A fragrant and delicate biscuit is used to prepare various cakes, pies and pastries. Delicious and lush desserts decorate the festive table, provided that the hostess is familiar with the nuances of baking.
To make a biscuit dough, you only need 3 ingredients: 1 glass of wheat flour, 1 glass of sugar and 5 chicken eggs. If you need a really fluffy sponge cake, it is better to use the cold method for cooking.
When using the cold method, the dessert is less crumbly and very light. The hot method is recommended for a dense biscuit.
Chicken eggs should be pre-warmed to room temperature. Wheat flour is sieved through a fine sieve 2-3 times. Carefully break the eggs and separate the whites from the yolks. The yolks are ground with 1/2 sugar until the sugar grains disappear completely. Only after that, the mass is whipped with a whisk until the volume increases by 2-3 times.
Chicken whites are whipped in perfectly clean dishes. Do not use metal containers, as the protein will undergo an oxidation process, turn gray, and lush foam will not work. For whipping the protein, it is better to take a mixer. The remaining sugar is poured into the container in a thin stream. It is necessary to achieve an increase in mass by 3-5 times.
It is better to beat the whites by placing the container in ice water or a bowl filled with crushed ice or snow.
1/3 of the protein foam is introduced into the whipped yolks and the ingredients are mixed from top to bottom using a wooden or silicone spatula. Gradually pour flour into the mass, continuing to gently stir. Then, the remaining proteins are introduced and the biscuit dough is stirred until smooth. It is necessary to knead the dough by hand, as using a mixer at this stage can lead to foam settling.
The bottom of the baking dish and the walls are greased with vegetable oil to a height of 1 cm. Greasing the entire side surface will not produce a fluffy biscuit, since the dough rising in the oven will slide off. Therefore, the biscuit will rise only half the height. It is better to sprinkle the bottom and walls of the mold with wheat flour or semolina.
Pour the dough into the prepared mold in one motion. The dough should be no more than 3/4 of the height. The biscuit is baked at a temperature of 180 ° C, setting the form to the middle level. You can determine that the dessert is ready by piercing the central part of the biscuit with a dry match. If no raw dough remains on it, the baked goods are ready. In addition, the baked sponge cake easily loses shape and recovers quickly when pressed with a finger.
Do not open the oven for the first 10-15 minutes. Biscuit is the most delicate product that does not tolerate a sharp drop in temperature and mechanical stress. Any push will cause the dough to settle. If a crust forms on the surface of the biscuit too quickly during baking, cover the dough with parchment paper soaked in water, as the crust will not allow the middle of the crust to bake.
After taking the baked goods out of the oven, place the mold on a wet towel. Then turn over onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Only after this is the dessert removed from the mold.
If you decide to cook a multi-layer cake, the biscuit must be cut into several cakes. It is much easier to do this if the baked goods have been left standing for at least 4 hours. If desired, soak the cakes with syrup, the time for the sponge cake to stand is increased to 8 hours.
