Join 11,000+ other food lovers enjoying weekly recipes.

Simple Sponge Cake Recipe

Simple Sponge Cake is made with only a few ingredients that you probably have in your pantry. This sponge cake is commonly used to make layered cakes but can be used as-is as well. Perfectly soft, spongy, and delicious!

You might also like to check out a Chocolate Version of this Sponge cake.

Simple yellow sponge cake on a cooling rack next to a baking sheet.

A Simple Sponge Cake recipe that any baker new to baking or not needs to have in their recipe repertoire. This cake was one of the first Yellow Sponge Cake recipes that I learned to make, and it has served me very well.  It is used in many of my cake recipes. Well-loved for its beautiful texture, simplicity in making, and foolproof instructions. 

What is a sponge cake?

A sponge cake is a delicate, spongy cake with a uniform crumb that is made with eggs, sugar, and flour as the main ingredients. The cake absorbs the moisture from the cream very well, making it suitable for just about any kind of cake or a roll. See the bottom of the post for a variety of cakes to make with this fluffy cake.

Pro Tips for the best sponge cake

  • Make sure to whip the eggs well. The cake relies mostly on the volume of the eggs for the fluffiness, so whipping the eggs until a thick ribbon flows off the whisk and doesn’t disappear for 2-3 seconds is very important. Not whipping the eggs enough not only will yield a dense cake but will also give off an eggy taste in the finished product.
  • Sift the dry ingredients before adding to the whipped eggs as this ensures there are no clumps of flour in the finished cake. Sifting also aerates the flour which will give you a light and fluffy sponge cake.
  • Do not overfold – folding too aggressively or too much will deflate the cake and will yield a denser cake. So, fold carefully to preserve the aeration built by whipping the eggs.
  • Even rise – for an even rise of the cake, make sure to use baking strips (like the ones here). These strips are wet & fastened around the baking pan before baking, ensuring that the cake cooks from the bottom up, instead of from the bottom and the sides. This prevents the formation of an unsightly dome on the baked cakes.
  • Do not overbake – or too much moisture will be lost and the sponge cake will be dry.

Also, try this Chocolate version of the sponge cake.

How to Make a Simple Sponge Cake:

Scroll to the bottom for the full recipe card with many important details:

Yield: One 8″ round cake, 2 inches tall

  • Whip 4 eggs in a stand mixer until foamy, then gradually add 1cup sugar and continue whipping until the eggs fall off the whisk in a thick ribbon (~20 min).
  • Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F. Line an 8-inch round cake pan (at least 2 inches tall) lined with foil and sprayed with non-stick spray. Or brush the inside of the pan with softened butter and dust with flour. Shake out excess. Fasten wet cake strips around the cake pan.
  • Sift the dry ingredients (flour & baking powder).
  • Combine all wet ingredients (melted butter, water, vanilla).
  • Fold the dry ingredients in halves, carefully forming a number 8 with your movements.
  • Fold in the wet ingredients.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Sponge Cake Step by step pictures
  • Bake the cake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
  • Remove from the oven, let cool for 5 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
How to check the baked yellow sponge cake for readiness with a toothpick.
  • For best results, leave the cake on the counter for 6-8 hours before using it in a cake. This will reduce the amount of crumbling when you go ahead to split the cake layer in two horizontally.

Use the this sponge cake to make any of these cakes below:

Desserts using this Sponge Cake Recipe:

  • Marble Cake  – delicious marbled cake filled with fluffy sour cream frosting, sour cherries and walnuts.
  • Kyiv Cakelayers of sponge cake, crispy meringe, nuts & delicious dulce de lechde buttercream.
  • Tiramisu Cakeclassic cake made with sponge cake soaked with spiked coffees syrup & layered with fluffy cream cheese based cream .
  • Rum Balls  –  crumbled sponge cake mixed with dulce de leche buttercream, rum & nuts, then rolled into balls & coated in cocoa.
  • Walnut Cake with Coffee Frosting  – sponge cake soaked in coffee syrup, sprinkled with nuts & layered with cream cheese frosting. 
  • Peaches and Cream Cake –  light cake made with peach syrup soaked sponge cake, peaches and cream.

Simple Sponge Cake Recipe

4.85 from 266 votes

Simple Sponge Cake is made with only a few ingredients that you probably have in your pantry. This cake is commonly used to make layered cakes.

Author: Marina | Let the Baking Begin!
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Ukrainian
Keyword: sponge cake, yellow sponge cake
Calories: 146 kcal
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 12 One 8″ x 2″round cake, or two 8″x1″ round cakes

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

Liquids

Instructions

  1. Whip eggs and sugar: Whip 4 eggs in a stand mixer on high speed until foamy (~2 min) then gradually add 1 cup of granulated sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, while continuing to whip. Then, whip until the mixture falls off the whisk in a thick ribbon that doesn't disappear for 1-2 seconds (~20 min; or more if using a hand mixer).

  2. Prep: Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F with the rack centered.

    Line an 8-inch round cake pan (at least 2" tall) lined with foil or parchment and spray with nonstick spray. Alternatively, you can brush room temperature butter on the inside of the pan, then dust it with flour, knocking out the excess to make the surface non-stick.

    You can also bake this cake in two separate 8-inch round cake pans; this way, you wouldn't have to cut the cake into two horizontally after baking.

  3. Optional: Fasten the wet baking strips around the baking pan for an evenly risen cake (optional). The baking strips ensure that the cake rises evenly and doesn't form a dome.

  4. Sift dry ingredients: Sift 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 tsp baking powder, twice.

  5. Mix liquids: In a cup whisk together 2 TBSP melted butter, 1 TBSP hot water and 1 tsp of vanilla extract.

  6. Fold in dry ingredients: add the dry ingredients into the whipped eggs in halves, carefully folding with a spatula, forming the number 8 with each stroke. Do not overfold, or the cake will be dense and doughy. Just fold enough to incorporate the flour barely.

  7. Next, Fold in the liquids and carefully keep folding the batter until thoroughly incorporated. Do not overmix or the cake will be dense.

  8. Bake: Pour the sponge cake batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Do not open the oven to check until you can smell cake in the kitchen (~30 min).

    If baking in 2 instead of 1 baking pan, reduce the baking time to 20-25 minutes, or until a toothcpick comes out clean.

  9. Remove the sponge cake to a cooling rack and allow to sit undisturbed for 5 minutes. Then invert it onto a cooling rack and remove the foil or parchment. Allow to completely cool before using.

  10. Let rest: For best results wrap the cooled cake in plastic and leave on the counter for 6-8 hours before using in a cake. This will reduce the amount of crumbling when you split the cake layer in two horizontally.

  11. How to split the cake in two horizontally: place the palm of your non-dominant hand over the top of the cake and keep rotating it as you use your dominant hand to hold a long serrated knife, and start scoring the outside of the cake, about 1/2 inch deep, going all around the cake. Continue going in circles scoring deeper and deeper until you get to the center.

    The easiest method: attach these two cake leveler pieces on two opposing ends of the knife blade, then just cut the cake horizontally by moving the knife back and forth in a back-and-forth motion while keeping the knife perpendicular to the surface. The levelers will ensure that the blade stays level throughout the cutting.

Recipe Notes

The amount of ingredients listed is enough to make a 12″x18″ sponge cake for a cake roll.

Just line a 12″x18″ rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, then use tiny amount of sponge cake batter under the 4 corners of parchment paper to keep it in place. 
Even out the batter over the baking sheet. 
Bake for about 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

Nutrition Facts
Simple Sponge Cake Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 146 Calories from Fat 36
% Daily Value*
Fat 4g6%
Saturated Fat 2g13%
Cholesterol 62mg21%
Sodium 47mg2%
Potassium 73mg2%
Carbohydrates 23g8%
Sugar 14g16%
Protein 2g4%
Vitamin A 170IU3%
Calcium 29mg3%
Iron 0.8mg4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Bon Appetit & Happy Pinning

Thank you for following me on Instagram, Facebook & Pinterest!

Hashtag your photos #LetTheBakingBeginBlog so I can see your creations and for a chance to be featured!

Updated 8/15/2021

Marina | Let the Baking Begin

Welcome to Let the Baking Begin! I'm Marina and my love and passion for eating only the most delicious foods drive me to share that love here on Let the Baking Begin (since 2009). With over 20 years of experience in the kitchen, you know the recipes are tested and retested until perfect. I'm so happy to have you here. Enjoy! Read more...

Join 11,000+ other food lovers enjoying weekly recipes.

Comments

Leave a comment

Please give this recipe a STAR RATING




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Hi Marina
    Thank you so much for the recipe. I made this 4 times, following the exact recipe. Unfortunately every time the cake sinks in the middle, inside the oven. The top is nicely browned and a toothpick, when inserted comes out clean and the cake tastes delicious. The only problem – sinking centre

    · Reply
    • Hi Sukanya,
      Thank you for sharing your feedback.
      Flours absorb different amounts of liquids depending where you live. I would suggesting adding 2-3 tablespoons of flour more to the recipe to prevent the sinking in the middle, because it sounds like the cake lacks structure in which case adding a little more flour might help.

      · Reply
  • Karshu

    Thankyou soo much. You are the BEST.
    I have been baking for 8 years .
    For the first time, after following your recipe, my cake looked like cake and not like a Fudge.
    Thankyou so much

    · Reply
  • Omar

    I followed this recipe exact and my cake came out perfectly. Thanks for sharing your recipe.

    · Reply
  • Gelil

    This cake recipe is a disaster, I followed the instruction to point by point and the cake came out flat, no volume nothing, for other bakers please make this cake its a waste of time!!

    · Reply
    • Hi Gelil,
      Sorry to hear you had trouble with the cake 🙁 I could help you troubleshoot if you’d like to share a little more details, because I’d hate for you to miss out on this simple but delicious cake. I’ve used this cake recipe for over 15 years with no fail, so I know there’s nothing wrong with the recipe. I know it’s of no relief right now; as you’re looking at your cake, but I hope it gives you the confidence to try again and see where things might’ve been missed in following the recipe.

      · Reply
  • kat

    Had a really nice and fluffy texture, but mine came out tasting a bit too eggy:(
    Maybe it was because I used alternative crystalized sugar, i don’t know.

    · Reply
    • Hi Kat,
      Sounds like your eggs were not whipped to proper volume before adding the dry ingredients – this typically makes the cake taste eggy. Using alternative crystalized sugar can also be the reason.

      · Reply
  • Camellia

    After 30 minutes in 26 cm pan a coal comes out!
    100% black coal

    · Reply
    • Hi Camellia,
      Sounds like your oven might needs to be calibrated. Sometimes ovens run hot or cold, so it is best to use an oven safe thermometer to check the temperature of the oven to make sure that when you’re dialing it for 350F, it’s actually that temperature.

      · Reply
      • Camellia

        I bake a cake once again the result was good.
        The taste was wonderful!

        I think because i used tart mold in the first experience, the coal comes out instead of this astonishing yellow cake!☺☺

        Thanks alot

        · Reply
        • I’m glad you gave it another try!

          When the bake pans have the dark nonstick coating, as sometimes tart pans do they bake quicker, so you have to keep an eye on whatever is being baked so that it doesn’t burn.

          · Reply
  • catherine

    This turned out awful! I checked other recipes and they call for 4 eggs instead of 6! Mine was a hard dough ball.

    · Reply
    • Hi Katherine,
      I’m taking a stab in the dark here, but I’m going to take a guess and say that scaling the recipe up or down shouldn’t results “a hard dough ball”. But I hope you’re able to figure out where it went wrong because this really is a delightful cake if done properly.
      Let me know if I can help you trouble shoot what might’ve gone wrong.

      · Reply
    • karin galm

      catherine,

      the recipe didnt call for 6 eggs, just 4. so thats why your cake failed not because of the recipe. you make the mistake……………….

      · Reply
  • Rupa

    Hi, Thank you for the recipe. I keep making this sponge cake for my son and he loves it. Tried various flavours as well apart from vanilla.
    I also tried the same recipe with whole wheat flour and jaggery powder. That too works perfectly well.

    Only one thing I would like to ask you that even after following the recipe exactly sometimes I feel the cake becomes quite dry. Can we add something to increase the moisture content a bit?
    Or is it due to over beating of eggs? Please suggest.

    · Reply
  • Farah

    Hi..
    1 cup garnulated suger …how much in gm?? And can we use oil instead of butter thn how much??
    Thanks.

    · Reply
  • Airam Chelseia Repalda

    I’m a beginner in cake making and I’m still a teenager this sponge cake recipe turned out so well that my parents and granny loved it soo much. I’m definitely using this recipe again soon for birthday cakes

    · Reply
  • Hloni Mathebula

    This is the 1st sponge cake that I’ve ever tried and turned out this awesome???? Oh My Gosh…definitely doing it again, I just threw out my old recipes.
    Thanks a lot!

    · Reply
  • Jamil Tijjani

    I tried this recipe but i don’t why but the center of my cake just fell.

    · Reply
    • Hi Jamil, was the center sunken in after you removed it from the oven? Did you remember to test for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the middle and remove it only when it comes out clean?
      I think you might’ve removed it from the oven a little too soon.

      · Reply
  • Reena Maharaj

    Hi, I tried making this sponge cake but th top came out cracked and hard . Could you tell me what i did wrong.

    · Reply
    • Hi Reena,
      I haven’t had this happen to me before, so I am not sure what went wrong 🙁

      · Reply
      • Reena Maharaj

        Hi , I tried this recipe again and I love love love it, I going to used this for all my cakes, I still got a thin hard top but I cut it off and my cake came our perfect ,everyone loved it. Thank you!

        · Reply
  • Pauline

    Why do you say powdered sugar and then mention normal sugar , can you be more specific

    · Reply
    • Hi Pauline, per recipe card you can use either granulated or powdered sugar. See the recipe card for exact measurements of each.

      · Reply
      • Paulette heinrich

        Yes I was a little confused on this issue as well. I did add both and I felt it turned out very good.

        · Reply
  • Victoria

    Hi Marina, is this enough batter to split into two 6in cake pans? Or should I 1.5x the recipe and split? Thank you!

    · Reply
  • LeAnn C

    Thank you for such a wonderful recipe. It is amazing and rock solid. I have used your recipe several times and every time I get perfect results.
    Thank you again!!!!

    · Reply
  • amy

    Loved your simple and delicious recipe!!! Thank you! I tried it and it came out nice and spongy .
    I had a quick question ..what size eggs did you use? large or medium?

    · Reply
    • Hi Amy, thank you so much for your wonderful review!

      I use large eggs.

      · Reply
      • amy

        Thank you for the quick response Marina!! I also used large eggs and the cake was yummy and spongy.But i wanted to troubleshoot an issue which caused the cake to deflate inside the oven while baking. (Not after it was baked and oven is opened). The cake had risen but then as baking continued it went flat all over on top except the edges. But the texture of the whole cake inside was uniformly spongy.Can you help me with this? the whole family devoured the cake and i would like to fix this one small issue

        · Reply
        • Hi Amy,
          I’m not sure exactly what could’ve caused it, but it sounds like the cake overinflated and then fallen upon itself since the bubbles couldn’t support that much air. Could it be that you used too much baking powder, or may be you used baking soda instead of baking powder? Either of those could’ve caused the over-inflation of the air bubbles, which in turn would make the cake collapse. If you do try this again, I would double check the measurements of the ingredients as sometimes it’s too easy to confuse a teaspoon with a tablespoon or baking soda with baking powder.

          · Reply
          • amy

            Thanks again Marina for replying! This recipe is definitely a keeper and i sure will be making this cake again soon .I tried to recollect and think i either messed up in the baking powder measurement like you said or by overbeating and incorporating too much air in the batter… next time i will be more cautious with this and am pretty sure the cake will come out perfect!!

  • Torah kalule

    This recipe is not the best. First mistake is not adding the essence first and beat in the 1 minute to kill the egg smell. If you follow this receipe your cake will smell like egg.
    Secondly to have a very spongy cake add the butter and water after the 15 minutes of mixing so as to allow for the egg to expand and NOT before.
    Depending on your over me it took 45 minutes. Not the 20-30 minutes given

    · Reply
    • Hi Torah Kalule,

      If this cake is baked following the directions it should not have an eggy smell, nor take 45 minutes to bake.

      The butter and water are added after whipping the eggs and sugar, not before, per directions. You probably didn’t notice that it said to mix water and butter in a cup and not to add it to the eggs.
      Extended time was probably because your batter was denser than it was supposed to be, due to the above errors.
      If you do decide to try it again just make sure to follow the directions carefully and it will work wonderfully

      Hope you have

      · Reply
  • Sally

    Hello, complete disaster.the batter overflowed my 8” by 2” round cake pan and then collapsed completely too. I was so careful to follow the recipe exactly. Beat it 20 mins until the ribbons stayed 2-3 seconds. Folded flour and butter/water really carefully. Right temp oven. But it’s a mess 🙁

    · Reply
    • Hi Sally,
      I’m sorry you had such a disappointing first experience with this recipe.
      I’m not sure what could’ve caused this fiasco, but if I had to guess I’d say that your eggs were extra large and thus you ended up with more batter than what this recipe is supposed to produce. Too much eggs will also cause the cake to collapse since there wasn’t enough flour to egg ratio.

      · Reply
    • Pam

      Sally the exact same thing happened to me and I had a lot of extra batter so I made a second cake which was better. Both cakes tasted good and I actually liked the hard crunchy bits from the collapsed sides.

      · Reply
  • Hi! The cake was delicious. However, when I made this recipe my cake sank in completely. I whipped the eggs for 15 minutes, and put all the batter in an 8inch pan and wrapped it with a foil (wrapped in wet tissues, since I didn’t have a cloth) but it sank very low. Where could I have gone wrong?
    I also need to make this again tomorrow and the party wants a 1kg cake. How heavy is this cake? Should I double the batter?

    · Reply
    • Keerthi,
      Sounds like cake was underbaked. Did you check it with a toothpick before removing from the oven? You should insert the toothpick in the middle and only remove it from the oven when the toothpick comes out clean.

      · Reply
      • Hi, yes I did check it with a toothpick. The cake was perfectly baked and really spongey. I’ve baked it twice so far and it’s sunk both times

        · Reply
  • Navya

    Hi Marina,

    Thanks a ton for this recipe..! Finally I baked my first sponge cake for my little son. Your receipe is simple and easy to follow. You have restored my confidence to bake.. yay !! I am soo happy !!

    · Reply
  • Hania

    Hi can i substitute the butter with oil in this recipe?

    · Reply
  • Benjamins Eno

    Marina,
    Thank you for your quick response, you have a good heart for sharing your receipe, God bless. Please I really want to try these yellow sponge cake and chocolate sponge cake for my birthday next tomorrow. Am making 10inch round for each and I have d receipe for yellow sponge cake but not for chocolate spong cake so please can I use the same measurement of yellow sponge cake for d chocolate version? Secondly I want to use Russian butter cream for d decoration, please what measurement of butter and condensed milk will I used to cover d cake both inside and outside, thank you.

    · Reply
  • Benjamins Eno

    I love this cake but have not used this kind of recipe before but I really want to try it next tomorrow for my birthday, please I want to ask you can I double d measurement 6 times because I want a big cake but am not decorating it

    · Reply
  • Samreen

    Hi…what are the measurements in terms of grams…I cup of flour is how many grams?

    · Reply
  • narlia

    loved the recipe used it for my dad’s birthday cake

    · Reply
  • Zoya

    Hi
    Can I use this recipe as base for Butterscotch cake?

    · Reply
  • Manisha

    Excellent recipe! Came out great!! Thank you for sharing along with the detailed steps!

    · Reply
  • Looks delicious. I’m going to link to this from one of my post. Hope you don’t mind. If you do, please email me at the email listed with this comment. Thanks

    · Reply
  • Pilar

    Hi there Marina Thank you for this great recipe It was very simple Especially for a beginner like me but, my cake came out firm/dense and I was just wondering what to do next time. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t caused by under whipped eggs because they were in the mixer for a while, but the cake did seem to have some small bumps of flour so it might have been over folded. The cake Batter looked a little yellower than the picture if that helps, but it could also just be the lighting. Also the oven was preheating for a long time so that could have done something. Thank you for the recipe anyway! And if you know why it came out this way please let me know.

    · Reply
    • Hi Pilar,
      The dense and heavy cake could be because you were folding the batter too much. Try folding it a little less, just until the flour is incorporated. Also, check the inside temp of your oven, sometimes even when you set it for one temperature with the dial, the inside could be hotter or colder than what you set it to due to the specifics of your oven.

      · Reply
  • Ciera

    I came across this recipe today. I’m baking it for my Mother’s Day cake. I’m going to cut it into layers and top with a light whipped Icing and strawberries. So far it has turned out perfect. I just took it out of the oven. I only had a 6” pan so i just filled it and Got rid of the rest. I put parchment on the sides so when the cake was rising it would rise up nicely and it did. I’m able to cut at least three good size layers.

    · Reply
  • Joyce

    I’m planning on making this cake this weekend for Mother’s Day! I was wondering if you noticed a difference when baking with granulated sugar vs powdered sugar. I have both but was wondering if they yielded different results. Thanks!

    · Reply
    • Hi Joyce,
      When granulated sugar gets whipped up with the eggs it dissolves in the liquid so in the end if you’re using the same amount of sugar by weight, there should not be any difference because both dissolve in the eggs.

      · Reply
  • Oviya Nila Muralidharan

    Dear Marina,

    Thank you so much for the amazing recipe. It was incredibly easy to make and tasted like pillowy clouds of heaven. I halved the recipe since we’re a small family and I like freshly made baked goods rather than storing.

    I had a few concerns, just wanted to know if it was normal.
    1) The whipped egg and sugar mixture was incredibly pillowy and airy, almost like royal icing. Is that normal? I stopped whipping before it could become too thick. But it never became as indicated in your picture.
    2) How does self raising flour substitute for all purpose flour and baking powder in this recipe?

    Although I had worries, the sponge came out perfectly. I reduced the sugar a bit (I used granulated since I did not have sufficient powdered sugar) and by mistake, added a tiny bit extra baking powder. It came out perfect.

    · Reply
  • Shivani Thakur

    Hi. How long can ahead can we bake this ? I have just put one in the oven today and need to frost it for the 7th of may. .
    How do I stire it ?
    Also do we need to tap the cake pan before putting it in the oven to break air pockets??

    · Reply
    • I would keep it wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerate it until you need to use it. Or freeze it, wrapped tightly until you need to use it.

      · Reply
  • Amazing recipe that is on point

    · Reply
  • Vinnie

    Thank you for sharing this recipe. I was able to make my first sponge cake!! Thank you so much!

    · Reply
  • Meri

    Thank you! This is a wonderful recipe! Made it this morning for my mom’s birthday 🙂 I used a bit less sugar than the recipe called for and paired it with coffee and tea. Yum!

    · Reply
  • VIRGINIA MCKINNEY

    I was looking for a soft cake for my strawberries and saw your sponge cake. This was my first attempt and it turned out so beautiful!! I followed it like you said, and I used the powdered sugar by choice. Thank you for you delicious recipe!!!!!

    · Reply
  • Ehirim Amaka

    Pls what is the different between granulated sugar and powerd sugar.then as I don’t have mixer can’t I get well.thanks I like the cake.though I have not done it before,so I will try it

    · Reply
  • Tina

    My oven is quite small. Can I bake one and insert the other one pan later?

    · Reply
    • Theoretically you could. But the second one will be less fluffy then the first one. Alternatively you can just split the amount of ingredients and whip up one, bake it, then repeat with the second one while the first one is baking in the oven.

      · Reply
  • Lucky

    Too many annoying popup adds to actually see the recipe. Also i don’t need a documentary length story of how this recipe came into your life. I need a list of ingredients and proper steps to follow. These recipe sites are disgusting with advertising. Won’t entertain this. Going to order a book.

    · Reply
    • Hi Lucky,
      Thanks for paying us a visit and sharing your feedback. I’m sorry this wasn’t a pleasant visit to my page 🙁

      I’m delighted to share though that at the top of the page there’s a magical button that says “jump to recipe”, which will take you directly to the print-friendly version of the recipe and bypass all the annoying ads which make this page free for everyone to use, from anywhere and to anywhere (unless you just really prefer paying for a paper copy, of course).

      Also, sounds like you didn’t read the text before the recipe at all, as it had no “documentary length story of how this recipe came to be”, but useful tips and tricks on how to make this recipe a success when or if you try it.

      Hope you have a wonderful day!

      Marina

      · Reply
      • Anh

        I think that your tips and tricks are going to be very helpful when I start making this! And no, it’s documentary length, its just perfect the way it is. Sounds like Lucky was having a bad day.

        · Reply
  • what if i use an 8×8 square pan rather than 8 inch round pan. do you think i can get a good rise in the cake using this recipe?

    · Reply
    • Hello,
      You’ll need to figure out what the area of an 8-inch circle is, then compare it to what an area of an 8-inch square is. Whatever the percentage difference in size is, is how much different the height of the cake will be.

      · Reply
  • New Baker

    Hi, i’m a thirteen year old girl and kind of new to baking. I was just wondering whether the hot water needs to stay hot. I was planning on making the batter the day before actually putting it in the oven. If you could let me know soon i’d appreciate it. Thanks

    · Reply
    • Hi New Baker,
      The cake needs to be baked immediately after you mix the batter. You can not make the batter and bake it the next day. You can though bake the cake and use it within a couple of days. Just make sure to wrap it in cling wrap. So the water needs to be hot to help the butter melt.

      · Reply
  • gift

    great recipe

    · Reply
  • Rick

    My sponge sank in the middle almost the entire cake. The outside was ok and crispy the middle was ok too but sank! What happened? Was it not whipped long enough folded?

    · Reply
    • Hi Rick,
      Did you check the cake before taking it out of the oven with a toothpick? if you did and it came out clean and still sank, then it might be that the eggs weren’t whipped enough. But I do think the cake was just underbaked, and therefor sank.

      · Reply
  • Sarika

    This yellow sponge cake is brilliant.
    I baked today for valentines day and it made our day.
    The recipe is explained so perfectly.
    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

    · Reply
  • Abi

    Tried this recipe with my 5yr old and it was soooper delicious… thankyou !!!

    · Reply
  • Jeanne

    I just made this cake. Used an 8″ round cake pan, and cake is overflowing into the bottom of my oven!

    · Reply
    • Me

      Nevermind – I just realized I used baking soda instead of powder. Ugh!

      · Reply
  • Jenya

    Hi Marina,
    Do you think I could i split the batter into (2) 7 inch pans?

    · Reply
  • I used this as my cake base for a tres leches I made for my FIL. Considering it is already pretty sweet, I just reduced the amount of sweetened condensed milk, AND OMG. If I could send you a video so you could see how beautifully this spongecake soaked up the milk! One of the best cake recipes I have used, by far. Thank you!

    · Reply
  • Sanchita

    The cake came out beautifully :-)…thank you for such a wonderful recipe

    · Reply
  • Tashfiq Hossain

    I’m 13 and I’m a boy. I made this for my mom 3 days ago. Everyone loved it. It also works great with food colouring. I made mine pink.

    · Reply
  • assumed identity

    Just made this cake! Wife says, “pretty good! it’s springy”

    · Reply
  • Samantha

    Can I use this recipe to make cupcakes?

    · Reply
  • My first ever cake (baked at the grand old age of 46) was this! I even got compliments!

    Thank you so much for making an easy to follow recipe that works! You have inspired me to be a bit more adventurous too : )

    Greg (Brit in Norway)

    · Reply
    • Hi Greg! So glad to hear it went well! N tx time up it a notch and add 2 cubed apples into the batter for a beautiful Sharlotka cake

      · Reply
  • Phacie

    I baked this yesterday..and its simply AMAZING!!!! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe..!!

    I need to ask if you have recipes for carrot and red velvet cake too?

    · Reply
  • Anonymous

    I haven’t tried out the cake yet, I just wanna ask a question. My cake pan is a 10in, and my mom is suggesting me to 1.5x the recipe. Should I?

    · Reply
    • Hi Anna,
      Your mom is correct 🙂

      The surface area of an 8-inch circle is around 50, while the 10-inch circle is around 80. So the 10-inch circle is about 50%+ more, which means to keep the same thickness of the cake you need to increase it by 50%.

      · Reply
  • Rima

    I’m confused. In step one I’m whipping egg whites. In step six I’m beating eggs for 20 minutes and looking for a batter ribbon. What ehh are we talking about? The yolks? Then I’m adding flour to the beaten eggs. Which eggs? What happened to the yolks? Do I beat the yolks for 30 min? If so, where do I get the sugar? Do I beat the whites for 20 min? Wouldn’t they get dry and clumpy? Help?

    The sponge I’m used to , beat yolks and sugar til fluffy, add flour and fold in meringue? What do I do here?

    · Reply
    • Hi Rima,
      step one says “whip 4 eggs”, which means that you’re not whiping just egg whites, but whole eggs and sugar.
      In step 6 it just clarifies the amount of time that you should be whipping the eggs and sugar.

      This is the recipe for the “easy sponge cake” where the eggs are whipped together. The one where you whip the egg whites and egg yolks separately is THIS one and it uses a bit differenet technique.

      · Reply
      • Rima

        Gotcha, thanks.

        I’ll blame the misunderstanding on a Frose, okay?

        · Reply
  • Nadine

    Found this recipe last minute! EXCELLENT! I like to cook more than baking; but to simply follow these instructions with my own measurements! Perfect would use it again thanks

    · Reply
  • Alee

    I followed this recipe for a low carb no sugar cake. Instead of the flour I used half a cup of oat flour and half a cup of almond flour. I used a monk fruit erythritol blend sugar substitute. And cake came out great!

    · Reply
  • Adrienne

    Hmmm…followed recipe to a tee, yet cake sunk in the middle with a crispy top center layer.
    All fresh ingredients, timed each addition, new oven, too. So not sure what happened here.
    Why the 4 stars? The flavor is unbelievably good! Worked a little magic and what was supposed to be a strawberry shortcake is now a strawberry trifle.
    I will try this again.

    · Reply
    • Hi Adrienne,
      Thank you so much for your honest review.
      When you try this recipe again, weigh the flour and make sure that it’s around 140 grams of flour (for each cup). If you used less than that, it could possibly causde the cake to collapse. Also, it could be that the cake was slightly underbaked. Make sure that the toothpick comes out completely clean (no crumbs, no wet batter) when inserted in the middle, before taking it out of the oven.

      Thank you for your comment and the star rating!

      · Reply
      • Varsha

        Hi ma’am. I love baking. But I couldn’t bake a perfect cake I liked your recipe. Would you please mention the measurements in grams. I hope it will come out well

        · Reply
        • Hi Varsha,
          I have added the measurements in grams to the recipe card. Just switch to the metric system and it should come up.

          · Reply
  • Chrissy

    Recipe ratios are off. Cake turned dry on the outside and mush in the middle. Tasteless. I tried twice.

    · Reply
    • Hi Crissy,
      Sounds like your cake was underbaked. Try increasing the baking time until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Also, make sure your oven doesn’t run hot, which would dry out/burn the outside before the inside is baked.

      · Reply
    • Chanel

      I know we all hate to waste ingredients Ms. Chrissy but let me encourage you to try this again.

      This recipe ratio—is NOT…off. I am an experienced baker and this recipe (I’ve used several times including and ESPECIALLY the chocolate) even ‘doubles out’ well.

      I know this an old post but if you need a good simple sponge—follow her instructions EXACT (don’t even attempt to double yet)—because you will love the successful simplicity of this sponge cake method.

      Keep moving!!

      · Reply
  • Wow, your recipe is very interesting to try, I can’t wait anymore to try the recipe you’ve made at home. The definition of the recipe that you made was not from someone who could make it and I was even more curious to make it. Thank you for making that interesting recipe.

    · Reply
  • Prabeena

    I used this recipe for red velvet cake,it came out perfectly, thank you for such a nice recipe,,

    · Reply
  • Shokanlu

    Thanks for sharing. But please, how do you melt the butter.

    · Reply
  • Kathy Hurry

    I was looking for a nice yellow sponge cake recipe to use for strawberry shortcake.
    I made this today and it is PERFECT to use for this purpose. Turned out beautifully! Thank you!

    · Reply
  • Daisy Zhao

    Hi, I’m new to baking and am really excited to try this cake, but I was wondering if I could substitute golden cane sugar or brown sugar for white granulated/powdered sugar in this recipe? Thanks!

    · Reply
  • Yolanda

    Hi, a co-worker is wanting a layered cake with some pineapple for his birthday. Is it possible to split the dough in two containers or double to amount to make it two layers?

    Thanks!

    · Reply
  • Dee

    Can this recipe be doubled?

    · Reply
  • New Girl in the Kitchen

    Thanks for the simple recipe. I tried this once and it turned out quite nice although the cake was a little dense. I tried my best to follow the recipe exactly, so could you tell me where I could have gone wrong? I am a novice at baking so I am still figuring out things. Also, I am baking this cake for my family tonight and I was wondering if I could use 5tbsp of butter instead if diluting 2 tbsp of butter with water? Would it affect the final result positively or negatively? Any extra tips would be helpful! Thanks so much!

    · Reply
    • Hi New Girl 🙂
      Great job on trying new recipes! The cake could be dense if you have not whipped the eggs enough or if you have folded the flour into the whipped egg for too long.

      Also, I would not change the water to butter, since it will weigh the cake down further.

      If you’re looking for an even lighter cake, try this one HERE. It is also a yellow sponge cake, but it doesn’t have as much flour and sugar and it doesn’t have any butter or water. Just make sure you really whip those eggs and sugar (15-20 minutes) and do not disturb the fluffiness too much as you are folding in the flour.

      · Reply
      • New Girl in the Kitchen

        Thanks so much for your prompt reply. I am really tempted to try your biskvit recipe! Either way, I would let you know which of your recipes I baked for my family! Sorry for being so inquisitive but can I use self-raising flour in the biskvit recipe? Thanks for being so patient with my queries!

        · Reply
        • I haven’t used self-rising flour for bisvkit, so I can not vouch for the results. I use Canadian flour for all my baked goods and it’s good enough in the biskvit recipe. I hope it all works out for ya!

          · Reply
  • Janice

    Want to ask why my middle part cake alil sinking down?

    · Reply
    • Hi Janice,
      If it’s just a tiny bit of deflation, it’s ok. Sometimes when I use the baking strips on my sponge cakes, they have a tiny bit of deflation in the middle. When you don’t use the strips, it usually has a dome, so then I have to trim it. So I figured, a bit of deflation is not as bad as the dome 🙂

      · Reply
  • Sukmawaty

    Hi i wanna try with 9inch round cake, is it possible to do with this recipe?..
    Thanks

    · Reply
  • Miss_Monroe

    Is this cake dense, could it be used for a cake tart alternative?

    · Reply
  • beritainfo

    I am really glad I found this recipe, did it the traditional way though – mixed butter and sugar first, added one egg at a time, added vanilla essence

    · Reply
    • Do try it the way it is written in this recipe, just to see what this one is like. The recipe where you mix the sugar and butter together first is a completely different recipe and will yield a different result 🙂

      · Reply
  • luba

    thanks for a great recipe..

    · Reply

As seen in