Sometimes you really have to be amazed at what our grandmothers and mothers accomplished without electric stand mixers. They whipped up the most delectable cakes and desserts by only using a whisk or hand beater.
Fortunately for us, that is no longer necessary. We have all the tools to make delicious cakes and desserts without even breaking out into a sweat! All we need is one of the good electric stand mixers.
When you are looking for a mixer there are a few things you have to keep in mind. Most important is that it should be strong enough for your purposes. If you want to make lots of breads and pastries, you need a strong machine.
Another very important factor to keep in mind is that the bowl must be big enough; it must be easy to remove the bowl. As you will see in this recipe, it must also be able to buy extra bowls for your electric stand mixer if you have to beat egg whites separately.
OK, so now I have left you waiting long enough, here is the recipe for the Australian Cream Sponge.
Ingredients:
- 4 Eggs
- 1 Cup flour
- 1/2 Teaspoon salt
- 1/4 Pint whipped cream
- 1/2 Cup sugar
- 11/2 Teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 Cup strawberry jam
Method:
- Grease and line two 71/2" cake tins
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
- Separate the eggs
- Beat whites until they are stiff and stand in peaks
- Beat yolks until light and lemon-colored
- Gently fold into stiffly beaten whites
- Slowly add sugar, beating all the time
- Beat until mixture is thick and pale
- Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
- Using a wire whisk or spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture very gently and thoroughly
- Spoon the batter into lined and greased cake tins
- Bake in a preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
- Let the cakes stand in the tines for 10 minutes before turning it our on to cake cooler
- When the cakes are cold, sandwich the layers together with strawberry jam.
- Whip cream and place into an icing bag fitted with a large "rose" nozzle
- Pipe cream in a lattice design over the top of the cake
- Fill the spaces between the lattices with jam
- Alternatively you can spread the whipped cream over the top of the cake and decorate with spoonfuls of jam.
As you can see, making this recipe without one of the electric stand mixers will really be hard. So, if you are lucky enough to have one, try this tasty recipe.