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I love this sponge cake recipe. It’s easy and you can make hundreds of different cakes with this base. This is a classic European sponge cake (aka Genoise). Once you have this recipe down (you’ll memorize it after a couple rounds), you’ll be baking things that look and taste like they are from a fancy bakery.
This cake base takes on moisture really well from fruit, frostings, liqueurs and syrups. As you can tell from my cake recipes, I’m a sucker for moist cakes. Read on to see 11 marvelous recipes you can make using this sponge cake base.
Over the years, I’ve tested countless different ways to make this cake and this is the best, most fail-proof method for genoise that I’ve tested. This is not like American cakes and readers often question if it can really be that easy and only have 4 ingredients.
I want you to discover this gem of a cake and succeed EVERY TIME you make it. I hope you find this video helpful. We had you in mind! 🙂
Watch How To Make Sponge Cake:
Tips for Success (Read First!):
1. When no streaks of flour remain in the dough, fold a few extra times to ensure you aren’t missing pockets of flour at the bottom
2. Bake the cake layers right after folding in the flour – they should not sit too long
3. Always use a conventional oven setting (not a convection/fan setting)
4. An electric hand mixer will take 2-4 minutes longer to beat the eggs
5. Tip from reader, Hilda: “How do you know u get the right consistency? Lift up your beater (whisk) from the batter. Make a figure “8” using the batter that drip off the beater. Then count to 10 seconds. If the figure 8 still remains on top of the batter, then u have the right consistency. If the figure 8 sinks into the batter before 10 secs, then u need to beat it longer.”
6. Bake in the center of the oven
7. Place cake in a fully pre-heated oven
8. Do not open the oven door to check on the cake until towards the end
9. Let the cake cool in a room without any outdoor draft which can make it seem eggy
Sponge Cake Recipes you can master at home:
Blackberry Lemon Cake – soft and moist and has a fluffy lemon blackberry buttercream frosting.
Charlotte Cake – layers of raspberry mousse, lady fingers and fluffy cake.
Poppy Seed Cake – fluffy and moist with a hint of rum and it’s not overly sweet.
Strawberry Sponge Cake – boasts 1 1/2 lbs of fresh strawberries. You’ll love the simple and delicious whipped cream cheese frosting.
Black Forest Cake – A chocolate version of classic genoise with 1 lb of kirsch infused cherries and whipped cream. So good!!
Russian Apple Cake (Sharlotka) – Just 5 ingredients and 15 min of prep, then your oven does the rest!
Poppy Seed Cake Roll – Moist, generously filled with a cream cheese frosting, covered with velvety chocolate ganache and pummeled with salted pistachios.
Pomegranate Christmas Cake – With a crown of glistening pom seeds, this one’s a stunner for the holidays.
Story Book Cake Roll – This cake roll is moist, rolled with a vanilla butter cream, covered in decadent chocolate and the cookie crumbs give it a subtle crunch.
Kiwi Berry Cake – If you love fruit, this cake will make your dreams come true. Layer after layer of gorgeous berries.
Tiramisu – if you like tiramisu, you will love this!
I told you I loved this cake base. I’m Completely smitten 🙂
4-Ingredient Sponge Cake (Video Recipe)
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar, 210 grams
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, 130 grams
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
Instructions
Prep:
- Preheat Oven to 350˚F. Line bottoms of two 9″ cake pans with parchment paper (do not grease the sides).
How to Make this Sponge Cake:
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment (this is the one I have), beat 6 large eggs for 1 minute on high speed. With the mixer on, gradually add 1 cup sugar and continue beating 8-10 minutes until thick and fluffy.
- Whisk together 1 cup flour and 1/2 tsp baking powder then sift this mixture into fluffy egg mixture one third at a time. Fold with a spatula with each addition just until incorporated. Scrape spatula from the bottom to catch any pockets of flour and stop mixing when no streaks of flour remain. Do not over-mix or you will deflate the batter.
- Divide evenly between prepared cake pans (it helps if you have a kitchen scale to weight the pans). Bake at 350˚F for 23-28 minutes (my oven took 25 min), or until top is golden brown. Remove from pan by sliding a thin spatula (here’s the one I love for cakes) around the edges then transfer to a wire rack and remove parchment backing. Cool cakes to room temperature then slice layers equally in half with a serrated knife.
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
This looks delicious! Just wondering if you can add vanilla extract to the cake mix? Also wondering what kind of frosting you would put on top? Just a simple buttercream?
Thank you in advance!
Hi Cece! Yes, you can add vanilla extract. This type of sponge works great with whipped cream frostings and fruit filling, but you can use buttercream too.
Great recipe! Lovely with fresh berries and whipped cream.
Best and easiest sponge I’ve ever made! If I were to make a chocolate version what would you recommended?
Hi Jamie! For a similar sponge, I would use my Black Forest Cake Recipe.
Hi Natasha,
I tried your sponge cake recipe—it came out awesome! Thanks so much for sharing!
So glad you loved it!
Quick question…if I wanted to use two 8 by 3 round cake pans, how long to bake?
Hi Mirella! It may work in an 8″ inch pan, I haven’t tried it to give those exact instructions. If you have two and they’re 3″ tall, it may work without overflowing! We used 9″ pans that are 2.2″ tall.
The oven temperature can stay the same but likely will take longer to bake since the pans are deeper.
Can I make the cake and icing ahead of time then decorate the next day or so?
Hi Bella. This sponge cake holds up well at room temperature for 1-2 days. Just be sure to let it cool completely and then wrap it well in plastic wrap or an airtight container.
For icing/frosting- it depends on the recipe you’re using and what ingredients it contains.
Hi!
Can I add mango purée in the batter?
Hi Bella! I have not tested that. This sponge cake batter is very fragile, it could throw off the balance or weigh down the batter and you’ll end up with a dense/flat cake.
I am interested in adding some cacao to the recipe. Would it work to add 3/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup of cacao?
Hi there! I have not tested that to advise. If you do an experiment, let us know how it goes!
I made this yesterday, it totally didn’t work. I’m not sure what I did wrong, but it didn’t even rise, it actually shrank. Oh well, I will give it another shot. Although re-watching your video, it did seem like you had more than one cup of flour.
Hi Mike! The main culprit is under-beating the eggs and sugar or over-mixing when adding the flour causing it to deflate. Did you start with room-temperature eggs and use a high-powered stand mixer to beat together the eggs and sugar and then fold the flour in with a spatula so as not to deflate the batter? This cake relies on the eggs being whipped well for volume. I would watch the video again to see what my batter looked like. Also, make sure to fully preheat your oven before baking your cakes and do not open the oven door during the baking process because the drastic change in temperature can make the cake collapse.
For a more accurate flour measurement, you can select the metric button in the recipe card and weigh your flour in grams.
So I think maybe I whipped it too much? I did go by the 8 minutes you mentioned but it did seem kind of more airy than what you had online before you added the flour. Also re-watching the video it seemed like you had more than one cup of flour. I will try again and let you know. Thanks for responding.
Hello Natasha,
I wanted to make 3 9 in or 3 8 in cakes, but instead of doing that because I don’t have that many pans- can I just bake this on a half sheet pan then just cut out? Not sure if its doable and if so, do I need to do anything special?
Thank you
Hi Jane, I haven’t tried this recipe in that size pan, but I recommend using THIS Adapt Baking Recipes to Fit Different Pan Sizes Guide.
Hi! Could I use this recipe to make a confetti cake? Do you think adding sprinkles to the batter would affect it negatively? I was thinking of using this recipe instead of the vanilla cake recipe due to it being a bit more simple in ingredients and soft and airy, in comparison to the typical cake used for confetti cake.
I’m thinking that would be fine! Just make sure to use the right sprinkles. You can go for jimmies (the long, soft sprinkles) or quins (flat, disc-shaped sprinkles) as they are less likely to bleed.
The Raspberry Charlotte recipe for Sponge Cake calls for cake flour. The video for just the sponge cake calls for all purpose. Which shud I use?
Hi Sharon! The video is linked for reference to watch the process if you’ve never made a European Sponge Cake. Follow the recipe instructions in the Raspberry Charlotte recipe.
Nice recipe.
Should the cakes be removed immediately from the pans or are they supposed to cool first?
Hi Thalia, you can wait a few minutes so its easier to manage without being too hot.
I tried making a sponge cake before and it flopped,
I made this sponge cake today,it was easy and wonderful!!!!!!
I will use this recipe from now on.
Thank you so much.
Can I add lemon juice and lemon zest or will this cause a problem
Hi Leanne! You can, but you need to add in a small amount so it doesn’t thin out and affect the batters structure. Lemon extract works great for adding strong flavor without a large quantity. Just be careful not to over-mix and deflate the batter.
I LOVE THIS RECIPE! This is my first time leaving a review on a recipe. It’s so simple! I even subbed the sugar for honey and it turned out great. You don’t have to use a million measuring cups and bowls and only 4 ingredients. This is my new go-to.
Thank you so much for the review, Sally! I’m happy you enjoyed the recipe!
Is it possible to make cupcakes with this recipe?
Hi Marina, I would not recommend cupcakes from this recipe. It would stick to the cupcake wrappers badly and I don’t think they would have that nice dome shape that you are looking for like in our Vanilla Cupcakes.
Instead of cupcakes perhaps cutting the cake into small squares then icing each one ( like petit fours) would work?
Dear Natasha, my question is whether I should put parchment paper also to the round side all-around or it is enough to put the parchment paper only at the bottom? Or should I smear butter around? I am only afraid that it will stick to the sides…
Hi there! The batter needs to cling to the sides of the pan in order to rise properly, that is why I don’t recommend greasing. Parchment paper at the bottom is all that is needed.
Hi Natasha,
I’m Gaya. I have tried many of your recipes and came out very well and delicious. Thank you very much and God bless you!🙏🥰
I have a request, can you kindly share Dobos Torte (Hungarian cake based dessert with many layers)
Thanks 🙏