Forest Cake or French Frasier cake.
If you’d like to try your hand at making a génoise-type of chocolate cake, I’d recommend this Polish chocolate sponge cake recipe. Why? Because it’s easy and the cake itself tastes pretty good even without liqueur sprinkled on it. Truth be told, I’ve gone through many génoise recipes and have not yet been satisfied with the results. They either do not rise enough (due to my lack of skill, perhaps?!) or they just do not taste good without a good soak in syrup–which makes them soggy–and a good filling. This Polish sponge cake recipe has been my savior.
Below is the recipe and thereafter are step-by-step instructions with photos. The recipe is only for the cake base. Fill and frost as desired. What works best for a filling is flavored whipped cream, crème diplomate, mousse, or a Polish/German buttercream (pastry cream whipped into butter), which I’ll present in a different post. Pour chocolate ganache over the cake for a sophisticated finish.
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10" or 9" layer cake
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- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 6 extra large eggs, separated (or 7 to 8 large eggs)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons canola oil (or other vegetable oil except olive oil) [oil may be omitted, but cake will not be as moist]
Ingredients
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- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease the bottom of 10-inch (25 cm) springform pan with removable bottom, 9 x 13" rectangular baking pan, or three 9-inch (23 cm) round baking pans. [See Notes section for more information.] Do not grease the sides of the pan(s). Line bottom of pan(s) with parchment paper and lightly grease paper. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and cocoa powder. Toss to mix. Set aside.
- Place egg whites and salt in large bowl. Using an electric mixer (whisk attachment), beat whites and salt on medium high until stiff peaks form.
- Reduce speed to medium. With the motor still running, gradually beat in sugar. Increase speed to medium high and beat until mixture becomes glossy (i.e., until the sugar dissolves).
- Reduce speed to medium. With the motor running, beat in egg yolks, one at a time, alternating with oil (if using), one tablespoon at a time, until fully incorporated. Turn off mixer. Fold in flour mixture with spatula quickly but gently and thoroughly. (Beware of hidden pockets of unmixed flour! Folding process may take up to 5 minutes.)
- Spread mixture into prepared pan(s), smoothing top with offset spatula. Bake in preheated oven for 34-38 minutes (depending on the depth of the batter in pan), or until the middle of cake springs back when lightly pressed with your fingertip and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Drop pan(s) from a height of around 5 inches onto counter after taking out of oven. Let cool on wire rack. [Note: Cake may sink slightly in the middle while cooling but should still be good. Letting the cake cool completely upside down helps prevent cake from sinking but is not necessary.] When completely cool, remove cake from springform pan by loosening cake from sides of pan with sharp knife and then removing ring. Invert cake onto wire rack or board. Carefully remove metal bottom and peel off parchment paper. To remove from 9 x 13 pan or 9-inch round pans, loosen sides with sharp knife, invert pan onto wire rack or board, let cake drop onto rack or board, and peel off parchment paper.
- Place cake(s) in the refrigerator for about one hour. Remove cake(s) from refrigerator when ready to fill and frost. For cake baked in springform pan or 9 x 13 pan, slice horizontally into 3 layers and then fill and frost. [Optional: see next step for an easy filling and frosting recipe that pairs well with this cake: Easy Mocha Filling and Chocolate Ganache Glaze.]
- Easy Mocha Filling: Pour 1 tablespoon boiling water over 1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso and 1 ounce grated semi-sweet chocolate (or 1/4 cup chocolate chips). Mix until melted (if some lumps remain, microwave VERY briefly (e.g., 5 seconds at a time) and stir until fully melted). Let cool. Whip 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream with 1 heaping tablespoon powdered sugar. When cream begins to hold its shape, add chocolate mixture. Continue whipping until holds stiff peaks. Spread filling in between layers (optional: first sprinkle each layer with liqueur or simple syrup ( 1 tablespoon each layer) or spread layers with jam in a thin layer). Chocolate Ganache Glaze: Heat 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1 teaspoon espresso powder (optional), and 3 tablespoons corn syrup (optional) until just comes to a boil and pour over 8 ounces chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate. Let stand 30 seconds. Starting from the middle, mix vigorously until emulsified. Mix in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Let cool slightly and then pour over cake to cover top and sides (use offset spatula to help before sets). Refrigerate 15 minutes to set.
* Instead of using a round springform pan and splitting cake into 3 layers, you may divide batter among three 9-inch cake pans (line bottoms with greased parchment paper). Reduce baking time to roughly 15-20 minutes.
** Examples of fillings for the cake: sweetened and flavored whipped cream, crème diplomate, ermine frosting, Polish/German buttercream (flavored pastry cream whipped into whipped butter), and flavored mousse. Before filling, it is recommended to spread each layer with fruit jelly, jam, or sprinkle with 1-2 tablespoons simple syrup or liqueur.
To make a 2-layer chocolate cake using a 10-inch (25cm) round springform pan, two 9-inch (23cm) round 1.5-inch deep cake pans, or 9 x 13-inch rectangular pan (23 x 32 cm) OR a 3-layer cake using a 9 or 9 1/2-inch (23 or 24cm) round springform pan, the proportions for the ingredients are: 3/4 c flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 4 Tbsp cocoa powder, 6 large eggs (or 5 XL), 1/8 tsp salt, 1 cup sugar, 2 Tbsp canola oil (if using). Bake about 25 mins for 10" springform pan and 27-30 minutes for 9" springform pan. If using two or three 9-inch (23cm) round cake pans instead of a springform pan, bake for less time - about 15-20 minutes. Baking time for rectangular pan (9 x 13"/ 23 x 32 cm) is about 20 minutes.
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
First off, get the oven ready by preheating to 350°F/180°C. Then grease the bottom of a 10-inch (25cm) or 9-inch (23cm) round springform pan with a removable bottom (depending on whether you use ingredients from recipe for 10″ or 9″ cake), or three 9-inch (23cm) round 1.5-inch deep cake pans (or 2 if two-layer cake) and line the bottom(s) with parchment paper. Grease the paper. If you want a rectangular Polish-style cake, use a 9 x 13″ baking pan. Grease the bottom and line it with parchment paper, then grease the paper. Do not grease the sides of the pan. By the way, the “grease” I use is butter.
In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup flour, 3/4 teaspoon baking powder, and 5 tablespoons cocoa powder (i.e., 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon). You might be wondering whether using baking powder instead of the power of beaten egg whites for the rise is cheating. Yeah, maybe for purists, but this recipe hasn’t let me down once.
Lightly mix with a spoon and then set aside to work on the egg batter.
Get the rest of the ingredients ready, including eggs, salt, sugar, and oil.
Separate egg whites from 6 extra-large eggs (or 7 -8 large eggs) and place in large bowl, reserving the egg yolks for later. Using an electric mixer, beat whites and 1/4 teaspoon salt on medium high until stiff peaks form.
Reduce speed to medium. With the motor still running, gradually beat in 1 1/4 cups sugar (reduce to 1 cup if you wish to cut down on sugar). Increase speed to medium high and beat until mixture becomes glossy (i.e., until the sugar dissolves). Again reduce speed to medium. With the motor running, beat in egg yolks, one at a time, alternating with oil, one tablespoon at a time, until fully incorporated. Turn off mixer.
Add the flour mixture and gently but quickly fold in with a spatula. Don’t overdo it because the eggs will deflate. However, be careful to catch hidden pockets of unmixed flour. They can be hard to find, so be sure to fold thoroughly. It can take me 5 minutes of folding to catch all of the pockets of unmixed flour!
Quickly spread mixture into prepared pan, smoothing top with offset spatula.
Bake in preheated oven for 34-38 minutes. Also check doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center. It should come out clean when done. The cake must be springy to the touch. Press your fingertip lightly in the middle of the cake to test whether it is sufficiently springy. If the cake tester comes out clean but is not very springy in the middle, it may still not be “dry” enough throughout, which may result in the cake sinking slightly while cooling after you remove it from the oven.
Speaking of which–remove the cake from the oven when done. Drop the pan once or twice onto the counter from a height of about 5 to 6 inches. This will help prevent the cake from sinking while cooling. Place pan on a wire rack, either right-side up or upside down, until the cake has cooled completely. To remove from the pan, if you baked the cake in a springform pan, first loosen the sides by running a sharp knife around the sides. After removing the ring, invert the cake onto a wire rack or board. Carefully remove the metal bottom and peel off the parchment paper. For a 9 x 13-inch pan, loosen the sides with a sharp knife and turn out the cake onto a rack (or board) and then peel off parchment paper. Despite your best efforts, if the top of the cake falls in a little bit while cooling, it is probably still OK as long (as it doesn’t fall too much). Just slice the top off to make it even. [You’ll notice that such a cake is a little moister than the cakes that do not sink at all.] For best results, refrigerate or freeze cake for at least one hour before evening out the top (if necessary) and slicing the cake into layers.
Slice horizontally into 3 layers. Fill and frost as desired. You might want to use the bottom layer as the top layer when filling and frosting to ensure an even layer on top. In the photo below, the layers have been filled with a layer of cherry jam and a typical Polish frosting, which is pastry cream whipped into whipped butter. [The recipe has a suggestion for an easy mocha/whipped cream filling and chocolate ganache glaze.]
The cake in the photo below is filled with chocolate crème diplomate. (Please ignore the uneven cake layers . . . .) It’s a delicious filling made from pastry cream, whipped cream, gelatin, and chocolate.
The cake recipe includes a recipe for an easy yet elegant filling and glaze: whipped cream filling, jam, and a chocolate ganache glaze. Ermine frosting for the filling can be used instead of whipped cream. This is what the finished product looks like with Ermine frosting:
