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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
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
you are truly incredible!!! you have me hooked!!!!! thank you so very much for your easy delicious recipes!!!!
Hello🫶🏻 Do you think this cake will do well baking it in 9X13 glass baking dish?
Hi Alisha, it can work but there are some adjusments that you need to make like with the baking time. Just monitor the cake closely but to be sure, I recommend the pan that is recommended in the recipe.
Good
What did I do wrong?! I followed the instructions exactly but when I opened the oven at 25 minutes, the cake was sunk in the middle rather than flat. I made two…so sad!
Hi Diane, sorry to hear that. I’ve never experienced that before but it could be because of undermixing or overmixing the batter. Mix the batter until they’re combined and smooth without overdoing it. Make sure to follow the correct oven temperature in the recipe. You can use a thermometer to be sure. Double check too that the ingredients were measured correctly and exactly as written in the recipe.
Hi Natasha, thanks for this amazing recipe, my family loves it. I was wondering if you could bake this in an Angel Food cake pan. If so, what would the baking time be?
Keep up the amazing work!
Hi Sonja! I’m sure that it could, but I haven’t tested different sizes to know how to adjust. I would watch it in the oven and check for doneness with toothpick.
Thank you for this amazing recipe-fabulous!
Can I freeze leftover cake in plastic wrap and tin foil?
Thank you so much!
Nicole
Hi Nicole. That depends on what the cake frostings/fillings are. The sponge cake itself (prior to assembling/frosting) store very well in the freezer.
Thanks so much for sharing your recipes and advise. Is this a cake I can serve strawberries over? Can I make individual cakes in a muffin pan?
Hi Eva, yes, this base goes well with strawberries. I linked some of my recipes using this sponge cake in the recipe post. I hope you love them. haven’t tried that but since this cake does not have any oil or butter in it, it would stick to a cupcake or mini cupcake pan badly and liners would get stuck to it as well and you’d lose a lot of the cake. This is why I wouldn’t recommend it.
Cake stuck to the sides of the pan. Despite mixing on high for a little over minutes batter never got stiff like the tips suggested. I’m wondering if the humidity might be a factor?
Hi Tammy! I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you. I think humidity could effect it, but I’m not sure since our climate in Idaho is pretty dry. If you’re not getting the right consistency with the egg mixture then it just won’t turn out well. It might be due to under-beating the eggs and sugar. Try beating a few minutes longer and see if that solves the issue. Also- make sure your mixing bowl is completely clean of any grease which can prevent it from whipping properly and be sure to bake right away in a fully preheated oven.
You don’t want to grease the pan because the cake needs to grip the pan to ensure proper rise. But this cake is fairly easy to remove from the pan. I hope that helps.
Cake did not rise, more dense than pancake!!!! The recipe is too complicated. The ingradient appear wrong. It is strange how this recipe get to the top of google search and have rave review when other reviewers also have issues with cake not rising.
Hi Nate, this is a traditional European sponge cake and often they don’t have any baking powder but rely on the volume off the whipped eggs to rise. If your cake did not rise, likely the cause was under-whipping the eggs.
Tried the cake. Simplest of them all. As I always tell my husband , I will only make cakes which is listed on Natasha kitchen. I was never disappointed following your recipes. Thank you so much for all the detailed descriptions.
Aw, thank you, Golda!
Can I use monkfruit sweetener instead of regular sugar? I’m worried that it will not fluff the eggs up the same as regular sugar.
I have not tested that to advise. One of my readers said they substituted 1/4 cup of sugar for Lakantomonk fruit granulated sweetener and it turned out perfect. But I am not sure how substituting it completely will work.
Looking for a cake to serve strawberries over. Would this cake work for that? I’m not a fan of pound cake and find it too heavy. Could I line the bottom of a bread pan with parchment and bake off? I would like to slice off as you would a loaf of bread.
Hi Eva, this is the perfect base for a cake to serve strawberries over. Have you tried my Strawberry Cake Recipe OR my Strawberry Shortcake recipe.
Can I prepare the cakes two days in advance and then frost it 24 hours in advance
The sponge layers will keep well at room temperature/refrigerated for a couple of days, or frozen for longer storage. Let them cool completely and then keep in an airtight container, or well wrapped to prevent drying out.
Hi, I was wondering what icing you would recommend for this sponge cake?
Also, if I add 1 teaspoon of vanilla flavoring, would it disturb the fluffiness of the batter?
Hi Laura, That would depend on what you want to accomplish with this base. I recommend seeing the cake recipes I linked within the recipe post for a few ideas of what has worked well for us under the ‘Sponge Cake Recipes you can master at home:’ section. I hope this is helpful.
Hi, I was wondering what icing you would recommend for this sponge cake?
Hi Laura, That would depend on what you want to accomplish with this base. I recommend seeing the cake recipes I linked within the recipe post for a few ideas of what has worked well for us under the ‘Sponge Cake Recipes you can master at home:’ section. I hope this is helpful.
Hi. What would be the quantities if I want to do three 11 inch cakes
I haven’t tried this recipe in that size pan, but I recommend using THIS Adapt Baking Recipes to Fit Different Pan Sizes Guide.
I was wondering if I can use this recipe in cupcake form? I have mini Bundt cake molds about the size of cupcakes. Would I need to tweak temp and time at all? Thank you!!
I haven’t tried that but since this cake does not have any oil or butter in it, it would stick to a cupcake or mini cupcake pan badly and liners would get stuck to it as well and you’d lose a lot of the cake. This is why I wouldn’t recommend it.
Natasha, you are my go to person when looking for recipes. I love the ease and texture of this cake but, to me, I only smell and taste egg! My husband said I’m crazy cause he doesn’t…..but then again….he gets to eat the whole cake:)
Hi Diane, Normally this should not taste or smell eggy. The most common reason for that would be under beating the eggs and sugar. I suggest watching the video tutorial to see if your cake looked the same and if not, try to determine where it started looking different in the process. Another reason for an eggy smell would be if the cake was cooled in an area of the outdoor draft – the same thing goes for any egg-based dessert-like meringue or egg-based cakes. Also, be sure to use fresh eggs. Some people are more sensitive to eggs so you can also try to mask the egg flavor with a little vanilla or lemon extract in the cake batter next time. I hope that helps.
Hello! I love this recipe and have been using it (and the earlier version) for years! I was diagnosed with celiac disease a couple years ago but this recipe works amazingly with gluten free flour as well.
I wanted to ask about preparing ahead of time… If I was making this 3 days in advance would it be better to freeze it or just leave it in an airtight container?
Glad you love this recipe! The sponge layers will keep well at room temperature/refrigerated for a couple of days, or frozen for longer storage. Let them cool completely and then keep in an airtight container, or well wrapped to prevent drying out.
Hello! Been using your recipe for YEARS. Works wonderfully for so many things. I have tried a roll cake unsuccessfully but just now paid attention to the cake flour part- is that to give it more structure for rolling? And how do you prepare the pan for that? Your roll recipe did not specify- just “prepared”.
Hi Sarah, I would recommend following the process for preparing the towel and pan that we used in our Pumpkin Cake Roll.