This better than bakery sponge cake recipe is light, airy, and just straight up DELICIOUS! It’s so versatile that you can pair it with literally anything. I love filling mine like a classic Victorian sponge cake with my homemade raspberry filling recipe and whipped cream – YUM!
What is a Sponge Cake?
A sponge cake is a light and airy cake that is made primarily from whipped egg whites. Unlike other types of cake, such as butter or oil cakes, sponge cakes do not contain much fat which contributes to it’s light texture.
Sponge cake is often used as a base for other desserts, such as layered cakes, trifle, or as a component in various French-style pastries. It can also be served on its own, dusted with powdered sugar or paired with fresh fruit and whipped cream like a Victorian sponge cake (which is how I love mine!).
What makes this recipe stand out?
I am so proud of my sponge cake recipe and it is no doubt my favourite sponge I’ve tried, with the simple reason being – I don’t use that much flour!
Some flour is needed to help with the structure of the cake, however many recipes I’ve tried I feel use way too much and just end up being too heavy (almost like a regular cake). What I’ve done instead is substituted a lot of the flour with cornstarch, which helps thicken the batter without forming more gluten than we need. This results in the softest, airiest, bakery like sponge cake!
How to make Sponge Cake
Now I’m not going to sugar coat it, sponge cakes are a little more challenging to master than regular cakes! BUT, if you carefully follow the steps below you should end up with the perfect sponge 🙂
Begin by preheating your oven to 160 °C (320°F) with the fan on (see note 2 on recipe card if you don’t have a fan function) and line the bottom of two 8×3 inch baking tins with baking paper without greasing the bottom. Leave the sides of the cake tins ungreased and bare (do not line with baking paper). This will prevent the cakes from shrinking once they’re baked.
In a bowl combine your flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Mix until well combined (you do not need to sift it yet). Set aside.
In a medium sized bowl add in the egg whites and white vinegar, and using a hand or stand mixer, whip on a medium high speed for 30 seconds until foamy. Gradually add in 1/3 cup of the sugar and then continue mixing for a further 2 minutes. Then turn your mixer down to low and mix for a further minute (about 4 minutes of mixing altogether). You should end up with stiff peaks (see note 3 on recipe card). Set aside.
In a large bowl add in your remaining 1/3 cup of white sugar and warm water. Mix so that the sugar is coated in the water. Add in the egg yolks and vanilla, and with a hand or stand mixer, whip on a medium high speed for 4 minutes, and then turn the mixer down to low and mix for a further minute (5 minutes of mixing altogether). Your mixture should now be thick and you should be able to create ribbons with it when you lift it up with a spoon.
Stream the vegetable oil into the egg yolk mixture while mixing on a medium speed. Mix until well combined.
Add in half or your egg whites to your egg yolk mixture, and using a spatula gently fold together until just combined. Then sift in your dry ingredients, and gently fold through until just combined.
Finish off by adding in the remaining egg whites and gently fold until just combined. You can use your spatula to break up any large chunks of unmixed egg whites but try not to push out too many of the air bubbles and do not overmix.
Distribute the batter into your baking tins and then tap your baking tins lightly on your counter. Then run a thin knife or toothpick through the batter to remove any large air bubbles and then bake for 25 minutes. To test whether they’re done, gently touch the tops and it should create a little indent which slowly bounces back.
Once the sponges are done, immediately tap them on the counter from a height of about 10cm, and lay them upside down (while still in their baking tins) on a wire rack to completely cool (see note 4 on recipe card).
Once cooled (about an hour later), run a thin knife around the edges to release the cakes from the cake tins, and then turn them out onto a wire rack.
To make my cake layers look nice and neat, I gently rub my fingers around the edges and the top and that removes the dark crust on the sides and tops of the cake (see video for demonstration).
APPLY SIMPLE SYRUP: Combine sugar and hot water together for the simple syrup and mix until the sugar is completely dissolved. Using a pastry brush, generously brush the top and sides of the sponges with the simple syrup (see note 5 on recipe card).
How to Decorate a Sponge Cake
You can decorate your sponge cake however you like 🙂 but I like to fill mine with raspberry filling, strawberries and cream – YUM!
Place one sponge cake layer down, and cover the top with a thin layer of my raspberry jam filling.
Place strawberries on top (I like to cut mine in half and place them upside down). Cover with generous amount of whipped cream and spread it out evenly with an offset spatula or knife.
Place your next sponge cake layer on top and then cover with more whipped cream. Finish decorating with more strawberries on top. Enjoy!
Light & Airy Sponge Cake Recipe
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Sponge Cake
- ⅓ cup (40 g) flour - regular, all purpose (see note 1)
- ½ cup (60 g) cornstarch
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 4 large eggs - whites and yolks separated, room temperature
- ⅛ tsp white vinegar
- ⅔ cup (132 g) white granulated sugar - separated in half - ⅓ cup (66g) for the egg whites & ⅓ cup (66g) for the egg yolk mixture.
- 1½ tbsp warm water - not boiling
- 2 tsp vanilla essence/extract
- 2 tbsp (30 g) unflavoured vegetable oil - I use canola
Simple Syrup
- ½ cup (100 g) white granulated sugar
- ½ cup (110 g) boiling water
Whipping Cream
- 2 cups (375 g) cold whipping cream
- 2 tsp icing sugar - also known as confectioners sugar/powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla essence/extract
- 1 punnet fresh strawberries for decorating
Raspberry Jam
Instructions
Sponge Cake
- Preheat oven to 160 °C (320°F) with the fan on (see note 2 if you don't have a fan function) and line the bottom of two 8x3 inch baking tins with baking paper without greasing the bottom. Leave the sides of the cake tins ungreased and bare (do not line with baking paper).
- In a bowl combine your flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Mix until well combined (you do not need to sift it yet). Set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl add in the egg whites and white vinegar, and using a hand or stand mixer, whip on a medium high speed for 30 seconds until foamy. Gradually add in 1/3 cup of the sugar and then continue mixing for a further 2 minutes. Then turn your mixer down to low and mix for a further minute (about 4 minutes of mixing altogether). You should end up with stiff peaks (see note 3). Set aside.
- In a large bowl add in your remaining 1/3 cup of white sugar and warm water. Mix so that the sugar is coated in the water. Add in the egg yolks and vanilla, and with a hand or stand mixer, whip on a medium high speed for 4 minutes, and then turn the mixer down to low and mix for a further minute (5 minutes of mixing altogether). Your mixture should now be thick and you should be able to create ribbons with it when you lift it up with a spoon.
- Stream the vegetable oil into the egg yolk mixture while mixing on a medium speed. Mix until well combined.
- Add in half of your egg whites to your egg yolk mixture, and using a spatula gently fold together until just combined.
- Then sift in your dry ingredients, and gently fold through until just combined.
- Finish off by adding in the remaining egg whites and gently fold until just combined. You can use your spatula to break up any large chunks of unmixed egg whites but try not to push out too many of the air bubbles and do not overmix.
- Distribute the batter into your baking tins and then tap your baking tins lightly on your counter. Then run a thin knife or toothpick through the batter to remove any large air bubbles and then bake for 25 minutes. To test whether they're done, gently touch the tops and it should create a little indent which slowly bounces back.
- Once the sponges are done, immediately tap them on the counter from a height of about 10cm, and lay them upside down (while still in their baking tins) on a wire rack to completely cool (see note 4).
- Once cooled (about an hour later), run a thin knife around the edges to release the cakes from the cake tins, and then turn them out onto a wire rack.
- To make my cake layers look nice and neat, I gently rub my fingers around the edges and the top and that removes the dark crust on the sides and tops of the cake (see video for demonstration). I find the dark crust on sponge cakes are also what contain that slight eggy after taste sometimes, which is why I prefer to remove it.
- APPLY SIMPLE SYRUP: Combine the sugar and hot water together for the simple syrup and mix until the sugar is completely dissolved. Using a pastry brush, generously brush the top and sides of the sponges with the simple syrup (see note 5). I use about 3/4s of the simple syrup mixture in total.
Whipped Cream
- In a large bowl add in the whipped cream, icing sugar and vanilla. Whip until you reach stiff peaks. Be careful not to overwhip the cream.
Assembly
- Place one sponge cake layer down, and cover the top with a thin layer of my raspberry jam filling.
- Place strawberries on top (I like to cut mine in half and place them upside down). Cover with generous amount of whipped cream and spread it out evenly with an offset spatula or knife.
- Place your next sponge cake layer on top and then cover with more whipped cream. Finish decorating with more strawberries on top. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
619 Comments
I only have an oven for 1 baking tin, can the other half of the batter be left on first?
Hi Yasmin! You can bake one cake layer first, and then the other one after the first one is done 🙂
Do you have a recipe book that I could buy please . Thanks Lynda
Hi Lynda! I don’t have a recipe book just yet but will be sure to let you all know once I get around to doing a project like that 😀 appreciate all the love and support 🙂
Hi! Quick question, if I’m refrigerating this cake to decorate the next day, should I apply the sugar syrup before putting in the fridge or wait until taking it out?
Hi Fran! You could do either option, but I would suggest putting the sugar syrup on the day before, and then leaving the cake out at room temp in an airtight container as the layers will be fine without refrigeration 🙂 enjoy!
Perfect sponge cake
Followed the recipe to T .
Thank you for the amazing recipe !
Awesome! So happy you loved the recipe Tara 😀
This was amazing! It was my first attempt at making a homemade sponge cake and it was light and airy and fluffy! I used it for a strawberry trifle for Valentine’s Day and my boys went nuts over it. I didn’t have the size pans you used and everything else I had was nonstick so I had to use my old metal 8×8 round baking pan (only one pan, I couldn’t find the second one) and the batter went almost all the way to the top. I put a pan underneath because I was almost sure it would spill over but I was ok! It took around 28 minutes to cook at 345 degrees (no fan in my oven) I will definitely make this one again!
So so happy to hear you and your boys loved the recipe Becca and that the batter didn’t overflow! Appreciate the feedback 🙂
Hi I am making a large sheet cake about 3 inches high. What do you recommend for cooking time
Hi Samantha! It’s hard to say as I haven’t tried out such a tall version of this cake myself sorry, so you may just need to play around with the cook time a bit. Perhaps check around the 30 minute mark and go from there 🙂
Hi from the UK! I wanted to ask if I could make this cake in 6″ round tins that are quite deep? Would this affect the baking time at all or the overall recipe? I don’t have any 8″ tins. Thank you
Hi Aaisha! For 6 inch pans I would recommend halving the recipe 🙂 they may bake up well as two tall cakes if you decide to do the whole recipe, I just haven’t tried it myself so can’t say for sure 🙂 enjoy!
Hello, just wondering if I can use raw sugar instead of white sugar?
Hi Lisa! 🙂 I haven’t tried this recipe with raw sugar myself, but I imagine it would affect the taste and texture of the cake slightly as raw sugar tends to have more moisture in it. With some experimenting it may work fine, but sponge cakes are very delicate and sensitive to change so I would recommend sticking to the white sugar if possible 🙂
For doubling the recipe 2x .u are given the same 8 inch pan ,does it works for all measurements the same pan size
Hi Serina! So sorry about this mistake – I need to figure out how to fix this 🙁 if doubling the recipe then you would want to use four 8 inch cake pans or two larger 10 inch cake pans 🙂 hope that helps!
Hello, I hope you’re doing well! I’m looking to make this cake for my siblings birthday cake and need to feed about 16-18 people, would doubling the recipe be enough to make 2 layers of cake in a 12×17 rectangle pan?? Also would I need to make any adjustments for it to cook in a pan that size compared to the round ones? Thank you!
Hello Serena! I’m doing well thanks and hope you are too 🙂 Doubling the recipe should work, and if you have too much batter you can use it to make a smaller cake on the side or little cupcakes too 🙂 in terms of cook time, if the cake pan is deep and the batter is about as high as it is in the original recipe (just under 1.5inches high) then the cooking time should roughly be the same, but if the tray is shallow and the cake is on the thinner side then you will need to reduce the cooking time – I’d check at about the 15 min mark to see if it’s done and then bake more if needed. Hope that helps! 🙂
Hey there from Aus! Just confirming, if using cake flour I should only use 40g not the sum total that the recipe calls for flour & cornstarch? Would you recommend adding a tiny bit of cornstarch for that extra fluffiness or completely exclude? I have both types of flour but I bought cake flour especially for this occasion (had a previous recipe chosen in imperial measurements but some reviews put me off…) so would like to use. Looking forward to baking your recipe!
Hi Rebecca! 🙂 So you would only want to substitute the all purpose flour, but also add in the additional cornstarch 🙂 so 40g cake flour and 60g cornstarch. Just keep in mind though I haven’t tried cake flour myself in this recipe so can’t say for sure that it won’t affect the structure of the cake, but I think it would work fine – if anything it will just make the cake softer meaning it won’t be able to handle heavy fillings 🙂 hope that helps!