Sponge cake or soletillas

The sponge cake or the ladyfingers that we all know are flat and elongated sponge cakes, soft and spongy, which are prepared with a very common sponge cake recipe, similar to that of the Genoese sponge cake or almost identical; in fact, there are those who use the Genoese sponge cake recipe directly.

The proportions are around 25 grams of sugar and 25 grams of soft flour for each medium egg, of about 55 grams. If you want fluffier ladyfingers you can increase the weight of sugar up to 30 grams per egg and vice versa, if you want firmer ladyfingers increase the weight of flour up to 30 g per egg. As with madeleines, the recommended oven temperature is higher than for a normal sponge cake, to encourage the rise of the dough.

As for the preparation, there are those who beat the whole eggs with the sugar, those who beat only the egg whites in the form of a French meringue, those who beat the egg whites and yolks separately, each with half the sugar… There are also recipes in which the flour has a certain proportion of starch (cornstarch, for example). Methods for all tastes with slight variations in the final consistency. I prefer to beat the egg whites with the sugar and then mix with the rest of the ingredients, so let's go with the recipe.

KitchenAid food processor , T&G acacia wood tray and Laura Ashley porcelain espresso cups with saucers

Ingredients

• 3 medium eggs at room temperature
• 65 g of sugar
• 75 g of soft flour
• 1 pinch of salt
• Additional sugar for sprinkling

Preparation

1. We preheat the oven to 200° so that it is ready when we finish making the dough.
2. Using a kitchen scale , we weigh all the ingredients. We sift the flour, add the salt and set aside.
3. Separate the egg whites from the yolks and set the latter aside. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a food processor such as the KitchenAid and beat at medium-high speed until foamy.
4. Add the sugar by the spoonful, stirring constantly, until everything is incorporated. Continue stirring until you obtain a firm meringue.
5. When the meringue is ready, add the slightly beaten egg yolks and mix with a spatula using gentle, circular movements.
6. We do the same with the flour, until it is homogenous.
7. Pour the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a 2cm round nozzle and pipe 8cm strips of dough onto baking paper , keeping the bottom of the nozzle against the paper. Sprinkle the dough with a little sugar.
8. We cook the ladyfingers without air, only with heat from above and below, in the lower third of the oven for about 12-15 minutes, until they begin to brown.
9. We take them out and let them cool on a rack .

It's not as difficult as it seems to make homemade ladyfingers, right?

It helps a lot to have the right tools, such as a good food processor or whisk that allows you to whip the egg whites properly.