Soft Cake Base

*This recipe can make soft cake base for regular cakes and Swiss roll.

INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED

• 5 eggs (about 55g each)
• 50g cake flour (1/2 cup)
• 50g vegetable oil (1/3 cup)
• 50g milk (1/3 cup)
• 50g sugar (1/4 cup)
• 2g lemon juice
• 3g vanilla extract

Notes: By cake flour, I mean low protein flour, which normally contains 7-9% protein (Mine is around 8%). Not self-rising flour.

HOW TO MAKE SOFT CAKE BASE

1. Preheat the oven to 311℉(155℃). Separate the eggs. Keep the egg white bowl in the fridge.

Notes:

• The bowl to hold the egg white should be dry and clean. Make sure there is no water drops left or any signs of grease.
• There should be no egg yolk segments mix in the egg white, however small the segment may be. You can separate eggs one at a time over a small bowl, make sure the egg yolk is not broken and not mix with the egg white, then pour the egg white into the final egg white bowl and then continues with next egg.
• Once done separating the eggs, keep the egg white bowl cold in the fridge, which will help you whip up the egg white.
• Wait until you done making the batter, then you whip up the egg white.

2. Mix vegetable oil and milk until well combined.

Notes:

• The reason why we use vegetable oil is that vegetable oil does not have strong flavor that will affect the taste of the cake. Olive oil can work too, if you do not mind its strong flavor.
• Use a whisk to mix them together. This process could take several minutes.
• The final texture should be like:

3. Add in cake flour, mix until smooth. Add in egg yolks, mix until smooth. Set aside.

Notes:

• By cake flour, I mean low protein flour, which normally contains 7-9% protein (Mine is around 8%). Not self-rising flour.
• You can sift all the dry ingredients to gain a fine texture.
• Do not over mix them or the cake may shrink or be dense.
• Mix ingredients in until just combined. Do not over mix them. When mix in dry ingredients, mix until you can see no dry bits left. Use a spatula to scrape the bottom a little and clear the sides to see if there is any dry ingredients left.

The right texture after you mix in cake flour:

The right texture after you mix in egg yolks:

4. Take the egg white bowl out of the fridge, add lemon juice, granulated sugar and vanilla extract into the egg white, use a hand mixer to beat until it forms soft peaks.

Notes:

• This recipe contains eggs. If you don’t like the smell of eggs, lemon juice and vanilla extract can help reduce the egg smell. The granulated sugar is to help whip up the egg white.
• Use a hand mixer to beat egg white on medium-high speed, until soft peaks form. This process should take several minutes. The right meringue texture should be shiny and smooth. And you will find it quite thick and feel resistance inside the whipped egg white when you move the mixer around.

The right texture of the whipped egg white should look like:

5. Take a scoop of whipped egg white to mix with batter until JUST combined. Pour the whipped egg white into the batter; gently fold the egg white into the batter until just combined.

Notes:

• Gently fold the whipped egg white in. Not whisking nor stirring. Use a spatula to gently “cut” in the whipped egg white until just combined.
• Do not stir in the egg white and do not over mix them. Or you may deflate the egg white, and then the cake will shrink.
• Gently fold the first scoop of whipped egg white into the batter until just combined. Do not overmix them. The right texture should be like:

The final batter texture should be like:

6. Line the cake pan (28*28*2.6 cm) with parchment paper or with baking mat. Pour the batter into the baking pan. Smooth its surface. Give it a few taps, then send it into the oven, and bake for 32 minutes.

Notes:

• Line the cake pan with parchment paper or baking mat, your choice.
• The size of the cake pan is 28*28*2.6 cm.
• Gently smooth the surface.

• The taps are to get rid of the big bubbles for a finer inner texture. A few, not too much. If you are afraid of losing too many bubbles, just neglect this step.
• I use a spatula to gently push the batter to cover the corners. You can simply move the pan around to make the batter float to cover the pan evenly.

• I prick the big bubbles on the surface using a knife. You can use a butter knife to do that.

7. Take the cake out of the oven and let the cake cool down on the cooling rack before take it out of the cake pan. When the cake is cool to touch, release the sides of the cake with an icing spatula, turn the whole cake pan upside down on the parchment paper. Take off the pan, and peel off the baking mat.

Notes:

• Use a toothpick to dip into the cake, if the toothpick comes out clean, it means the cake is fully cooked. If not, extend the baking time.
• Let the cake cool down first before you take it out of the cake pan.

8. This cake base can make cake roll, strawberry cake, lunchbox cake, and so on.

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 311℉(155℃).
2. Separate the eggs. Be careful not to break the egg yolks. Store the egg white in another bowl, and keep it cool in the fridge.
3. Mix vegetable oil and milk until well combined. Add in cake flour, mix until smooth. Add in egg yolks, mix until smooth. Set aside.
4. Take the egg white bowl out of the fridge, add in lemon juice, granulated sugar and vanilla extract , and use a hand mixer to beat until it forms soft peaks.
5. Take a scoop of whipped egg white to mix with batter until JUST combined. Pour the whipped egg white into the batter, and gently fold the egg white into the batter.
6. Line the cake pan (28*28*2.6 cm) with parchment paper or with baking mat. Pour the batter into the baking pan. Smooth its surface. Give it a few taps, then send it into the oven, and bake for 32 minutes.
7. Let the cake cool down on the cooling rack when you take it out of the oven.