Day 9: Angel Cake versus Sponge Cake

What's the difference between Angel Cake and Sponge Cake? We all know that they are both sold in the produce section, have a tendency to be served with strawberries, and are generally better for you then say Devil's Food Cake. But there is a distinguishing feature between the two.


Angel food cake is a type of cake that became popular in the U.S. following the invention of the hand-crank egg-beater. Because the cake contains only egg whites, a softer wheat, and less fat it is said to be "food of the angels." This cake requires that the egg whites be whipped until they are stiff, and gently folded into the other ingredients.


Sponge cake on the other hand is made by beating eggs with sugar until they are light and creamy, then folding in the flour though some recipes use only the air incorporated into the egg mixture. Sometimes, the yolks are beaten with the sugar first while the whites are beaten separately to a meringue-like foam and folded in later. In other words both of these cakes are light, require whipping eggs, and the folding in of flour. Sponge cake, as it contains egg yolks, contains more fat than an Angel Food Cake.


A particular Sponge cake that contains additional fat, Victoria Sponge Cake or as it is sometimes called Victoria Sandwich, is named after Queen Victoria. The Queen frequently had a slice of the cake with her afternoon tea. A traditional Victoria sponge consists of jam and occasionally cream sandwiched between two sponge cakes and the top of the cake is neither iced nor decorated.