Amazing Biscuit Joconde Sponge (+VIDEO)

Today, I'm sharing how to make an amazing biscuit Joconde sponge. It is lightly chewy, tender, and moist. The texture matches really well with complex cakes such as mousse cake, layered cake, custom entremets, etc.

It is also known as a sponge for an opera cake. The classic cake can not be completed without this unique sponge.

In this post, you'll learn essential baking tips such as:

• What is biscuit Joconde?
• How to make it so tender and light
• How stiff the meringue should be
• Tips to fold the batter properly ......and so on!

Jump to:

• 📌 What is biscuit Joconde sponge?
• 📌 What's In biscuit joconde sponge?
• 📌 Frequently Asked Questions
• 📌 How to make Biscuit Joconde sponge
• 📌 The Detailed Steps with More Images
• 📌 How to make Opera cake
• 📌 VIDEO: Learn how to make it visually!
• 📌 Printable Recipe
• Biscuit Joconde Sponge Recipe

📌 What is biscuit Joconde sponge?

It is an almond sponge made by mixing an almond & whole eggs mixture and meringue.

Because it contains a lot of almond flour with less flour, it is not as fluffy as regular sponge cakes such as a genoise sponge cake. - But instead, it creates such a moist, rich, and unique softness.

It's not too fluffy nor dense and the neutral presence matches so well with complex desserts such as layered cakes, mousse entremets, etc.

📌 What's In biscuit joconde sponge?

The almond and whole egg mixture:

• Powdered Sugar
  • It dissolves quickly in liquids. The mixture of powdered sugar and almond flour is often used in many desserts such as macarons.
• Almond flour
  • It gives this sponge a rich and moist texture.
• Whole eggs
  • It does the main role to let the cake rise in the oven.
• All-purpose flour
  • We use a very small amount for this recipe just to sustain the body.
• Butter
  • It adds richness to the flavor and texture.

Meringue:

• Egg white
  • Make sure there are no oil and liquids mixed in egg whites and tools so that the meringue gets whipped up easily.
• Granulated sugar
  • It helps to stabilize the meringue as well as create a moist and fine texture for the sponge.

📍 The printable recipe is at the very end of this post.

Jump to Recipe

📌 Frequently Asked Questions

📌 How to make Biscuit Joconde sponge

The 8 steps:

1. Mix almond flour and powdered sugar.
2. Add whole eggs and mix.
3. Heat the mixture with a water bath.
4. Whip the mixture.
5. Whip the egg white to make meringue.
6. Mix the meringue and the whole egg mixture.
7. Add flour and fold.
8. Add melted butter and fold until they are even.
9. Spread onto pans and bake at 410 F | 210 C for 6-7 minutes.

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📌 The Detailed Steps with More Images

Now, let me share detailed tips on each step that are crucial for making Biscuit Joconde Sponge successful.

Preparation

• Preheat the oven: to 410F | 210C
• Set parchment papers on 2 half-size sheet pans. (10.5 inch | 26.7 cm ✖︎ 15 inch | 38 cm. You can also use 1 full-size sheet pan or 4 quarter sheet pans.)
• Prepare all the ingredients ahead so that we can move smoothly after this. 

Step 1: Mix almond flour and powdered sugar.

The almond & whole egg mixture

Let's start by making the almond & whole egg mixture.

If you can, whip the whole egg mixture and egg white all at the same time using two machines.

But when you don’t have the option, whip from the whole egg mixture.

👩🏻‍🍳 That is because meringue is much more unstable and starts separating very quickly if you leave it for some time. Even if you re-whip the separated meringue, it's not quite the same if it is already separated too much. Just something to be mindful of!

First, mix powdered sugar and almond flour in a bowl. It is not a crucial step but I like to sift them so that there will be no lumps of almond flour and powdered sugar. (After that, I also like to blend it with a whisk to make it even.)

Step 2: Add whole eggs and mix.

To the flour, add whole eggs. Mix with a whisk until it looks even.

Step 3: Heat the mixture with a water bath.

Now, warm it up with a water bath until it feels comfortably warm. (35-40 C | 95-104 F)

💬 By doing this, the eggs get whipped up a lot more in a short time. Make sure that the hot water is not bubbling crazily so that it does not cook eggs.

Once it’s warm enough, remove it from the heat.

And place a bowl of butter in the water bath to melt it. (You can also heat it with a microwave.) The stove heat should be turned off. You can leave it there until right before you use it.

Step 4: Whip the mixture.

Going back to the whole egg mixture, quickly start whipping it while it’s warm.

And continue whipping until it looks very pale.

💬 That means it contains a lot of air which creates a lighter texture. 

Touch the bowl and check: When it doesn’t feel cold or warm (room temperature), you can stop.

Set it aside.

Step 5: Make meringue.

Now, we are making meringue. If you are using the same bowl or whisk as the whole egg mixture, wash them off and wipe them really well.

💬 That is because any oil, liquids, or dirt prevents the egg white from whipping up well.

Once the meringue looks bubbly like hand soap like in the image below, add half of the sugar and continue whipping.

When it looks fluffy like in the image below, add the rest of the sugar.

⚠️ I recommend not adding all the sugar at once because it has the power to prevent the egg white from whipping.

Continue whipping until it looks fluffy but not too stiff. Like this:

The tip should curls up.

💬 Meringue starts separating in a short time. Use it right away as soon as it's made!

Mix the meringue & whole egg mixture.

Now, pour all the whole egg mixture into the meringue.

And continue folding until about 75% is blended.

Step 7: Add flour and fold.

Next, add all-purpose flour.

And continue folding until you don’t see any more flour.

Step 8: Add melted butter and mix.

The butter should be still warm at this point.

⚠️ The butter gets hard as you mix if it's not warm enough.

Add one big scoop of the batter to it and mix. And pour it back into a bowl.

Continue folding until the butter is blended evenly.

👩🏻‍🍳 Do not over-mix it and stop right after it gets even. The batter gets runnier if you fold too much.

Step 9: Spread onto pans and bake!

Right after it's done, pour it into trays and spread it evenly.

Today, I used 2 half-size sheet pans for my Opera cake but you can also use a different size or shape for your specific desserts.

💃🏻 Move as quickly as possible so that you can put them in an oven while the condition is the best.

Now let’s bake!

Bake at 410 F | 210 C for 6-7 minutes until the surface looks nicely golden brown.

When you use 2 racks in an oven, rotate them between shelves to ensure they bake evenly. (At least with my oven, they don't get baked evenly if I don't rotate don't the way!)

Now, let it cool on a rack.

You can also add flavors to it such as vanilla beans, coffee powder, flavor extracts, etc., and enjoy many versions!

📌 How to make Opera cake

To learn how to make a classic opera cake with this biscuit Joconde sponge, check out this post. I'm sharing how to make it step by step.

📌 VIDEO: Learn how to make it visually!

Watch this video to learn how to make the biscuit Joconde sponge visually!

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💬 If you loved this recipe, please share your feedback on this post! I always love to hear how you enjoyed it at home with your friends and family.

📌 Printable Recipe

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