Baking a Sponge Cake

A sponge cake batter of the genoise type, which does not contain chemical leaveners, should be divided into prepared pans and baked immediately, or the air bubbles will start to break. Pans should be buttered and floured with a combination of 4 parts melted butter to 1 part flour by volume. By brushing this mixture on the pans, you need to handle them only once. A pan spray may be used instead. With some lighter mixtures, such as two-way and chiffon batters, it is advantageous to butter and flour or spray the bottom of the pan only, or to line it with a circle of baking paper; this allows the sponge to stick to the sides, thereby preventing it from shrinking as it bakes.