Sponge Cake

Instructions

1. 1

   To prepare the sponge cake, break the eggs into the bowl of a stand mixer; then take the vanilla bean, cut it in half, and use the blade of a smooth knife to extract the internal seeds. Add them to the eggs, and add a pinch of salt. Then, activate the stand mixer at medium-high speed and gradually add the sugar.

2. 2

   Work the mixture for about 15-20 minutes in total. In the meantime, carefully butter and flour a 24 cm cake pan. As soon as the mixture of eggs and sugar becomes light, fluffy, and foamy, you can stop working it. Alternatively, you can use an electric mixer. To understand if the batter is ready, in jargon, it is said that it "writes": if you let a part of it slide on the mounted mixture, it should not rejoin the rest but create a clearly distinguishable thread. At this point, place a fine-mesh sieve over the bowl of the stand mixer and add both the flour and the cornstarch.

3. 3

   Sift the flours and mix everything with a whisk or spatula, making movements from the bottom to the top. Do this step very gently so as not to deflate the mixture. As soon as the flours are completely incorporated, pour everything into the pan and use a spatula to level the surface; alternatively, you can rotate the pan on the countertop. In this step, it is essential not to hit the pan on the countertop to level it, otherwise the mixture will deflate.

4. 4

   Bake the sponge cake in a preheated oven at 160° on the lowest rack for about 50 minutes. Avoid opening the oven during this time, and before removing the cake, always check the doneness by inserting a toothpick, since every oven cooks differently: inserting a toothpick in the center of the cake, it should come out completely dry. Once cooked, remove the sponge cake from the oven. Before removing it from the mold, let it cool in the inverted cake pan on a sheet of parchment paper, then let it cool completely. Your sponge cake is ready to be served, cut, or filled!