Whip up a dreamy soft and airy vanilla sponge cake with our classic, easy-to-follow recipe! Perfectly fluffy and versatile, this sponge cake is the ideal foundation for all your homemade baking creations.
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This fluffy vanilla sponge cake recipe is a basic génoise originating in England and very popular in the world of pastry and cakes for its both light and fluffy texture and firmness.
Sponge cake is also found in the famous Victoria sponge cake recipe also known as sandwich cake (created for Queen Victoria) where it is garnished with strawberry jam and a generous layer of whipped cream.
Closely resembling a genoise sponge in its basic ingredients, this vanilla cake stands out with the addition of butter, giving it a more luxurious and rich texture.
Why you'll love this recipe
>> Need frosting for this cake? Try my Whipped vanilla buttercream, fluffy white chocolate Swiss buttercream or this Whipped chocolate ganache.
Ingredients You Need
You need these ingredients to make this fluffy sponge cake recipe:
Ingredients Notes
- Butter: Use unsalted butter, especially softened at room temperature to ensure a smooth mixture but not melted butter. Take it out of the fridge in advance or warm it up slightly in the microwave.
- Sugar: Use white granulated powdered sugar or flavored sugar such as brown sugar.
- Eggs: Use large eggs at room temperature, if you didn't have time to take them out in advance, leave them in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes.
- Flour: Use preferably cake flour or even all-purpose flour.
- Vanilla extract and salt: Essential for flavoring, pure vanilla essence extract, and salt to bring out all the flavors.
How to Make Vanilla Sponge Cake Recipe
Here are some quick visual instructions. Don't forget that full recipe instructions with exact ingredients can be found in the recipe card below!
Step 1: Place softened butter and granulated sugar in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat at medium speed for about 5 minutes until creamy and smooth.
Step 2: Add eggs and vanilla extract one at a time while running the mixer at medium speed until well incorporated and mix again at medium speed for about 5 minutes until the mixture has doubled in volume.
Step 3: In a separate bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients, cake flour, baking powder and salt.
Step 4: Change the whisk to a paddle attachment and add the previously flour mixture and mix at a slow speed just enough to incorporate the dry ingredients.
Step 5: Preheat oven to 329°F/ 165°C and prepare 2 round cake pans 8 inches / 20 cm in diameter, lined with parchment paper only on the bottom.
Step 6: Divide the batter and pour it evenly into the two prepared baking pans and bake cakes for about 30 minutes until golden brown on top.
Let cool: Remove the baked cakes from the oven and let them cool a bit in the pan before carefully removing them from the baking pan and letting them cool completely on a cooling rack.
Frosting and Filling Suggestions
- Classic Buttercream Frosting: Top the cake with rich and creamy buttercream frosting for a timeless treat like this Swiss buttercream, buttercream cream cheese, and French meringue buttercream.
- Fresh Berries and Whipped Cream: Garnish with a mix of fresh berries and a dollop of mascarpone whipped cream for a light and fruity twist like this strawberry cream cake.
- Lemon Curd: Spread homemade lemon curd between layers or on top for a tangy complement to the vanilla flavor perfect to go with a toasted Italian meringue frosting.
- Chocolate Ganache: Drizzle or layer the cake with smooth chocolate ganache, a milk chocolate ganache or a vanilla white chocolate ganache for a decadent experience.
- Fruit Compote: Serve with a side of warm fruit compote, such as strawberry compote, apple compote, blueberry compote or raspberry compote.
- Caramel Sauce: Drizzle caramel butter sauce over the cake for a sweet and sticky addition.
- Dusted with Powdered Sugar: Keep it simple and elegant by dusting it with icing sugar.
- Nutella or Hazelnut Spread: Spread Nutella or a hazelnut spread between layers for a nutty, chocolatey flavor.
- Layered with Jam: Layer the cake with your favorite jam or jelly for a sweet and fruity filling.
Best tips for this recipe
Confident Tip
Whisk the Eggs: After adding the eggs, whisk them for at least an additional 3-5 minutes. This will help make the sponge cake fluffy.
Storage and freezing
At room temperature: The sponge cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
How to freeze it? Once completely cooled, wrap in plastic wrap or place in a storage box and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Defrosting: Let it slowly come back to room temperature overnight.
Variations & Substitutions
Recipe Questions
Is sponge cake the same as vanilla cake?
Nope, sponge cake and vanilla cake aren't the same – sponge cake is lighter and airier, while vanilla cake is usually denser and richer in flavor.
What is the secret of making sponge cake?
The trick to a perfect sponge cake is all in how you whip the eggs – they need to be super airy and fluffy!
What makes a cake spongy and fluffy?
A cake becomes spongy and fluffy through a careful mix of ingredients like flour, eggs, and leavening agents, which create air bubbles during baking. These bubbles expand, giving the cake its light texture, while ingredients like eggs and fat add moisture and tenderness.
More Sponge Cake Recipes
I hope you love this sponge cake. If you make it, be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Happy Baking!
Print
Vanilla Sponge Cake
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 parts
Description
The classic vanilla sponge cake recipe, is perfect for all your cakes (for a 2 cakes of 8 inches/ 20 cm diameter 8-10 parts).
Ingredients
- 200 g (1 cup) Butter - unsalted at room temperature
- 200 g (1 cup) Sugar - granulated extra fine
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 4 Eggs - large at room temperature
- 200 g (1 ⅔ cups) Cake flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 329°F / 165°C and line two 8 inches/ 20 cm diameter by 7 cm high cake pans with baking paper.
- In a bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients, cake flour, baking powder and pinch of salt and set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, start beating the softened butter with the sugar on medium-high speed for 5 minutes until you have a light, pale texture.
- Lower the speed of the mixer and add the vanilla extract and then the eggs, one at a time, letting the mixer run for about 1 minute between each egg addition.
- Once the eggs are fully incorporated, run the mixer for about 5 minutes on high speed until the mixture increases in volume.
- Stop the mixer and pour the dry ingredients into the bowl and fold them in with a soft spatula until the mixture is smooth.
- Divide the mixture in half and distribute it into the two prepared pans.
- Bake for about 30 minutes (without opening the oven door), until golden brown.
- Check the baking of your cake with the blade of a knife or a toothpick by sticking it in the center of the cake, it should come out clean without crumbs, if not extend the baking time by 5 minutes.
- Let your cakes cool for a few minutes before turning them out carefully, then let them cool completely on a rack.
- If necessary, remove the crust on top when the cake is still a little warm with a knife or cut directly with a sponge cake leveler.
Notes
Storage: 3-4 days at room temperature and up to 3 months in the freezer.
For a 6 inches / 15 cm pan: Divide the preparation and bake in 2 pans of 4-6 inches / 12-15 cm, for about 40-45 minutes and you can cut your cake to have 4 layers of sponge cake.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: cake, Dessert
- Cuisine: English
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 11
- Sodium: 50
- Fat: 3
- Saturated Fat: 1
- Carbohydrates: 26
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 5
- Cholesterol: 68
Hello Fadela, your website is great! Thanks for your tips and tricks. I have a 10cm diameter mold, what would be the quantities of butter, eggs, sugar, and flour for this recipe? Thanks.
Hello, I noticed you don't use baking powder in your recipe.
Hello, no yeast in the sponge cake.
Hello,
I have a 26 cm mold, can I use the same proportions as for a 25 cm mold? Thank you.
Yes, it's perfect.
Hello, how can I find out the number of servings? Kind regards.
I am always surprised by the description of this cake as airy or light. It's a pound cake, plain and simple. It's very good, but the name doesn't make it any lighter than it is.
Amazing recipe, the sponge cake was super soft and light, thanks for the tip about whipping the eggs it really made a difference
I want my layers thicker like your 6inch sponge cake. Could I just add all the batter or 2/3 from the top to the 8inch and divide in half. What would the baking time change to if I could do that for this recipe
Yes, you can bake all the batter in a single 8-inch cake pan to achieve thicker layers. Make sure the pan is deeper or lined higher to accommodate the increased batter volume. You'll likely need to extend the baking time accordingly to ensure the cake bakes through. After baking, you can then carefully cut the cake horizontally into two layers. Remember to check the cake's doneness with a toothpick or cake tester before removing it from the oven.
yall idk what the heck but this is not enough batter even for my 7inch pan. its so small and doesn’t rise much LOL messed up my rainbow cake so not like o can make more and pour more batter. gotta 2-3x this recipe
I'm sorry to hear that you didn't have success with this recipe. It sounds like something may have gone wrong in the preparation. This recipe is designed to yield two layers of cake. To achieve four layers, you will indeed need to double the recipe. It's crucial to follow the procedure closely and pay special attention to the tips provided, as they are essential for helping the cake rise properly.