Most sponge cake recipes rely on a fair amount of eggs to create the fluffy, airy texture common with this popular dessert. Despite this, there are several tips for making an eggless sponge cake for those who cannot or do not want to use eggs, whether due to allergies or simply personal preference. To maintain the texture of the cake, it is important to take the extra time to beat a lot of air into the fat and sugar mixture, and it is also essential that you add the dry ingredients to the wet slowly and gently. Remove the cake from the pan shortly after you take it out of the oven to prevent it from collapsing, and always let it cool on a wire rack so that it reduces in temperature evenly.
Without eggs, a sponge cake can be prone to developing a less-than-spongy texture. To avoid this problem, make sure that you beat the butter, margarine, or oil in the recipe that you are using with the sugar or syrup thoroughly. In most cases, you will want to go beyond combining the ingredients and instead whip the fat and sugar until the mixture becomes light and fluffy, mimicking the texture of whipped eggs.
Once you beat air into the fat and sugar, it is important that you do not deflate the mixture when you add the dry ingredients, which can occur if you pour all of them into the wet ingredient at once. The best way to do this when making an eggless sponge cake is to add the already-combined dry ingredients, which usually consist of flour and leavening agents, into the fat and sugar little by little. Then, use gentle folding motions to combine everything before you add more of the dry ingredients. This will help to maintain the air that you previously incorporated into the fat and sugar.
Even if you make the batter perfectly, the manner in which you cool an eggless sponge cake can make a huge difference in the texture and appearance of the finished product. One of the best tips for making eggless sponge cake is to remove it from the pan within minutes of taking it out of oven. Letting the cake cool for too long in the pan can cause it to collapse, even if it is cooked through, making the sponge cake dense and flat, as well as unsightly.
In addition to promptly removing the cake, it is also a good idea to cool the dessert on a wire rack. This device keeps the cake suspended, allowing air circulation all the way around it. Doing this will not only help your eggless sponge cake cool more quickly, but also allow it to do so more evenly, keeping the texture just as light and airy as a sponge cake made with eggs.