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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,
I have a few questions:
1. Can we make more layers of this sponge cake?
For example: To make 5 inch + tall cakes?
2. Will it hold some fondant decorations? I don’t want it collapsing on me.
I have made a genoise before for a Fraiser but never thought it could be used for so many cakes!
3. In your mango cake, you just used the pulp in the layers, why not add in the batter? What difference does it make to add puree/pulps into the batter?
4. I am going to upload a video of (your and my version) of a Mango Cake, how do I let you know once its uploaded?
Last, you really torture me with your recipes, I DON’T WAN’T TO STOP WATCHING !_!
Thanks
Hi Hamna! I’m so happy you are enjoying our recipes! I have not tested this in a five-inch round baking pan to say for sure, so I’m not certain if it would overflow the pan. That would be my main concern. You may need to scale the recipe back. Let me know if you experiment. It may be a little soft for fondant unless you put a stiffer buttercream over it first – that may work. We used puréed mango in the layers not pulp but I think pulp may work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Hi Natasha. I was wondering how many grams of spongecake does this produce. It would be great if you could give me some insight. Thank you.
Hi Joseph, I haven’t weighed the finished cakes so I”m not sure. If anyone has a good answer for this, please let us know!
Hi. I have tried this recipe 8 times. It just wont rise for me. Any suggestions?? Thanks Jeffrey
Hi Jeffrey, in the future, get in touch after the first attempt because I am always happy to help troubleshoot :). This classic European sponge cake relies on the volume of eggs and sugar to rise so it is critically important to beat these with a high powered mixer on high speed until thick and fluffy. You know the batter is ready when you pull up on the batter and a thick ribbon forms and stays on the surface fo the batter for a few seconds before disappearing into the batter. I hope that helps! Also, be sure to bake right away in a preheated oven.
Hi Natasha, I’ve been doing this recipe so many times. Sometimes it turns out but sometimes it doesn’t. And I can’t figure out what goes wrong. When I take the cake out of the oven it looks perfect but as it sits and cools it pulls away from the pan and the middle starts sinking in. While the sides are rised. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Irina, 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? I have found that buttering the sides causes the cake to pull away from the sides a little and isn’t as level but the cake will still work 🙂 It sticks because there is no oil or butter in the batter but we have found that a thin-edged spatula works best, scraping along the inside wall of the pan as you loosen it from the pan. P.S. I added a “Tips for Success” section at the top of this post which should help.
The baking gods were with me today, it took about 15 mins for the eggs to get light and fluffy but it paid off. Thanks for the easy recipe 😁♥️♥️
You’re so welcome! I’m happy you enjoyed that!
Can I make a make a chocolate sponge cake with this recipe?
Hi Denise, I have made a chocolate sponge cake before but don’t have a recipe posted yet. I’ll add it to my list 🙂
Great thank you
Natasha, you are a lifesaver. I came across a faded stained, well used recipe in my mom’s hand, in Italian. Beat 6 eggs, 1 cup sugar, 1 t vanilla, add 1 cup + 2 T flour and 1 t BP. Low oven for 45 minutes.
I had no idea what it was for…so I went sleuthing and found your European Sponge Cake recipe. Voila’! Thank you!! with your great directions I will make this now and think of my mom and my grandma.
That’s so great, Janice! I’m so happy you enjoyed that!
If I cut the recipe in half, do I cut the baking powder in half too? Thanks.
Hi Bethany! Yes, you would halve everything proportionally 🙂
Will this hold on when topped with buttercream frosting? Do I need to add some kind of liquid to moisturize it?
Hi Hend, the recipe links several of the recipes we tried with this base. You are welcome to use a simple syrup, Here is a simple syrup recipe we use, Simple Syrup: 1/2 cup water, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 1 Tbsp granulated sugar I hope this helps. This cake will hold buttercream frosting just fine. 🙂 I hope you love it!!
A question: reading the comments I noted that many find the batter doesn’t rise enough, so you typically suggest more beating in a stand mixer.
So I wonder if your stand mixer motor is more powerful than most?
I find I do need to beat the batter 10-12 minutes for that “magic 8” trick (suggested in the recipe) to show me it’s ready. Once it took 15 so maybe the humidity affected things that time.
But this is my “go to” cake recipe. Everybody loves it even if it doesn’t rise as high as it should, it’s still a homemade cake!
Hi Lauren, there are many factors that play a role in the cake rising. From ingredients to high altitude or high humidity. As you mentioned a stand mixer may vary in power and speed as well. Thank you for sharing this with us
Hi Natasha,
I tried making this recipe today and the cake collapsed in the oven. I thought I had beaten the eggs to light and fluffy, but maybe I needed to beat it for longer. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks! Julia
Hi Julia, did you have an opportunity to watch the video? If not, I strongly encourage you to watch it if you have never made a European sponge cake in the past. The cake relies on the volume of the eggs as leavening and it won’t rise is you don’t bake the eggs with a high powered stand mixer for the recommended amount of time. If your cake collapses or is flat, under-beating the eggs and sugar is the number one culprit. I hope that helps!
Hi Natasha,
Can I reduce the amount of sugar? would this affect the texture of the cake
Hi Lily, I haven’t tried that with less sugar since this cake does rely on the volume of eggs and sugar to rise.
I made it twice with Kitchen Aid 5 speed electric mixer – both times it didn’t work. I whipped it for 20 minutes each time. The batter looked very fluffy. However, it still became some smushy paste after I baked it.
Used stand mixer after that – the sponge came out perfect!
Hi Irina! Yes, with a hand mixer you will need to add more time to the mix. The stand mixer does work better for this recipe. 🙂 I’m so happy it worked out for you!
Just to add about hand mixers:
I made it twice with Kitchen Aid 5 speed electric mixer – both times it didn’t work. I whipped it for 20 minutes each time. The batter looked very fluffy. However, it still became some smushy paste after I baked it.
Used stand mixer after that – the sponge came out perfect!
Hi Natasha, I have made this recipe 5 times and it still doesn’t seem to rise enough. I even whip it for about 20 minutes. I try and try adding more and more minutes. I am using a Kitchenaid mixer on high. Any suggestions? Can you over beat?
Hi Nancy! did you have an opportunity to watch the video? If not, I strongly encourage you to watch it if you have never made a European sponge cake in the past. The cake relies on the volume of the eggs as leavening and it won’t rise is you don’t bake the eggs with a high powered stand mixer for the recommended amount of time. If your cake collapses or is flat, under-beating the eggs and sugar is the number one culprit. I hope that helps!
Hi, Yes, I have watched the video. I am using a KitchenAid stand mixer. I don’t know what I am doing wrong. It is frustrating and I don’t want to quit trying until I get this right. They taste good, just don’t rise up. I will watch the video, again! I love this recipe and want to make it work. It has great flavor.
I hope it works out for you! I recommend skimming through the comments also to get more troubleshooting tips 🙂
I think it is definitely possible to over beat the egg mixture as well. The first time I tried this recipe, I beat the eggs and sugar for around 15 minutes (kitchenaid stand mixer) because I was worried it wasn’t fluffy enough. Then the second time I stuck to the 8-10 recommendation and it turned out sooooo much better!
I do know that it’s possible to overwhip the eggs also, which would cause the cake not to rise well. Recommendations I have read say to beat just until a figure eight holds for a few seconds. I also saw it on Great British Bake-off, and they know their way around a Genoise! Imagine Paul Hollywood leveling those baby blues at the baker and muttering ‘you ovah-beat the batt-ah’. Devastation.
Hi Natasha ,
I have attempted few times on how to make sponge cake with other recipes but was not successful. After following your blog I managed and just did the baking.Was so happy as I am planning to bake a birthday cake to my 2 years old son. Wondering should I use whipped cream or fondant over it? I am beginner in baking btw 🙁 . Kindly guide me
Hi Sylvia! Thank you for that great review! We have several cakes linked in the recipe with wonderful frosting ideas! I personally can’t advise on the use of fondant since I haven’t tried that, I do recommend skimming the comments to see if what our readers are saying. I hope you love it!
Hi Natasha…I would like to use 6 inch pans, how many mins do you think I should bake it? TIA
Hi Mari, I have not tested this in a six-inch round baking pan to say for sure, so I’m not certain if it would overflow the pan. That would be my main concern. You may need to scale the recipe back. Let me know if you experiment.
Hi hope to hear from you today cuz wanting to make this today! I usually make traditional butter cakes with vanilla and almond extracts. But have been wanting to try a genoise sponge. Have you ever added extracts to this recipe? Would it mess anything up? I would like it to have an almond flavor.
Hi Heather, you can add 1 tsp of vanilla extract (or any), folding it in quickly before adding flour.
Thanks! I went ahead and did a tsp of Vanilla and tsp of almond. The cake rose well and looked beautiful when it came out. But it was very tricky to cut each layer in half, it was very moist and a little sticky on top and my cake slicer wire would glide through easily. It also sunk just slightly in the middle which made it hard to get even layers. I did bake for 20 mins. The toothpick came out clean so took it out. Could it perhaps have needed another few mins in the oven? Will rate the recipe after I taste it tomorrow!
Hi, can I put the whole batter into 1 cake pan instead of 2 ?
Hi Lynette, I have not tested this in one baking pan to say for sure, so I’m not certain if it would overflow the pan but I imagine it would since this fills our tall pan nicely with two rounds. That would be my main concern. You may need to scale the recipe back. Let me know if you experiment.
Thanks but I dont think the cakes rose enough when I tried to cut them the layers were too thin and fell apart. Can I use the filling and frosting on a normal cake
Hi Rose, I’m not sure which frosting and filling you are referring to. Make sure to watch the video – typically the primary reason for this classic cake not to rise is under-beating eggs and sugar since the cake relies on the volume of those two ingredients to rise. Hope that helps!
I know u said to not grease the sides of pans but mine stuck a little on sides and ripped cake a bit. I did loosen with offset spatula. And now I’m worried I won’t be able to cut in half. Any suggestions
Hi Rose, you can butter the sides but I have found that buttering the sides causes the cake to pull away from the sides a little and isn’t as level but the cake will still work 🙂 It sticks because there is no oil or butter in the batter but we have found that a thin-edged spatula works best, scraping along the inside wall of the pan as you loosen it from the pan.
We are really impressed with your sponge cake receipe, we tried it today and it came out beautiful and shiny and it is absolutely delicious.
Thank you for our new years day improvised sponge cake drizzled with custard.
I’m so happy to hear that! Happy New Year!