Sponge Cake for Banquet

History

"Bizcocho para banquete" (sponge cake for a banquet) is a recipe printed in the Spanish home-cookery manual La Mejor Cocinera, Recetas de Cocina, published by Editorial (Saturnino) Calleja of Madrid; the earliest firmly located editions date to about 1921–1923 and the book carries no named author. The recipe is a plain, large-format sponge: twelve egg whites are beaten to stiff peaks, then roughly 800 grams of fine sugar and 400 grams of good flour are incorporated very slowly; once well worked, the twelve yolks — beaten separately — are mixed in, and the batter is baked in a large buttered mold. Within the book the cake appears by name as a dessert course in one of the suggested banquet ("Para banquetes") menus, listed among dishes such as roast turkey, kidneys in sherry and peach sorbet. That is the sense in which it is "for a banquet" — a large celebratory sponge scaled for a full table — rather than a dish the record ties to any particular class, region or occasion beyond that menu. The book presents itself as a practical, economical household manual dedicated to the mistress of the house "cualquiera que sea su posición social" (whatever her social position). The word bizcocho itself derives from the Latin biscoctus, "twice-cooked." Beyond this, the historical record does not document a specific inventor, origin story, or social meaning for this particular recipe.

Ingredients

• 12 large egg whites
• 800 grams fine sugar
• 400 grams good flour
• 12 large egg yolks
• butter

Instructions

1. Beat the twelve egg whites to stiff peaks. Very slowly and gently incorporate the fine sugar and flour, mixing thoroughly. In a separate bowl, beat the twelve egg yolks. Once the egg white mixture is well worked, fold in the beaten yolks. Grease a large mold with butter and pour in the batter. Bake in the oven until golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.