Foam Cakes

I have a friend who claims to read this column in the hope of (one day) finding a cake recipe that does not require separating eggs. He is very adamant that he does not “do separated eggs”.

Another acquaintance, who also claims to be a devoted reader of the column, always asks for what he refers to as “easy, stress free” recipes. He seems to think that bachelors are a special class of cook; one that can only process three or four steps with no more than four or five ingredients.

I suppose it is good to be reminded every so often that one should stay in touch with your audience. Every writer wants to be read and some (like me) even want to be understood. Yet at the same time, no writer (me included) wants to underestimate the intelligence of his or her readers. I most certainly do not want to be given the dumbed down version of a recipe, and I would think many of my readers would not want it either. But I felt a strange obligation toward my two friends’ requests this past week: something simple, easy and stress free. So I thought, how about a cake? More specifically, a flourless cake; or as it is known in more technical, culinary jargon, a foam cake.

Foam cakes are common in everyday baking and even home cooks and bakers would have some experience with foam cakes such as sponge cake, genoise cake, angel food cakes, chiffon cake and some flourless chocolate cake.

Foam cakes differ from ordinary cakes in that they are made with egg foams and not butter creams. Foam cakes contain a large proportion of foamed eggs, a little sugar and very little (if any) wheat flour. Foam cakes also contain very little added fat (butter or oil). Some foam cakes are baked in ungreased pans, and they are classically leavened by steam or air captured by beating eggs.

Foam cakes generally involve three steps: 1) the making of an egg foam; 2) adding the additional ingredients such as sugar or cream of tartar; and 3) the addition of a small amount of wheat flour (typically cake flour), nut flour or cocoa particles to stabilise the foam. The last step is omitted in the making of flourless cakes.

When making the egg foam that is the base of foam cake, whole eggs are whisked, or in the case of a meringue, only the egg whites. I find it easiest to do the whisking with an electric whisk or stand mixer with whisk attachment. It takes around six minutes to get whole eggs to the right consistency.

Adding sugar to the beaten egg or egg white improves the stability of the foam, as does the addition of cream of tartar. Egg whites beaten in a copper bowl are infused with some copper ions that interact with one of the proteins in eggs, conalbumin. This makes the foam more stable than foams created in glass or plastic bowls, as the copper-conalbumin mixture is more stable than the conalbumin alone. Keep in mind that not all parts of an egg foam to the same extent; separated egg whites do it best, then whole eggs then the yolks only. Furthermore, eggs at room temperature foam best.

So I set out to find an easy foam cake recipe that would impress my two friends. This one cannot be easier; it has only two ingredients and three steps. Even though it has a chocolate base, you do not have to melt any chocolate, instead just buy a jar of chocolate spread. I love Nutella so I use it. It is sweet enough so I add no additional sugar.

Have no fear; when baking the cake it will rise, and its surface will crack. When it cools down, it will collapse somewhat. This is what foam cakes do. A foam cake is light in weight, well-aerated, and moist in texture. And the real bonus? It takes a mere 30 to 35 minutes to make.

Happy baking!

• 4 large eggs

• 240g Nutella

• Preheat oven to 175˚C. Grease a 17cm springform pan and line with baking paper. Place eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk on highest speed until tripled in volume, about six minutes.

• Place Nutella in a large glass bowl and place in the microwave to soften for 20 seconds. Add 1/3 whisked eggs and gently fold in until well combined. Add another 1/3 eggs and fold in. Repeat with remaining 1/3 eggs.

• Pour batter into prepared pan and place in the oven to bake until cooked through, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely before removing from pan.

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