This is an example of a sponge cake. The short explanation is that a sponge cake has no fat other than what naturally occurs in the eggs. The related but different genoise, as you’d use to make a bouche de noel, has clarified butter in it.
A family recipe provided by Jennifer Kiel of Washington, DC, from her mother-in-law’s collection, started in Kent, Ohio.
Nut Torte (Dorothy Kerr)
6 egg yolks
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp. vanilla
3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. soda
1 cup ground nuts
1 cup strong coffee (cool)
Method: Mix coffee and nuts together. Beat egg yolks, sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Sift dry ingredients. Mix, alternately, coffee mix and dry ingredients [in]to egg yolk mixture. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into egg yolk mixture. Put into three 9″ pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.
Frosting
1 1/2 cup milk
9 tsp. flour
Bring to a boil until thick like pudding and then cool in refrigerator.
1 1/2 cup Crisco
1 1/2 cup white sugar
Beat Crisco and sugar until fluffy. Add flour and milk mixture. Add 1 1/2 vanilla. Beat until spreadable.