Fragrant and delicate biscuit is used to make various cakes, pies and pastries. Delicious and lush desserts decorate the festive table, provided that the hostess is familiar with the nuances of baking.
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To make a biscuit dough, you need only 3 ingredients: 1 glass of wheat flour, 1 glass of sugar and 5 chicken eggs. If you need a truly magnificent sponge cake, it is better to use the cold method for cooking.
When using the cold method, the dessert is less crumbly and very light. A hot method is recommended to obtain a dense biscuit.
Chicken eggs should first be warmed to room temperature. Wheat flour is sifted through a fine sieve 2-3 times. Gently break the eggs and separate the proteins from the yolks. The yolks are ground with 1/2 sugar until the sugar grains disappear completely. Only after this, the mass is whipped with a whisk until the volume increases by 2-3 times.
In a perfectly clean bowl, beat the whites. Do not use metal containers, since the protein undergoes the oxidation process, turns gray, and lush foam does not work. For whipping protein, it is better to take a mixer. The remaining sugar is poured into the container with a thin stream. It is necessary to achieve a weight increase of 3-5 times.
Beat the whites better by placing the container in ice water or dishes filled with crushed ice or snow.
1/3 of the protein foam is introduced into the beaten yolks and the ingredients are mixed from top to bottom with a wooden or silicone spatula. Gradually pour flour into the mass, continuing to mix gently. Then, the remaining proteins are introduced and the biscuit dough is stirred until smooth. It is necessary to knead the dough manually, since using the mixer at this stage can lead to foam settling.
The bottom of the baking dish and the walls are lubricated with vegetable oil to a height of 1 cm. When lubricating the entire side surface, a magnificent biscuit will not work, since the dough rising in the oven will slip off. Therefore, the biscuit will rise only half the height. It is better to sprinkle the bottom and walls of the mold with wheat flour or semolina.
Pour the dough into the prepared form in one motion. The dough should occupy no more than 3/4 of the height. A biscuit is baked at a temperature of 180 ° C, setting the form to an average level. You can determine that the dessert is ready by piercing the center of the biscuit with a dry match. If there is no raw dough left on it, the pastries are ready. In addition, the baked biscuit easily lags behind the mold and, when pressed with a finger, quickly recovers.
Do not open the oven in the first 10-15 minutes. Biscuit - the most delicate product that does not tolerate a sharp temperature drop and mechanical stress. Any push will cause the test to settle. If a crust forms on the biscuit surface too quickly during baking, cover the dough with parchment paper moistened with water, as the crust will not allow the middle of the cake to bake.
After taking the baked goods from the oven, the mold is placed on a wet towel. Then turn over to the grate and leave to cool completely. Only after that the dessert is taken out of the mold.
If it is decided to prepare a multi-layer cake, the biscuit must be cut into several shortcakes. It is much easier to do this if the baking is idle for at least 4 hours. If you want to soak the cakes with syrup, the aging time of the biscuit is increased to 8 hours.