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 (1/3 for the egg whites & 1/3 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.
591 Comments
Can I use one 9×3 round pan instead of 2 8 inch ones?
Hi Sarah! 🙂 I haven’t tried this recipe as a taller sponge cake so I can’t say for sure if it would rise well, though sponge cakes do tend to bake up well as taller cakes so it may be okay! Usually with butter cakes I wouldn’t recommend adding too much batter into one pan, but with sponge cakes you can usually get away with it 🙂
Would love to hear how it goes if you decide to try it out!
Can I make one batch in a single 9×4 inch round pan instead of 2 8 inch ones?
Hi Sarah! 🙂 I haven’t tried making this sponge cake as a tall cake myself, but usually sponge cakes do bake up well as taller cakes so it may be okay! Would love to hear how it goes if you decide to try it out 🙂
Can I use corn flour instead of corn starch? I really want to bake this cake but don’t have any corn starch.
Hi Sharon! 🙂
If by cornflour you mean the white powder used to thicken soups/sauces, then yes you can use that! In some countries it is called cornflour 🙂
If you mean the yellow powder, then unfortunately that won’t work.
Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the recipe!
I literally never rate recipes but I had to rate this one!
Omg it was the BEST sponge cake I’ve ever had in my life so airy and light and very flavourful aswell as at not being to sweet or eggy. I didn’t have white vinegar on hand (I had every over vinegar known to man but white lmao) so I subbed for cream of tartar! The sponges didn’t deflate at all and it was super duper soft and pillowy I made it for my mum (who always swears on Chelsea sugar or Edmond’s) but she said it was way better then theirs which is a shock! Defo making this again for the next birthday/event we need a cake for 🙂 it felt like I was eating a cloud!!
Aww yay! So so happy to hear you loved the recipe Raven and that your mum gave it the tick of approval 😀
Cream of tartar is a great substitute (I would actually recommend using that instead if you have it on hand, but since lemon juice is more accessible globally I use that), so great decision by you 😀
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a wonderful review, really appreciate it 🙂
Hi MK,
The cake looks yummy. I would love to bake this cake for my birthday. Just a quick question. Can I bake the cake and make the raspberry jam one day before? Thanks
Hi Nissy! 🙂 Yes you can totally do that, just be sure to place the cake layers in an airtight container and store them at room temp. The raspberry jam can go in the fridge 🙂
Hope that helps and hope you have a wonderful birthday! 😀
Had been in search of a light and moist sponge after bakery stopped making my favourite cake (light sponge with pineapple jam) so I decided to learn to bake myself and after countless recipes the light vanilla sponge gave exact results and I used mg own pineapple jam filling , thankyou so much MK
So so happy to hear you found what you were looking for with this recipe Saira!
Pineapple jam filling sounds incredible, I’ll have to try that with this cake sometime 🙂
Thank you again for the wondeful feedback 🙂
Hi – this recipe is fantastic.
Is there a way to convert it to chocolate cake?
Substitute half the flour for cocoa maybe?
Thanks so much Ulya! 🙂 I have a chocolate version of this recipe that you can find here: https://cakesbymk.com/recipe/light-airy-chocolate-sponge-cake/
Enjoy!
Love love love this recipe! Better than a bakery cake!
Made last year for my daughter’s first birthday and doing again this weekend for her second! Could you make it day ahead and then assemble morning of party or bake and assemble same day??
Thank you!
Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback Karen 😀
So happy to hear you’re loving this recipe 🙂
Yes you could make the cake layers the day beforehand, apply the simple syrup and then leave them at room temp in an airtight container until you’re ready to use them the next day 🙂
Hope that helps and hope your daughter has a wonderful second birthday!
Best cake ever! Totally worth the extra steps.
Yay! So glad you loved the sponge cake Rose 😀
This is one of the best cake recipes I’ve ever made! It was so soft and light and with the whip cream, tasted practically like a cloud! I’m always trying to make lighter, not too sweet cakes and this fits perfectly. I was wondering if this could be used as a base and I could add other flavors to it like maybe pistachio, biscoff, etc. How much if the flour would I omit if I wanted to add a powdered flavoring of some kind for other cake flavors?
So so happy to hear you loved the sponge cake and appreciated how light and not-too-sweet it is 😀
I haven’t tried adding in other flavors myself, apart from making this recipe into a chocolate version which you can find here: https://cakesbymk.com/recipe/light-airy-chocolate-sponge-cake/
I think adding in other flavors may work fine, but you just have to make sure the add-ins aren’t too heavy, otherwise it may weigh the sponge down and prevent it from rising properly.
In terms of adding in other powders, I am not too sure about this as I haven’t tried it myself, but you could maybe check out the chocolate version linked earlier, and replace the cocoa with other powdered flavors you may like to try (and omit the coffee in the original chocolate version) 🙂
Would love to hear how it goes if you decide to try some other flavors out 🙂
Wow, this is literally the most perfect recipe!
Do you think I could add some crushed oreo cookie pieces at the end of the batter without affecting the cakes structure? Or should I just stick to using an oreo cream filling?
So so happy to hear you loved the sponge cake 😀
Hmmm good question! I haven’t tried that myself so I’m really not too sure sorry! I think if the crushed cookies were quite small (not large chunks) then it may be okay. Would love to hear how it goes if you decide to try it out 🙂
I made this with a little over 1/8 cup of biscoff crumbs. I had to use a food processor and get it as fine as possible and it does make it not quite as fluffy. Larger chunks of oreo pieces for regular cake batter recipes would probably weight this one down unfortunately 🙁
Hi, is there any substitute that I can use instead of vinegar?
Hi Anne! You could try lemon juice or cream of tartar instead 🙂
Hope you enjoy the recipe!