I’ve been tinkering around in the kitchen again, and made these sweet little sponge cakes.
The fragrance of vanilla bean paste and almonds swirled delightfully in the air.
I had been admiring another one of Quill’s drawings she made for me this past Mother’s Day.
She told me that when she was drawing this, she tried to include everything sweet, and bakery stuff that she thought I would like.
I love this picture soooo much!!! It made me think back to my childhood when I used to watch the original Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie on television, and that Candy Man song….
I’m a bit obsessed with that muffin hat on top of this character’s head, and knew that I had to try and make it.
This called for something simple, and a bit light and fluffy.
Yes, a sponge cake would do nicely.
Start by whipping up a few egg whites with a little cream of tartar and set aside in a large bowl.
Whisk together blanched almond flour, cake flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Mix in egg yolks, a little milk, and vanilla bean paste until smooth.
Add this batter to the bowl with the whipped egg whites, and fold the whipped egg whites in.
The final batter will be a little thin and frothy.
Fill cupcake liners three quarters full.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until done.
A single freeze dried raspberry makes the perfect topping– no artificial colors, flavors, or added sugar.
Candies or marachino cherries would work too though.
Lightly press one raspberry onto the top of each cake immediately after removing them from the oven.
The raspberry will stick as the cake cools.
Because my recipe made 14 cupcakes, and my muffin pan only had 12 cups, I lined 2 custard cups with parchment paper to bake the last 2 spongecakes.
They worked out well too. I just trimmed the paper edges after filling the cups.
A sweet little cake along with a few candies would make a lovely Valentine’s Day treat.
Anyone remember their grandparents (or if you’re old enough, your parents) having a roll of Violet candies in their purses or pockets?
Speaking of Violets, remember Violet Beauregarde from the Willie Wonka movie, and how she blew up like a balloon? Then the Oompa Loompas had to roll her away, lol!
Enjoy!
- 3 large eggs, separated
- ½ tsp. cream of tartar
- ½ c. blanched almond flour
- ½ c. cake flour
- ½ c. granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. sea salt
- ½ c. milk
- 1 T. vanilla bean paste
- Freeze dried raspberries (marachino cherries or candies ok too)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin pan with paper liners.
- Place egg whites and cream of tartar into the bowl of a standing mixer. Beat on high until soft peaks form. Remove whipped egg whites to a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add into the standing mixer bowl along with the egg yolks, milk and vanilla bean paste. Mix on medium speed for three minutes. Pour into the bowl with the whipped egg whites. Fold the egg whites into the batter.
- Fill lined muffin tins three quarters full with batter. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and immediately top each cake with a freeze dried raspberry. Let cool and serve.
