Sponge Cake with Buttercream and Grated Cheese
This is what we call Bolu (sponge cake) Keju (cheese) in Indonesia. It is not the usual cheese cake which contains cheese inside the ingredients of the cake but the cheese is grated on top of the sponge cake to cover the butter cream. I still remember that this was the cake I usually favored to buy when I was small, every time we went to the bakery. I just realized that the only cheese that Indonesians have an access before is only cheddar cheese manufactured by Kraft. However, when I went back home I noticed that the supermarket have some varieties of cheeses especially the high end grocery stores. Apart from those varieties, everyday people still think cheese as the Kraft cheddar cheese. I remembered sending a cheese cookies recipe (called Kastengel) using an edam cheese to my mom, however she still used the kraft cheddar cheese and told me that the Kastengel tasted just fine with those cheddar.
This recipe was sent by my friend which she found on multiply (http://parmanti.multiply.com/journal/item/11/Cake_Keju). She is planning to make this cake for her daughter’s birthday parties. So we actually made the cake at her place. Long story short, we were too excited in making cake together for the first time, so with lots of chit chat and laughter, we accidentally throwing egg yolk in the bin instead of putting it to the mixture, forgetting the emulsifier, overflowing the ‘most big bowl’ that she has ;p with the beaten egg mixture and almost broke the mixer because of overusing it.
Drum roll pleaseeeee… and the verdicts from the judges are:
- The recipe is great, genuine, easy and simple to follow. This is a keeper.
- Do not forget the emulsifier, because it is able to make the cake spongy and springy.
- The cake itself is pretty sweet, especially for the little ones. So, need to reduce the amount of sugar.
- Need to reduce the amount of sugar for butter cream too.
- Use grated cheese to make butter cream instead of cream cheese, because cream cheese couldn’t hold its shape while being pipe for a long time.
So, I made the cake for the second time at home with little changes to the recipes. Now, the cake tastes great, except the bottom layer. If you look at the second picture, you could see that the bottom layer has a slight curve on the side, and it is all thank you to my ignorance. I was not preheat the oven long enough and the oven is not ready to bake my cake, so there you go. After I took the tin out of the oven, I could see that the cake was actually shrinking 
Thank God the top layer is perfect.
Probably you notice I had some writing written on top saying: “Happy 3rd Wedding Anniversary 30.09.09″ I know.. I know.. it was a month ago. Here is my excuse, I made Opera Cake on the 27th September for my brother in law graduation, so if I make another one, we would be too sick of eating too much cakes.
Here is its up close appearance. See the curvy bottom layer… what a disappointment and ruining a perfect cheesy looking cake.
Ingredients for Sponge Cake
- 7 eggs + 8 egg yolks
- 1 tbsp emulsifier (I used Ovalet Koepoe-Koepoe brand)
- 200 gr sugar (I used 130 gr icing sugar)
- 125 gr plain flour
- 25 gr full cream milk powder
- 15 gr corn flour
- 180 gr butter (I used western star salt reduced butter)
- 1 tbsp condensed milk
- grated cheddar cheese for decoration
- red glace cherries for decoration
Ingredients for Butter Cream
- 2oo gr unsalted butter
- 150 gr condensed milk/icing sugar (I used 100 gr icing sugar)
- 75 gr cream cheese/grated cheddar (I used grated cheddar)
Instructions for Sponge Cake
- Preheat the oven at 180 C.
- Melt butter and add the condensed milk. Set aside to cool.
- Using a mixer, mix eggs, sugar and emulsifier until thickened, pale, and almost triple in volume (for approximately 20-30 minutes).
- Add flour, milk powder and corn flour to the egg mixture. Mix until combined. Do not over mix.
- Add the butter mixture to the egg mixture. Mix until combined.
- Bake them on 2 square tins until cooked.
Instructions for Butter Cream
- Combine unsalted butter, icing sugar, and grated cheddar in a bowl. Using a hand held mixer, mix until fluffy.
Preparation time (duration): 60
Culinary tradition: Indonesian
Please leave your comment/suggestion if you find this recipe useful. Can’t wait to hear from you and Thank You!!!
I HAVE NOT TRY THIS OUT ,BUT AM GOING TO TRY IT SOON. DID YOU ADD THE POWDER EMULSIFIER DIRECT OR YOU MIX IT WITH HOT WATER BEFORE ADDING IT TO THE MIXTURE.
My emulsifier is not in powder form, it is a paste (its consistency pretty much the same as butter). So I mix it directly to the egg mixture. I never heard of powder emulsifier before. If you do have a powder emulsifier, just follow the packet instructions. Good Luck
looks great! in the Philippines, my cousins and relatives often have sweet cakes that are sprinkled with grated cheese… they even have cheese-flavored ice-cream! but i never really liked it that much myself..
as for the bottom layer of the cake, i think it looks fine! it’s a very professional looking cake and the icing covers it up well
Me too, I just like to bake them… not so much of a big fan. Thank God my brother loves cake so I could keep experimenting on new recipes.
Thank you for your compliments
is corn flour essential to the recipe? can i use a substitute?
if yes, what could be a good substitute to use?
Hi Jess, I think it kind of does because it lighten the cake. I am not sure what to substitute cornflour with. Can you get cake flour in your area? if yes, maybe you can substitute all the flour in total with cake flour instead. I havent really try it but I am pretty sure it will be fine. Good luck
Hi.. where do u get the emulsifier from??
I live in Sydney and I get it from Indonesian groceries store. It is usually labelled SP or TBM or Ovalet. Good luck
Hi Linda where about in Sydney? So I can learn straight away from your Kichen
Hi Rohani, I am only a home cook and a mum. I dont teach yet as I am still learning myself. But I do shares some of my recipes.
could you help me if there any option if i don’t have Ovalet..any other i can used for cake emulsifier?please..thank you
Hi Haidee,
Sorry for the late reply. There are few options for cake emulsifier like SP, TBM, Starlet… I forget other names. If you go to Indonesian groceries, they usually carry these things in brand such as Kupu Kupu. But I guess you could try without them as well, as long as you spent plenty of time mixing the eggs in the beginning.