Light and airy, sponge cake is created using egg whites, flour, sugar, and occasionally baking powder for leavening. Leavened with beaten eggs, sponge cakes may have been invented in Spain during the Renaissance. A recipe for sponge cake, one of the first types of non-yeasted cakes, was originally published in the English language in The English Huswife, singapore durian cake delivery the Inward and Outward Virtues Which Ought to Be in a Complete Woman, by English poet Gervase Markham in 1660. Although it was thin and crunchy, the cake tasted more like a cracker. By the middle of the 18th century, beaten eggs were being used as a rising agent in bakeries, and the resulting sponge cakes were the basis for the modern cake we know and love. The addition of butter to the classic sponge recipe led to the production of the Victoria sponge, which in turn led to the invention of baking powder in the Victorian era by English food maker Alfred Bird in 1843.

Gervase Markham's The English Huswife (1615) has the first recorded recipe for sponge cake (or biscuit bread), which calls for flour, sugar, and eggs, and then flavoring with anise and coriander seeds. Some sources from the nineteenth century define "avral bread" (funeral biscuits) as "sponge biscuits," while others call them "crisp sponge" dusted with sugar. Sponge recipes in the United States developed in a different direction from those in Europe and Asia due to the use of elements including vinegar, baking powder, hot water, and milk. Strawberry shortcake is only one of many desserts that can be produced using this fundamental formula, which is also used to make madeleines, ladyfingers, trifles, and in certain cases, strawberry pie.

However, the taste of a sponge cake may be improved with the addition of fillings and frostings, such as buttercream or pastry cream, since the cake itself is often baked without butter. Fruits, fillings, and custard sauces all have a greater impact on the taste of a sponge cake when they come into contact with the cake. In the 1920s and 1930s, a favorite American dessert was sponge cake with boiling frosting. Sponge and angel food cakes were more costly than the common pies because of their delicate texture and labor-intensive baking process. The Georgian sponge cake with lemon filling and boiled frosting was a specialty of the renowned Frances Virginia Tea Room in Atlanta. Crumpets and toasted sponge cake were both on the menu at NYC's Crumperie. Read more...