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We suspect a lack of patience is the reason for the on-camera mangling. With television minutes ticking by, the cooks rush through this step, confident that the one already in the oven, ready to be swapped out, was made slowly and properly by their staff.

The problem comes when people at home imitate them and then are disappointed when their results aren't as light and airy.

Folding is the process of incorporating beaten egg whites or whipped cream into a batter, without losing the light, airy texture that you worked so hard to achieve. You may also see instructions for folding fruit or nuts into an already airy batter - you'll use the same basic technique.

Here's our technique for folding, using our recipe for lemon spongettes

Before you begin, In your mixing bowl have the heavier of the two mixtures you want to fold together - in this case, it's the basic batter. Gently stir in 1/3 of the beaten egg whites. This helps to lighten the batter, preparing it for the folding.

Scoop the rest of the beaten egg whites on top of the batter and prepare to fold. Using a rubber spatula, insert it in the center of your bowl. It's important that it be the center, because otherwise the motion will be closer to stirring. From the center, cut through the batter to the edge. Twist your wrist, lifting some of the batter on top of the egg whites. Turn the bowl a quarter turn.
Again:
• cut your spatula from the center of the bowl to the edge
• scoop up some of the batter
• turn the bowl.

That's it! That's the basic technique of folding, but you have to keep repeating it, folding and turning the bowl until everything is well incorporated. It will take a bit for the ingredients to come together, and this is where people get impatient. They start to simply stir or get sloppy with their technique.

You do want to work relatively quickly, so that the air bubbles in your egg whites don't start to pop on their own accord. But whatever you do, keep repeating the basic technique.