I made a sponge cake using a recipe from an old cookbook and at one point it told me to melt and boil butter and pour the boiling butter into beaten egg-whites, let sit for a minute and then mix gently. This procedure puzzles me. Why should I pour in the butter while hot?
If you want the whole thing, here goes (no measures, 'cause it's in Polish and uses Polish measures, where "one cup" is not what you would call "one cup"):
- beat egg whites with powdered sugar until stiff
- pour in melted and boiling butter (or shortening), mix gently after one minute and let sit until it cools.
- Start mixing again and add egg yolks one by one, then lemon juice and finally flour mixed with baking powder.
- Mix a bit more.
- Bake for at least 50 minutes at 160 degrees C
The batter looks fine, it's baking nicely, but the long time is also strange for me, most sponge cakes that I made require just 20-25 minutes of baking. I skimmed the book, but didn't notice any other sponge cake recipe with this approach.
Best Answer
As far as I know, pouring hot stuffs into the meringue (beaten egg-white) while mixing will denature the protein, and thus stiffen and stabilize the meringue. However, I have no idea why you should pour and wait, then mix in.