Easy Sponge Cake
This Easy Sponge Cake recipe is delicious and quick to make. My light and moist vanilla sponge cake is super versatile. It can be used to make layered birthday cakes, strawberry shortcakes, trifles, icebox cakes, mini desserts, and more.
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Updated post from 2011.
HOW TO MAKE EASY SPONGE CAKE
- TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Sponge Cake Ingredients.
- What Size Baking Pans to use?
- How to make Meringue?
- What is Ribbon Stage?
- Folding Sponge Cake Batter.
- Bake Sponge Cake.
- How long does sponge cake last?
- Can I freeze the sponge cake?
- My Cake is dense.
- My Cake didn’t rise.
- The cake sank in the middle.
- My Sponge is dry.
- Why do I have giant holes and tunnels in my cake?
- What is the best icing for sponge cake?
This simple Vanilla Cake is favorite with kids and adults alike.
Fill it with Whipped Cream, Swiss Buttercream, German Buttercream, Ganache, Chocolate Mousse, Cream Cheese Frosting, Chocolate Ganache Frosting or jam. Or enjoy it dusted with powdered sugar with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream.
CAKE INGREDIENTS
- Flour – all-purpose, for super tender crumb use cake flour
- Granulated Sugar
- Salt
- Baking Powder
- Eggs – separated, at room temperature
- Oil
- Warm Water or Milk
- Vanilla Extract
BAKING PANS
You can use round, square, rectangle baking pans to make your sponge cake. I’ve used this cake to make my very tall Holiday Peppermint Cake using 4-6 inch cake layers. This cake can be stacked with proper supports, too.
| EASY SPONGE CAKE PAN SIZE | |
| 1 Batch 9-inch round or square pan | |
| 1 Batch 2 – 8-inch pans cakes are not very tall and they bake quicker | |
| Double Batch 10-inch pan, line the sides of the pan with parchment, use a heating core, makes a tall cake | |
| Double Batch 9 x 13-inch rectangular pan | |
| 1 and 1/2 Batch 4 – 6-inch cake pans |
Preheat the oven to 350F and prepare a baking pan. Spray the pan with a nonstick spray and line it with a parchment and spray again with a non stick spray. Or alternatively brush with melted butter and dust with flour.
Today I doubled my recipe and I used a 10 inch pan. To make sure my 10 inch cake baked evenly I also used a heating core/flower nail that I sprayed with a nonstick spray.
DRY INGREDIENTS
What I love about this recipe is that I don’t need any special flour. Plain, all-purpose flour gives fantastic results; for a super-fine crumb you can use cake flour). In a large bowl whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
MERINGUE
Start by bringing eggs to room temperature. Leave eggs on the counter for about 30 minutes. Or you place eggs into warm water. They will be at room temperature in about 5 minutes or so.
Next, separate egg yolks and egg whites. I always start with a clean, grease-free bowl. With a wire attachment beat egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar (or use 1/2tsp lemon juice or vinegar) until foamy. Then gradually beat in about half of the granulated sugar listed in the recipe. Beat egg whites until a stiff and glossy peak is formed.
OVER WORKED MERINGUE
It’s easy to overwork meringue. It is best to stop the mixer a few times while whipping meringue and test if a stiff peak is formed. When meringue is over mixed it becomes grainy. The grainy, overworked meringue will make your cake dry.
Scrape out stiff, glossy meringue out into another bowl. Next we’ll prepare egg yolks. No need to wash the mixer bowl.
RIBBON STAGE – EGG YOLKS AND SUGAR
Into a bowl add egg yolks and remaining granulated sugar. Beat on medium-high speed till pale in color and doubled in volume. Scrapping the bowl a few times to ensure egg yolks are thoroughly blended in. Beat until mixture reaches the ribbon stage.
RIBBON STAGE
Ribbon stage is a baking term that refers to batter consistency. It is reached when batter lifted up with a whisk, spoon, or spatula falls back down into a bowl slowly forming a ribbon. It should hold its shape for a few moments, slowly disappearing, blending into the mixture.
After you reach the ribbon stage it’s time to add oil. Slowly in one continuous pour beat in oil on low to medium speed. Blend well. Then pour warm water into a measuring cup. And gradually, slowly in one continuous pour beat in warm water. Scrape the bowl a few times to ensure the mixture is homogeneous. I’m using warm t water to make sure all of the sugar crystals are completely dissolved.
With the addition of water, the mixture will become thinner. Next, you can beat in Vanilla Extract and continue beating for 2 minutes, until the mixture becomes very light in color and aerated.
SPONGE CAKE BATTER
Gradually fold sifted flour alternating with meringue into the egg yolk mixture. Do not stir. It is important to fold the ingredients into the yellow egg yolk mixture. Stirring will deflate the cake batter significantly resulting in a dense cake batter.
Once no more flour streaks are visible in the cake batter give it 3 more folding strokes. Especially go with the spatula all the way to the bottom of the bowl to ensure the batter is thoroughly mixed.
BAKE SPONGE CAKE
Pour sponge cake batter into a prepared cake pan(I doubled the batch and baked 10-inch cake today). Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes. Check the cake after 30 minutes, if the top is browning too much quickly place foil over it to prevent over-browning. (This is usually not an issue with 8 or 9-inch cakes.) And continue baking for additional 5 minutes. The cake is done when a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean, without any crumbs attached to it.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes then invert the cake onto a cooling rack. Use a kitchen towel to handle a hot baking pan. Remove the flower nail.
Let the cake cool till lukewarm then wrap it in a plastic wrap and let cool completely at on the kitchen counter.
HOW LONG DOES SPONGE CAKE LAST ?
Stored in the fridge, covered, in a container or bakery box cake lasts for 5 – 6 days. You can keep unfilled sponge cake at room temperature for 2-3 days.
CAN I FREEZE SPONGE CAKE?
Freeze sponge cake right after it cools, tightly and well wrapped in a food plastic wrap. I prefer freezing it without the filling. You can freeze a sponge cake for up to 3 months. Let it thaw on the counter.
WHY IS MY SPONGE CAKE DENSE?
Sugar crystals were not completely dissolved. Also, under-mixing can be an issue. Stirring instead of folding the batter at the last stage of mixing.
MY SPONGE CAKE DIDN’T RISE, WHAT HAPPENED?
Check the raising agent expiration date. It can also mean that cake wasn’t baked long enough.
CAKE SANK IN THE MIDDLE, WHY?
- Opening the oven door in the early stages of baking can cause the cake to sink in the middle.
- Closing the oven door too abruptly.
- Cooling the cake too quickly. Don’t move freshly out of the oven-baked sponge cake to a cool, drafty room.
- The batter sits too long before it goes into the oven.
- Over-beating of the batter at the last stage.
MY SPONGE CAKE IS DRY, WHY?
Over-beaten egg whites. Over baking. To amend a dry sponge, use simple syrup.
WHY DO I HAVE GIANT HOLES AND TUNNELS IN A CAKE
This is usually caused by over-mixing. Quick solution, fill the holes with buttercream.
WHAT IT THE BEST ICING FOR SPONGE CAKE?
There is a great variety of icing/frostings that work well with a sponge cake. My personal favorites are Whipped Cream, German Buttercream, Lemon or Raspberry Curd, Chocolate Ganache Frosting (especially white chocolate frosting is delicious with raspberries), jam, or any fruit filling such as Strawberry Mousse.
CAN I USE BROWN SUGAR?
Yes, to make brown sugar sponge cake, you can use 1:1 ratio of granulated sugar and brown sugar. For example, when using 1 batch of sponge cake recipe, use 1/2 cup granulated sugar to prepare the meringue, and other 1/2 cup of brown sugar to cream the egg yolks.
CAN I MAKE A 2 TIER CAKE USING THIS RECIPE?
Yes, you can. Be sure to use a proper stacking method. Don’t stack a really heavy cake on top of a sponge cake. For example, don’t stack a pound cake on top of a sponge cake.
I often make a double batch of my sponge cake recipe and bake it in a 9x13x2 (33 x 23 x 5 cm) inch cake pan.
I used this fluffy sponge cake recipe to make:
- Holiday Peppermint Cake with a Candy Sail
- Easy Rainbow Buttercream Cake
- Striped Holiday Cake
TO MAKE EASY SPONGE CAKE YOU NEED
- TOOLS
- Find all the tools in my Amazon Shop
- Baking Pan
- Bowl
- Hand-Held or Stand Mixer
- Parchment
- Spatula
- Cooling Rack
- Mixing Bowls
- Mesh Sieve – to sift dry ingredients
MORE DELICIOUS CAKE RECIPES :
- Pumpkin Pound Cake
- Delicious Cheesecake Recipes
- Chocolate Banana Icebox Cake
- Chocolate Mint Stracciatella Cakeroll
Easy Sponge Cake
Ingredients
EASY SPONGE CAKE
- 4 eggs egg whites, separated, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (200grams)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200-210grams) -divided
- 4 tbl oil
- 4 tbl warm water
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of cream of tartar (or use 1/2tsp lemon juice vinegar) – it helps to beat the egg whites into their full volume and helps with over beating, too.
Instructions
EASY SPONGE CAKE
- Preheat oven 350F. Butter and flour your baking pan, line the bottom with parchment. Or use nonstick spray and line the bottom with parchment.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour (1 cup and 1/2cup,200grams), salt (1/4tsp), and baking powder (1tsp), set aside.
Meringue
- In a clean bowl or your stand mixer, whip egg whites ( 4 egg whites) with a pinch of cream of tartar or 1/2tsp lemon juice/white distilled vinegar(optional). Beat until foamy. Then gradually add 1/2 of the granulated sugar (1/2cup,100grams). Beat until stiff, shiny, and moist peaks are formed. Don't overbeat, or meringue will be dry.
- Gently scrape the meringue into another bowl. Set aside. Now we are going to prepare egg yolk mixture, no need to clean the mixer bowl. Yay. If you are using a hand-held mixer, you'll need to use 2 bowls to prepare meringue and egg yolk mixture.
Egg Yolks and Sugar – Ribbon Stage
- Place egg yolks (4 egg yolks) into the mixing bowl. Bowl doesn't have to be spotless. Add remaining granulated sugar (1/2cup,100grams) to the egg yolks. Beat using wire whip attachment. Beat the egg yolks at medium-high speed. Scrapping the bowl once or twice to ensure all egg yolks are well blended in. Beat until the ribbon stage is reached. About 5 to 6 minutes. The mixture will be thick, doubled in volume and pale in color.
- Gradually in one continuous pour add oil (4 tablespoons), mix well. Then gradually add warm water (4 tablespoons). Scrape the bowl in between. Beat in Vanilla Extract (1 teaspoon) and beat for 2 more minutes. Turn off the mixer.
Sponge Cake Batter
- Using a fine mesh strainer, sift about 1/3 of the flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture and carefully fold the flour in with a spatula, then add about 1/3 of meringue and fold it in. Continue with the rest of the flour and meringue until no streaks are visible. Then make the last 3 folds, making sure you go with the spatula all the way to the bottom of the bowl. Be gentle and don't over mix. You are looking for a light and airy batter.
Bake
- Fill your prepared baking pan(s) and bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. 10-inch can take up to 35 minutes to bake.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then invert it on a cooling rack and let cool completely. Wrap the cake in a food safe plastic wrap.
Storage
- Store undecorated/unfilled cake covered in the fridge for up to 5 days until ready to use. Or fill the cake with your favorite frosting. Store in the fridge for 5 days. If using whipped cream make sure to use some gelatin to stabilize it so whipped cream doesn't weep. Unfilled cake keeps at room temperatuer for 3-4 days.
Notes
- Opening the oven door in the early stages of baking can cause the cake to sink in the middle.
- Closing the oven door too abruptly.
- Cooling the cake too quickly. Don’t move freshly out of the oven-baked sponge cake to a cool, drafty room.
- The batter sits too long before it goes into the oven.
- Over-beating of the batter at the last stage.
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I updated this post from 2011 with brand new process pictures and written text.
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Hi i was wondering if there was a chocolate version of this cake
thank you.
Hi Jose,
I’m working on getting it posted ASAP. Thank you for remining me. Happy New Year.
Hello Hani,
Sponge sounds wonderful by the feedback. Just interested to know what sort of oil you add. Vegetable or Olive oil?
Thank you, Suzanne
Hi Suzanne,
I use vegetable oil. I think you can use olive oil, but taste might be slightly different, depends on the taste of the oil. Happy Holidays.
Excellent recipe! I want sure how this cake would turn out as traditional sponge cake (genoise) doesn’t contain baking powder, water, oil or salt. But, I was very pleasantly surprised. The cake came out perfectly, with a great crumb and actually a bit taller than my regular genoise recipe. This will probably be my go-to recipe whenever I need a good, basic sponge. Thank you!
I’m glad you like it Jeff. Thank you for your feedback.
Many sponge cake recipes use cake flour. Have you ever tried that? Do you think it would make a big difference?
Hi Jeff,
you can definitely use it, I haven’t noticed a huge difference. It’s softer. 🙂
Hi! Can i add blueberries to this or would it not bake well?
Hi Fran,
Great question.
I’d suggest using a shallow pan instead, like a jelly roll pan.
Hi! I see that you grease your pans for sponge cake, but I have read that sponge cakes should not be greased? They need to grab on to the sides of the pan to rise fully. I am confused? If using parchment paper in a 9×13 pan, do you need to grease or not? Please give me your thoughts on this issue. Yours look really tall and fluffy and you grease, please explain as I want to make this cake ASAP. Thank you in advance.
Monika
Hello Monika,
Yes, that’s true about true sponge cakes and angel food cakes. By true, I mean cakes that rely only on egg whites to rise.
This recipe rises nicely as it counts on egg whites and it also gets a little help from baking powder, too. There is also oil to keep the
cake nicely moist.
When I use 9×13 inch pan, I spray it with a nonstick spray to make the parchment stick to the pan and you can lightly spray the parchment inside, that should be sufficient. Keep me posted how it goes.
Hani
Hello,
What measurement should I use if I want to add milk and warm water. Or can I use warm milk instead of the warm water according to your recipe?
Hello,
yes you can use milk or water, or if you want to add both, add half water and half milk.
What would be the best way to color the batter if you want to use multiple colors? For example, I want to make a 4 layer cake (6 inch pan size which is 1 and 1/2 batch) with each layer a different color. Would I add dye to the egg yolk mixture portioned out equally and then fold in the
Meringue amongst the 4 divided batters? Or fold the whole batch and then divide and then mix in the dye? I’m just worried of overmixing
Hi Tana,
Yes, I would add food gel to the proportioned egg yolk mixture and then folded in proportioned flour and meringue.
Best,
Hani
What does tbl stand for in the recipe? Warm water and oil is mentioned in tbl. Thank you
Hello Bency,
I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner. I believe it’s my fault, it’s a typo. It’s a tablespoon.
Hi Hani…. I love this recipe it turned out amazing. I do have a question…. would you happen to have a recipe to make a chocolate sponge cake or what could I add to make it a chocolate one?
Hi Melissa,
I’m still working on the chocolate version. Thank yo so much, I’m glad you like this recipe. Happy Baking.
From day 1 to Nth number of time I made this cake it’s a hit each time.. perfect measurements and perfect sponge everytime.. Thank you so much..
Hi Zeba
that’s awesome. I’m glad you are happy with it. Thank you for letting me know.
my 6th attempt on making a sponge cake and my first success thanks to this awesome recipe
Hi Ashley,
that is so awesome. I’m glad it worked out.
Hi, could you tell me what egg size you use please.
Thank you
Hi Ruth,
I use large eggs.
Thank you.
Hani
Could I use lemon extract vs vanilla? Then a mascarpone base lemon frosting/filling?
Hi Bonnie,
Sure you can use lemon and vanilla, you can add lemon zest too. Sounds delicious.
Hi can i use falvoured icing sugar instead of the granulated sugar?
Hi Hanan,
I don’t see why not. Keep me posted how it goes.
Hi what type of oil do you use in your cake can I use extra virgin olive oil
Hi Beck,
For a mild flavor I use vegetable oil, you can definitely use coconut or olive oil.
This recipe is excellent! Thank you so much.
Thank you Kinga, I’m glad to hear you like it.
I Love this Recipe it’s perfect .
Thank you so much Fionna, I’m pleased to hear you like it.
Than you Fionna, I’m pleased you like it. 🙂
Great recipe.
Thank you Sam.
Hello! Can’t wait to try this recipe. When you bake in the 9x13x2 (33 x 23 x 5 cm) inch cake pan, do you use the heating core/flower nail?
Hi Christina,
yes I prefer to use a flower nail for that size of the pan, I mostly use double batch for that size but if you make a single batch you should be fine without the heating core/flower nail.
Keep me posted how it goes.
Hello,
I would like to make a four-layer 8-inch cake. Can I bake this recipe as is into two 8” x 2” pans and slice lengthwise or four 9” x 2” pans or should I double the recipe for a four-layer 8” or 9” cake? Also, can I reduce the sugar and if so, by how much? Thank you.
Hi Ally,
I’d make one batch and bake 2 – 8 inch cake. So to make 4 layers you’d need to bake twice unless you have 4 – 8 inch cake pans and can facilitate the baking all at once in a large oven.
I don’t think you’ll need to torte the baked cakes, they won’t be as tall, doming should be minimal as well.
As far as sugar goes this cake not very sweet as it, but you can reduce sugar by 1/4 cup.
Thank you. I have four 9” pans. Can I make a four layer cake using one recipe or should I double it to fill four 9” pans? Also, do you suggest using sugar syrup on the layers?
Hi Ally,
You’ll need to double the recipe to fill 4-9 inch pans. Yes, syrup is nice. Depending on the filling, if you are using moist filling (like, jam or lemon curd) you probably won’t need to use syrup.
I’ve tried sponge cake two times didn’t come out fine.I will try this recipe.Prat it comes out fine😊😊
Hi Halima,
how did it go?
Hi Hani,
I want to make one rectangle cake for a birthday cake using the recipe you have shared. What dimension pan do I use and how long do i bake the cake for?
Thank you,
Divya
Hi Divya,
I use 9X13 inch cake pan. I usually make a double batch when using this pan. Check it at 28-30 minute mark.
Hi! Really love watching all your videos! This recipe is great but if you have any vanilla cake recipe without eggs that good for cake decorating as well as good as plain cake in itself, please share that as here in India people prefer cake without eggs . Thanks
Hello,
I don’t have any eggless cake recipe at the moment. Hopefully in the near future. Thank you.
Hello! I want to bake this for my sisters birthday, but I only have the 9in standard round pans. If I want to do a 3 layer cake, should I make this into one cake and slice the layers or separate the batter in 3 cake pans?
Hello Carolina,
I’d make double batch and separate into 3 pans. Thank you. Happy Birthday to your sister.
If i want to make 10 inch cake…do I really need to double everything? : ) 8 eggs seems a lot!
My mom used to make sponge cake like this and it was always delicious, so I really want to try this recipe! I just hope my cake will raise like yours! : )))
Hi Sas, You can definitely use 4 eggs only, but your sponge won’t be as high in 10 inch pan. There is also a less of a chance it will come out dry as it will bake pretty fast in 10 inch pan.
Sponge cake is my husbands family’s favorite cake! They love it with “flour”icing. Will definitely give yours a try!
Hanka, I do the same… it was my very first cake I made as a child, it was the first cake I made here in Greece (and everybody was excited about the softness of this cake).
It is really really wonderful and very versatile sponge cake..
I do it half-half (white and cocoa added and folded to create a 2 color-cake), I use sometimes orange juice instead of water (fantastic orange sponge cake) or even a bit of strawberry jam added works fantastic.
Really lovely cake! and super easy to make!
I always have such a hard time getting my cakes this tall. I have to try using cream of tartar next time.
Is love to have this with fruit and cream. This is my all time favorite way to eat cake 🙂 beautiful, Hani!