Pão de Ló - Portuguese Sponge Cake
Known for its custardy center with a delicate eggy richness and a fluffy, almost melt-in-your-mouth texture this Pão de Ló - Portuguese Sponge Cake requires minimal ingredients and a short bake time for a stellar cake.
Servings 6
Calories 159kcal
Ingredients
- 100 grams / ½ cup superfine/caster sugar
- 180 grams / 4 medium eggs room temperature
- 32 grams / 2 medium egg yolks room temperature
- 30 grams / 3 tablespoons plain flour
- 53 grams / ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200C/400F and line your baking tin with enough parchment paper to overhang the edges on all sides by 2.5cm/1.5 inches.
- Place the sugar, eggs and egg yolks into a large bowl and whip on high for 3 minutes until tripled in volume.
- Lower the speed to low-medium until the mixture is light, fluffy has a fine set of bubbles in appearance (think soft peak stage), approximately 12 minutes.
- Pour the olive oil into a separate bowl and stir two tablespoons of the whipped eggs into the oil and whisk until combined .
- Pour into the remaining egg mixture and fold until combined.
- Sift in the flour and fold until smooth and incorporated.
- Pour into your cake tin and place in the oven until lightly golden and still jiggly in the center, approximately 16 minutes.
- Remove and allow to cool and sit for several hours or preferably overnight.
- Drizzle a little olive oil on top and sprinkle with sea salt.
- Slice and serve.
- Dig in!
Notes
- Olive Oil: Extra-virgin olive oil was used here as it adds a perfect fruity undertone to the gooey texture in the cake. It's best not to replace with other oil or butter here as it would likely not only create a different texture, but a less delightful flavor.
- Eggs: Room temperature eggs are essential to bind the ingredients which gives our cake that nice gooey texture.
- Best served: Store in an airtight container at room temperature and it’s best to consume within 2 days for best quality.
- Cake tin: The cake tin used here was 6 inches / 15 centimeters so the cake is higher as it’s baked. A springform pan or regular cake pan between 6-7 inches or 15-18 centimeters works best here.
Nutrition
Calories: 159kcal