Jaconde Recipe

4.94 from 31 votes

Joconde is a light and airy sponge cake that you can use to make many types of desserts. Joconde does not have a lot of fat in it and is considered to be a healthy version of a traditional cake.

Prep Time15

Cook Time8

Total Time23

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Servings: servings

Calories: 59kcal

Author: Liz Marek

Equipment

1 13"x18" Sheetpan

Ingredients

7 ounces almond flour
6 ounces powdered sugar
2 ounces cake flour
5 large eggs
6 whole egg whites
1 ounces sugar
2 ½ ounces melted butter

Makes: 13 x 18inch rectangle, 1inch height

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

First you need to preheat your oven to 425ºF/230ºC. Prepare a 13x18" sheet pan with some parchment paper.
Whip the egg whites to soft peaks and slowly sprinkle in the second measurement of sugar. Continue whipping to firm moist peaks. If they start crumbling you have over-whipped your egg whites and there isn't any way to save them.
Sift together your almond flour, first measurement of sugar and flour so you don't have any lumps. Blend in the 5 whole eggs into the flour until smooth.
Then fold your meringue into the almond flour mixture until just combined. Make sure you don't over mix it or get too rough and break down all the air you built up in your batter or you'll have a very flat cake.
Slowly whisk in the melted butter.
Finally, spread the mixture onto your prepared sheet pan (13"x18)" and bake for 8 minutes. Make sure you don't over bake your cake.
Once your cake is cooled, sprinkle a thin layer of granulated sugar over the surface of the cake and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit overnight in the fridge. The sugar will dissolve into the cake as a result, the cake will stay moist even if it's exposed to air. Cool huh!

Notes

Always sift the almond flour, powdered sugar, and cake flour together before mixing. Lumps in the dry ingredients will create an uneven batter and rough texture in the finished cake.

Wipe your bowl and whisk with white vinegar before whipping the egg whites to remove any trace of grease. Even a tiny amount of fat will prevent the whites from whipping properly.

Do not over-whip the egg whites. Stop at firm, moist peaks with a slight sheen. Dry or crumbly peaks cannot be saved and the cake will not work.

Fold the meringue in gently. Over-mixing deflates the air you just built up and produces a flat, dense cake. Stop folding as soon as no white streaks remain.

Do not overbake. Eight minutes at 425 degrees is all this cake needs. Pull it when the edges are just starting to turn golden.

Sprinkle granulated sugar over the cooled cake and cover with plastic wrap before refrigerating overnight. This is what keeps joconde moist even when the cut edges are exposed to air.

For a chocolate version: Replace 35 grams of cake flour with 25 grams of cake flour plus 15 grams of cocoa powder.

Nut-free option: Substitute the almond flour with finely ground sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds in the same amount.

Nutrition