Feeling Unbalanced, and Kate's Gluten Free Easy Sponge Cake

Saturday dawned bright and fresh, with a little bit of autumn in the air. I was preparing for a gluten free baby shower, put on by my mother, and I had agreed to bring the gluten free cake.

I had ooohed and aaahhhed over the recipe I had seen months ago for Kate's Gluten Free Easy Sponge Cake. Kate said it was the easiest cake she'd ever made, and that it satisfied the gluten-eating crowd as much as those who don't eat gluten. Winner! I was excited. I had even bought some beautiful fruit at the store the night before. Chopping strawberries in the kitchen, I was running right on schedule.

I separated the eight eggs, which were all at room temperature. Clearly, I didn't want to mess this one up. I had read the comments on Kate's recipe post, and some mentioned that an eggy film would separate in the batter, leaving the cake a little rubbery and less desirable. I had to be sure that didn't happen to me.

I whipped the egg whites until they were seriously frothy (to stiff peaks, as the recipe says), and then whisked the yolks until they were lemon yellow and creamy. To the egg yolks, I added the flour and sugar. Kate did a great job on the recipe, making sure the instructions were clear.

Since I have a very tiny oven, I separated the batter into two servings. I baked the first cake and it turned out beautifully, after stuffing it with strawberries and kiwi fruit. Later, I dusted the top with powdered sugar. The second cake was in the oven, although I noticed some separation in the batter as I poured it onto the parchment paper. That's the secret, folks, make sure you bake the cake right after you whip those eggs whites and fold everything together, because if you leave it for more than five to ten minutes, that's when it will separate.



The finished first cake, just before its shower in powdered sugar bliss. Which also covered the bits of cake stuck to my serving platter.

All was prepared. I had two beautifully rolled sponge cakes on my sparkly red serving platter, with fruit gracefully spilling out the edges. I had purse and keys in hand, and platter beautifully balanced on my other arm. I can handle this, people. I waited tables in a restaurant with moderate to excellent success. Enough to pay for gas and some college tuition, right? I was swinging open the front door and the red tray caught some sort of updraft. Time stretched out as I watched one of the sponge cake rolls unfold and hurl it's summery contents all over my porch, shortly before flopping on the ground like a discarded pancake. Two sponge cakes, a whole lot of fruit, and the red platter, sitting atop the mess as if it were protecting it.

I was a little furious at the sight of this whole business. How can I be a domestic goddess if I leave my deliverables spread all over the front porch in non-edible condition?

I just walked away from it. There was nothing I could do. (But fret and pretend I wasn't crying. Much, anyway.)

The boy helped me pick it up and send the gritty parts to the compost pile. That was the end of it.

The few bits I ate of the sponge cake were delicious.

Moral to the wise gluten free cook: Hold on with both hands. Sometimes mistakes happen. Mistakes are often tasty. Take it at your speed. Try again, even when it flops. (Hopefully the flop is figurative, rather than the sound it makes when it hits the concrete).