Makes one 12- by-16-inch sheet cake or one 9-inch round cake
- Vegetable oil cooking spray
- 2/3cup sifted cake flour, plus more for pan
- Pinch of salt
- 3 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- Sugar, for dusting, if rolling a cake
- Coat a 12-by-16-inch rimmed baking sheet or a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray.
- Line with parchment; coat with cooking spray.
- Dust with flour, tapping out excess.
- Stir together flour and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.
- Preheat oven to 450° for sheet cake or 400° for round cake, with rack in lower third.
- Put eggs, egg yolks, and granulated sugar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer.
- Set over a pan of simmering water; whisk until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch.
- Return bowl to mixer fitted with whisk attachment.
- Beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes.
- Raise speed to high.
- Beat until mixture is pale and thick, about 4 minutes more.
- Remove bowl from mixer.
- Sift flour mixture over the top; using a large rubber spatula, carefully fold into egg mixture, cutting through middle and lifting gently over sides.
- When almost incorporated, pour melted butter down side of bowl; gently fold to incorporate completely.
- Spread batter evenly in sheet or pan with a large offset spatula.
- Bake until golden brown and springy to the touch, about 6 minutes for 12-by-16-inch cake and 15 minutes for 9-inch round cake.
- For the 12-by-16-inch cake: Run a small knife around sides of sheet; invert onto a wire rack. Remove parchment.
- For the roll, transfer cake to a dish towel dusted with confectioners’ sugar, and roll up, starting at a short end; for the torte, reinvert cake onto the rack. Let cool completely.
- For the 9-inch round cake: Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes; run a small knife around sides of pan. Invert onto rack; remove parchment, and reinvert onto rack. Let cool completely.