How to Fill Your Sponge Cakes: Here Are 8 Simple and Delicious Ideas

Flour, eggs, sugar: common ingredients that combined together give life to many recipes. Among these is the sponge cake, a great classic of pastry making. Although it may seem like an easy preparation, in reality it hides some pitfalls, because the result must be soft and spongy without using an ally like yeast. The sponge cake goes with irresistible creams such as pastry cream, chantilly, lemon cream and many others: together they become the protagonists of sumptuous and voluptuous desserts. Here we have collected simple and delicious fillings , with some original recipes from which to take inspiration.

1. Custard

Custard: the most loved. To make it, all you need are egg yolks, granulated sugar, milk, corn starch, vanilla extract and lemon zest. Velvety and fragrant, it is a real all-purpose. To fill, you can also use all-purpose flour as a thickener instead of corn starch (which tends to break down after a few hours),which gives it more body. Be careful not to overindulge in its flavor: the cream must be well cooked on a very low flame.

Custard Variations

Its being composed of neutral ingredients, which lend themselves to additions, has meant that this preparation has spawned several variations, all obviously equally delicious. Chocolate custard, for example, is one of the most popular reinterpretations, because practically everyone likes it: just remove the lemon peel, add 55% dark chocolate and you're done.

Same procedure for the coffee one, with a strong taste, ideal for those who love the beverage in all its forms. For a dessert for adults, a great solution is also the rum custard, with the liqueur that gives an extra aromatic note. For a quick version, there is the microwave custard, which becomes the ace up the sleeve of the laziest.

2. Butter Cream

Compact and firm, the buttercream typical of Anglo-Saxon pastry making is ideal when using sponge cake in spectacular desserts or in cake design. The recipe calls for very soft butter, so the advice is to leave it out of the fridge for at least two hours before using it: cut it into pieces and put it in a large bowl, adding the powdered sugar. At this point, blend with an electric whisk and add a little milk, obtaining a spreadable, smooth and lump-free consistency. By combining food coloring, you can create creams of different shades.

3. Chantilly Cream

Fresh cream, powdered sugar and vanilla bean seeds: that's all you need to make this queen of fillings that comes from France. The three ingredients are whipped together, adding powdered sugar at intervals: preferable to granulated sugar which could give a grainy texture. Why is it called that? Probably because it was named after its inventor, the very famous François Vatel, a chef and pastry chef who lived between 1631 and 1671, who lived in the castle of the same name in the service of the Prince of Condé.

Chocolate Chantilly Cream

This is a delicious alternative that Vatel would have appreciated, we are sure. Very simple, it only requires a little attention when combining the extra ingredient with the classic chantilly.

The chopped chocolate is first melted in a bain-marie with a little milk, left to cool and then, little by little, incorporated into the whipped cream, with movements from top to bottom, so as not to deflate the mixture.

4. Diplomat Cream

Diplomat cream is what is also called Italian Chantilly and which, for this very reason, sometimes generates confusion between the two recipes. In this case, it involves combining the custard with whipped cream, respecting a precise ratio: 2/3 of the first and 1/3 of the second. Served like this with a spoon, it is irresistible. As for the filling, however, our advice (or trick) is to dissolve a sheet of soaked gelatine in milk, in order to give more solidity to the structure.

5. Mascarpone Cream

Whoever says mascarpone cream says tiramisu, but not only that, because this delight is truly versatile and easy to combine. How is it prepared? There are basically two variations: some use only the yolks and others also use whipped egg whites, to give greater softness. In our recipe, there are only egg yolks that are pasteurized with the pate à bombe technique: the yolks are worked with an electric whisk while a sugar syrup at a temperature of 114 °C-115 °C is poured in. Add everything to the mascarpone, obtaining a creamy mixture.

Mascarpone Cream Variations

We also present a couple of variations for the mascarpone cream. The first is the chocolate one, which is prepared by mixing the egg yolks, sugar and mascarpone, then adding some chocolate melted in a saucepan with fresh cream (leaving it to cool first), mixing everything together.

The second is an egg-free version, which features fresh whipped cream incorporated into the mascarpone with a little icing sugar.

6. Paradise Cream

Full-bodied consistency and only three ingredients: the paradise cream is another option to consider for filling the sponge cake, not by chance its consistency is compared to that of a cloud. The steps to prepare it are very easy: start by putting the fresh cream in the fridge for 15 minutes, then work it with a hand whisk, obtaining a firm and frothy mixture. At this point add the condensed milk, mix delicately and finally add the honey. Another 10 minutes in the fridge and then let your imagination run wild.

7. Lemon Cream

We could define lemon cream as a cousin of custard, which puts all the tantalizing and enveloping scent of citrus at the center. You need: egg yolks, lemon juice, fresh milk (all three at room temperature), granulated sugar, lemon zest and corn starch. You can use flour if you don't have starch, it will give greater density as seen previously and also choose a vegetable substitute instead of milk, such as soy, almond or oat drinks, as long as they are sugar-free.

8. Strawberry Cream

We conclude with an ideal proposal when this fruit is in season, as the recipe is very successful with fresh, firm, ripe and bruised strawberries. Preparing this cream is quick and easy: make a mixture with egg yolks, potato starch and sugar to which strawberries blended in boiled and warmed milk are added. Pour everything into a saucepan until it thickens. Transfer to a bowl with cling film in contact and then harden in the refrigerator. A delight.