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Introduced by the French, spongecakes are popular sweets in the Vietnamese repertoire. They're enjoyed plain as a great snack or part of the dessert grazing spread, and can be purchased in most Viet bakeries abroad. However, like with many foods, the cakes is often much better when made at home. Minh-An, a Southern California/Little Saigon gal, wrote asking for tips on baking the perfect spongecake:

I have been trying to find the right technique and recipe for banh bong lan. Everything I have made from French, Italian, and Chinese steamed, comes out that grainy Western-style sponge cake. I'm looking for a recipe with butter that makes a light and chewy cake with a dense texture like pound cake. If you've ever had the plain parchment lined cake from Banh Mi Che Cali, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Any suggestions or recipes?

Thanks so much. It's driving me crazy.

Minh-An's request was a blast from the past. When I was a kid (ahem, in the 70s), my mother, sisters and I used to regularly turn out many banh bong lan, which literally means "blooming orchid cake", a nicer moniker than spongecake. After we arrived in the US, we were thrilled at the vast and relatively inexpensive supply of refined sugar and butter. We went on a baking binge and scoured libraries and joined Book-of-the-Month clubs to read up on spongecake recipes. Week after week, we baked the glorious, airy cakes, which perfumed our home with sweet smells. First they were plain and round, flavored with vanilla. Then we baked them in loaf pans and topped them with a mixture of ground pork and onion for a treat called banh bong lan thit. (It sounds weird but it is a known Viet entity and an unusual savory sweet combination! There's another version where you mix chopped dried shrimp and thinly sliced Chinese sweet sausage into the batter too.)

I haven't baked one in many years, and I know what Minh-an is looking for. Banh Mi Che Cali on Bolsa Avenue in Westminster lures customers with the smell of their spongecakes baking. But you don't have to go there to enjoy the cakes. Make it yourself and save on fossil fuels.

Most Viet recipes for banh bong lan do not employ butter. It is very expensive in Vietnam. And, the French approach sometimes omits the butter too. However, a bit o' butter in the batter yields a slightly richer flavor and creamier texture.

Let's cut to the recipe, which is essentially a French butter spongecake called biscuit au beurre. It is a remarkably simple combination of ingredients but the Devil is in the details. Before launching into making the cake, remember these points:

Ingredients:

• Use the best ingredients you can afford, like fresh eggs, high quality butter, and pure vanilla.
• Have the ingredients at room temperature.
• Cream of tartar acts as a stabilizer for egg whites; it's stocked in the spice aisle of regular supermarkets.
• Cake flour is lighter and produces tender results since it has lower gluten content. Find it in the flour and starch aisle of regular supermarkets. It's sold in boxes.
  

Fancy equipment:

• A cheap handheld mixer will do. For Luddites, hand whip using a balloon whisk.
• Use metal bowls to mix in; stainless steel is fine, copper is too pricey.
• Wash and dry the bowls and whisk (or beaters) well before using.

The Process:

• You will be working quickly so start by readying all the equipment and measuring out all the ingredients.
• This is a non-collapsible soufflé. There's a beaten egg base of yolks and sugar into which you add a beaten egg whites and flour. There's more flour here than in a soufflé, which is why the cake hold up as it cools.
• Master a plain cake first before going off on creative riffs.

Spongecake
Pate a Biscuit
Banh Bong Lan

Makes 1 cake.

Start by preparing the pan. Use a 4-cup pan, like a high-sided (with a 2" wall) 8-inch round or square, or an 11" x 17" sponge sheet. To prepare the pan, smear a bit of softened butter to lightly coat the bottom and side. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Smear the parchment paper with a bit more butter. Add ¼ to ½ cup all-purpose flour (depending on the size of the pan) and shake and turn the pan around to coat it. Standing over the sink, invert and tap the pan to remove excess flour. Set aside.

Now Put a rack in the lower third position and preheat to 350F. Then, have your mixer (or whisk) and rubber spatula handy. Finally, gather the ingredients and organize yourself so you can move swiftly and smoothly through the process.

For egg yolk batter base:
3 large egg yolks, placed in a metal bowls, about 3-quart capacity
½ cup sugar
11/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For egg whites:
3 large egg whites, place in a metal bowl, 2-3-quart capacity
Pinch of salt, non-iodized table salt, preferred
Scant ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
11/2 tablespoons sugar

For finishing the batter:
1/3 cup plus ¼ cup plain bleached cake flour, scooped and leveled into a sifter set over a piece of parchment or plate
3 tablespoons tepid melted, unsalted butter (keep cooled butter on stove to avoid solidification)

1. Start beating the egg yolks in the bowl. Gradually sprinkle in the sugar by the tablespoon to incorporate well. (Do this too fast and the batter will be grainy with sugar.) Continue beating for several minutes, until the mixture is thick, pale yellow, and when you pause and lift the whisk (or beaters), the batter drips down and forms a ribbon that slowly dissolves on the surface. Now, beat in the vanilla. Set aside.

2. Wash and dry the whisk (or beaters) well.

3. Start beating the egg whites. When they are foamy throughout, sprinkle in the salt and cream of tartar. Continue beating until soft peaks form (when the whisk (or beaters) is lifted out of the egg whites, a soft, slightly bent over peak of egg white forms in the bowl). As you beat, the whites will have gone from clear to light grey to solid white. Instead of sliding from the walls of the bowl, they will stick to the bowl.

Continue beating for a couple more minutes to generate stiff egg whites (the peak stands straight when the whisk is lifted from the bowl). The whites will have a sheen.

4. Immediately take a large rubber spatula and plop a ¼ of the egg whites into the egg yolk base. Stir gently to lighten the base.

Then plop 1/3 of the remaining whites onto the base. Sift ¼ of the flour on top. Delicately and quickly use the spatula to fold the ingredients together, until they are nearly all incorporated. (To fold, plunge the spatula sideways - like a knife - into the center of the batter, touching bottom. Rapidly bring the spatula to the wall of the bowl and rotate it to scoop up and fold the batter over the whites and flour. Do this several times.)

Repeat with another 1/3 of the remaining whites and 1/3 of the remaining flour. Fold again until almost blended.

Fold in ½ of the remaining whites, ½ of the remaining flour. Fold again until almost blended.

Fold in the remaining whites and remaining flour. Fold again until nearly blended. At that point, pour in the melted butter in a circle. Quickly fold it into the batter (do not overblend or the batter will deflate).

The finished batter will be pale yellow, very thick, and light feeling.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. It should fill to about ¼ inch of the rim. Scoop out extra batter to avoid overflow during baking.

6. Use the spatula to spread the batter out evenly in the pan. Tilt the pan in all direction to slightly push the batter toward the rim. This prevents a domed-center during baking.

7. Gently slide the cake into the oven. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. The cake will rise slowly and then brown. The cake is done when its puff sinks slightly and the sides show a faint line of shrinkage from the edges of the pan.

8. Remove the cake from the oven and cool on a rack for 15 minutes. (It will deflate and pull away from the pan walls.) Run a knife all around the edge, between the cake and the pan. Invert the cake onto your hand (or back on the rack), give the cake bottom a tap, and then remove the cake pan. Peel off the parchment paper and discard. Invert the cake, top side up, onto the rack. Allow to cool completely (about 1 hour) before eating, filling, or icing.

NOTES & TIPS

When baking the cake in advance, slip it into a zip-top bag after it has cooled. Refrigerate it for 2 to 3 days or freeze it for several weeks.

Finely grated citrus zest may be added to the egg yolk base. Substitute it for the vanilla or work it in along with the vanilla. About 11/2 teaspoon will do.

You may omit the melted butter, if you like a lighter, more spongy, chewier result.

Sources:

Child, Julia. The Way to Cook. NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1989.
Braker, Flo. The Simple Art of Perfect Baking. Shelbourne, VT: Chapters, 1992.