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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
Hi Natasha,
Love your recipes, including this version of sponge cake. They are always work beautifully and I have made many recipes from your site. This cake though is not really Genoise, is it? My understanding that classic Genoise cake has also addition of melted butter and more baking powder, so it’s not so eggy.
Hi Anna! I’m so happy you have enjoyed our recipes! The main ingredient in this classic European sponge cake (genoise) is egg. The cake relies on the volume of the whipped eggs to rise. Butter is not traditionally used in this classic European sponge cake. Also, using butter on the pan is not recommended because the cake pulls away from the sides and ends up mis-shaped. I’m sure there are several different versions of it but the classic European genoise does not require butter.
Hi. Can I substitute plain flour with cake flour instead? Will I be able to achieve the same result as you? I am planning to build a birthday cake for my Daughter soon. Thks.
Hi James! I have made it with cake flour and it does work well if you prefer to use cake flour 🙂
My mother would like a sponge cake for her 95th birthday and I’ve never made one. With so many options on the internet I’m feeling overwhelmed. I am wondering, what makes this better than ones that have butter, vanilla and milk? Thank you
Hi Linda, this European sponge cake is a completely different type of cake than traditional American cakes with butter, vanilla, milk and added leavening. I hope you give it a chance and experiment 🙂
I tried this today and it smells too eggy for me. What should I add?
Middle slightly sank and the texture is a bit rubbery. 🙁
(Confused)
Hi Jeanne, I would suggest whipping it a couple of minutes longer and also, I have found that any egg based cake or meringue is best when it is kept out of outdoor draft – I’m not sure why or how but those items can have a pronounced eggy smell after that. Maybe I’m just sensitive to it, but I have noticed that. Regarding the sinking, did you possibly use a convection oven rather than conventional? And was the oven pre-heated fully when you placed the cake onto the center rack? P.S. I added a “Tips for Success” section at the top of this post which should help.
Natasha – I added 1 tsp of vanilla and 1/2 tsp of salt when I made this. I have only hand-held electric mixer so I whisked it for maybe 12 minutes – I did it until it seemed thick enough. I added the vanilla half-way through and the salt with the flour.
Thank you for sharing that, Elizabeth!
what does outdoor draft mean Natasha?
Don’t place it by an open window. There’s something about egg-based recipes in general, both sponge cakes and meringue recipes that start to have an eggy aroma if they are exposed to outdoor air/draft.
Just came across this recipe and am eager to try it! I don’t have an electric blender, but…. I do have a normal blender. Might be a silly question but would using it work as an alternative?
Hi Liz, this recipe really does need an electric stand mixer or an electric hand mixer, otherwise it will take FOREVER to reach the whipped consistency that is needed for the cake to rise.
Hi Natasha!
Will try your recipe next week for my birthday. Im doing a strawberries and cream sponge cake. Currently in Philippines 🙂
That’s so great! Enjoy!
I’ll bet the Sponge cake is the most commented-on recipe in your repertoire, isn’t it? There is a comment and reply in my emails nearly every day about it! Love your recipes. I took the avocado chicken to a cookout, and it was devoured. I was asked for the recipe..I gave you full credit and am always telling people to check out your site!
I appreciate the credit and you sharing Patricia! Thank you for the feed back 🙂
Hi Natasha,
Just baked the sponge, and it came out perfect, so light and airy :)… Thank you for such an easy recipe… I used to bake sponge earlier, but used to whip egg whites and yolks separately first… But this one is so simple and easy to make… Planning to make mixed fruit cake to beat the heat…
Thanks again :*
Romi
That’s awesome Romi! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Hi, this cake looks amazing, I was thinking of trying out sponge cake for the foundation of a whipped cream & strawberry cake I was thinking of making; However, I assume that you would need to flatten the rounded tops of the cakes before layering them together with a long bread knife, right? Thanks!
-Michael
Making them as even as possible will look better of course. You can definitely cut the layers in half with a long bread knife 🙂 If you are planning on using a frosting that should hold it together just fine, most bakeries finish the shape with the frosting to make the edges more clean. I hope this helps Michael.
I used your 4 ingredient sponge cake recipe to make an upside down pineapple cake and I loved it! Question is can I use one 12 inch pan or is the recipe made for only two 9″ pans?
Hi Tracy. According to one of our readers it should be enough batter for a 12″ pan. I haven’t tried it myself however. Please let me know how you like it if you experiment!
would you keep the same bake time for the 12″ cake pan at 28 minutes and if not what would you change the bake time to?
I would recommend watching it closely. I would assume there would need to be some sort of time adjustment.
Hi Natasha
I read your sponge cake recipe many times and saw the video and made the cake following each step carefully. I beat the egg well enough and made an eight in the batter to check consistency as per your tip. I did not open the oven door in the middle. But sadly my cake sunk in the middle and i’m feeling that the cake is a bit chewy/rubbery 🙁
Hi Prathi, were you using a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer? A hand mixer would take a few minutes longer of beating since it doesn’t whip as efficiently as a stand mixer. Also, did you possibly use a convection setting? This recipe is written for a conventional oven. And lastly, be sure to bake the cake right away in a pre-heated oven without letting the batter sit for too long on the counter. I hope that helps!
Thanks for ur reply. Yes i used stand mixer, conventional and pre-heated oven. Have to try again!!
Thank you for this easy recipe of sponge cake. Now i can make my ube cake using this recipe as my base.
Yes! This is the perfect recipe for that!
Please give a recipe on how to make icing for cake
Hi Vanessa! We have so many cakes with different options for frosting! I would recommend looking here and seeing if any of these are what you may like to try. I have a Swiss Meringue Buttercream that is very good or my cupcake frosting which is easy and delicious.
The cakes came out beautiful and tasty – I did add 1 tsp of vanilla and 1/2 tsp of salt – just to suit our tastes. I’ll follow up when we have the dessert – which is chilling in the fridge waiting for dinner tonight.
Yes! I’d love to hear how you like it! Thank you so much for sharing this with me!
The cake was wonderful. 10″ pans would have worked better. I didn’t have a proper pan to put it in so it was a little messy but it got raves. I gave all the rest of my scraps to my friend because she makes trifles and it will be perfect for that.
I’m so happy you all enjoyed that Elizabeth!
I want to use this recipe to make the BBC Good Food Strawberry-Elderflower Gateau. The recipe says “sponge flan cases” but since I’m in the US, we don’t have these – or I don’t know what they are. Do you think this will work?
Sounds like it uses a sponge cake as a base! If you try it with this recipe I’d love to know how it turned out!
My guests are coming Thursday so I’m making the cake tomorrow early and the dessert late tomorrow since it can sit for 24 hours.
Hi Elizabeth, this cake can sit covered at room temperature or refrigerated overnight. 🙂
Hi Natasha. Can we make a day or two in advance and keep in the fridge?
Yet, that will work, just keep it covered 😀
Hi Natasha,
I was wondering if you think this recipe is enough to fill a single 12″ round cake pan?
Thanks so much in advance!
Hi Elita. It may work but also may come out fairly short. I would recommend maybe making 1.5 times the recipe. Let me know how it works it you experiment. 🙂
V=πr2h
12″cake pan 3.14x6x2x1 = 37.68 cu inches
2 9″cake pans 2(3.14×4.5x2x1) = 50.24 cu inches
This means if you make the regular recipe (~50 cubic inches) you will have more batter than you need to fill a 12″ pan. You can make the extra batter (approx 12 cub inches) into a smaller cake or bake it in a small steel bowl and have a little treat. Making 1.5 of the recipe will give you A LOT of extra batter. Enough to make 2 – 12″ pans, plus some left over.
High Altitude adjustments? Technically, we are a few hundred feet lower than typical high altitude values, say, on cake boxes. I know how to adjust for cookies, but not for this cake. The one time I made it, it was fine before removing from the oven – then it sank when cooling. I read somewhere a suggestion to turn off the oven and leave it in for 5 minutes longer or something like that. I wondered if you have an easy “fix” to resolve the sinking problem. Thanks! P.S. It’s so hard to believe that with only 4 ingredients it is SO TASTY!
Isn’t it great how something so simple turns out to be so amazing! Besides altitude issues. The main culprit of the cake sinking is often under-beating the eggs and sugar. 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? I sure hope that helps some. Let me know if I can help troubleshoot some more.
Yes, I did, indeed, follow those instructions. I tried it again tonight. Same issue. I may need to try a different recipe, as I need to have this type cake for a birthday cake I need to make in September – MINE! And I don’t want to ask a bakery to make it for me, as I like to use organic ingredients. I really like that there aren’t a whole bunch of things to measure in this – it’s (supposedly) easy enough to make quickly for unexpected dessert whims. There is only so much, though, that we can keep on hand or in the freezer while I’m practicing to get it right. Fortunately, my husband likes it plain and doesn’t mind taking it to work in his lunch box. Ha! Thanks for getting back to me, though.
Hi, I wonder if it has to do with using course sugar (which is often the case if it is organic sugar). In that case, you would need to mill the sugar to reach a granulated sugar consistency, otherwise it would take longer to whip with the eggs in order for the sugar to dissolve. I hope that helps!
Hi Natasha. Ur recipe sounds easy. Im gonna try it today. Can i make these in cup cake moulds to make mini sponge cakes? Please let me know the Temperature & heat to bake them too. Thanks.
Hi Ruwani, this cake base is not ideal for cupcakes since it will stick badly to the wrappers as there is no butter or oil in the cake.
I’d like to know the answer to the original question.
Can this batter be used to make mini cakes? Batter to be poured into a cupcake tin instead of a cake pan.
You clearly misunderstood the original question as she did not ask you about turning this into a cupcake.
Hi Louise, if you could line the mini cake pans with parchment on the bottom that could work and you would have to run a spatula around the edges first on each one. It ends up being a fair amount of trouble for mini cakes like it would be for mini cupcakes.
You say to remove cakes from pans after few minutes?? How long is that, lol 5 minutes, 10 minutes?
Hi Ali, 3 minutes will do. I don’t usually wait longer before removing them from the pans.
I love this recipe and have made several birthday cakes. If I wanted to use a 12x16x2 inch pan, should I double up the portions? Thanks!
Hi Amy, that is a large pan! I haven’t tested it that way but I think it should be safe to double it.
This is where HS math comes in handy. The area of a circular pan is 3.14 x (width/2) x (width/2) – or in this case 3.14 x 4.5 x 4.5 – approx. 64″ – or the same as an 8″ square pan. A 12×16 inch pan is 192 square inches. So more than doubled.
Thank you Elizabeth!
The formula for area of a circle is: A=πr2
Pi is 3.14
r is the radius of the pan
She’s using a rectangular pan at 192 sq in
The area of the 2 round pans is:
2(3.14 x 4.5 x 4.5) = 127 sq inches
1.5x the recipe should fill the 12×16 pan