Nutrition Facts on Sponge Cake vs Angel Food Cake

Nutrition Facts on Sponge Cake vs Angel Food Cake
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While most of us would certainly not consider cake to be a typical “health food”, it is possible to make a healthier choice when it comes to choosing this decadent dessert. As one can imagine, the ingredients and resulting nutritional data can widely vary among cake types and recipes. This guide will provide the nutrition facts on sponge cake vs. angel food cake. Both types of these versatile cakes can be used as the base for everything from a birthday cake to a fresh berry shortcake, but as we will see, one of these types of cakes definitely comes out as the winner when it comes to nutrition.

Angel Food Cake

Angel Food Cake is a type of sponge cake that is hallmarked by it’s lighter-than-air, almost fluffy texture. This type of cake uses the leavening of stiffly beaten egg whites to achieve an airy crumb that is highly absorbent when served with a sauce or a glaze. Prized for it’s delicate nature, one of the distinct characteristics of an angel food dake is the fact that it is virtually fat free. This fact alone makes it a popular choice for those watching their fat intake.

While angel food cake is a fat free option when deciding on cake recipes, it is not typically low in calories or carbohydrates. One way to decrease the calories found in a standard Angel Food Cake recipe is to use a sugar substitute such as Splenda in place of the white sugar called for in most recipes. This would dramatically cut the caloric content of each serving.

Nutritional Content of Angel Food Cake

One serving of Angel Food Cake served plain with no sauces, glazed or fillings would amount to approximately 137 calories with 0g fat. The rest of the nutritional breakdown is as follows:

egg whites

  • Cholesterol 0mg
  • Sodium 74mg
  • Potassium 80mg
  • Total Carbohydrates 30.9g
  • Dietary Fiber 0.2g
  • Protein 3.4g
  • Sugars 22.1g
  • Calcium < 1 %
  • Iron 8 %
  • Thiamin 10 %
  • Niacin 11 %
  • Vitamin B6 < 1 %
  • Magnesium 2 %
  • Folate 12 %

Sponge Cake

sponge cake

Sponge Cake is very much like an angel food cake with the exception of fats added to the recipe in the form of egg yolks. The use of egg yolks in the recipe results in a texture that is more dense and moist than that of an angel food cake. Like angel food cakes, sponge cakes can be served with a glaze or a sauce or can be layered with fillings such as buttercream, ganache, jam, whipped cream or fruit curd. Due to it’s absorbent texture and ability to be adapted to a variety of different uses, sponge cake is considered to be a highly versatile cake.

Nutritional Content of Sponge Cake

So how does a typical sponge cake compare to an angel food cake when it comes to nutrition? The typical size serving of plain sponge

Yolks

cake has approximately 124 calories, with 20 of those calories coming from fat. The fat content of a single slice is just 2.2 grams, which may seem rather low, but consider the fact that unlike angel food cake, Sponge cake is almost always served with some type of frosting, filling or cream which will boost the fat and calorie content quite a bit. Another thing to consider is the amount of cholesterol that the egg yolks included in the recipe provide. A single slice of this cake will provide 91mg of cholesterol, that is roughly 30% of the RDA. Here is how the rest of the nutritional data breaks down:

  • Cholesterol 91mg 30 %
  • Sodium 72mg
  • Potassium 58mg
  • Total Carbohydrates 22.5g
  • Dietary Fiber 0.2g
  • Protein 3.5g
  • Sugars 14.5g
  • Vitamin A 2 %
  • Vitamin C < 1 %
  • Calcium 2 %
  • Iron 11 %
  • Thiamin 10 %
  • Niacin 11 %
  • Vitamin B6 2 %
  • Magnesium 2 %

Summary

With the facts lined up, it is easy to see that though cake may not be a health food, it is possible to make a healthier choice when it comes to indulgence. Angel food cake is the clear-cut winner in this battle of the batters. Next time you are craving a slice of cake, go for the lighter option and leave the table with a clear conscious.

Sources

https://allrecipes.com//Recipe/angel-food-cake-i/Nutrition.aspx

https://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Glorious-Sponge-Cake/Nutrition.aspx

Photo credit: “Sponge Cake” https://www.flickr.com/photos/santos/61479875/

Photo credit: “Angel Food Cake” https://www.flickr.com/photos/ataradrac/4491401329/

Photo credit: “Egg Whites” https://www.flickr.com/photos/indiamos/3961808024/

Photo credit: “ Egg Yolks” https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yolks.jpg