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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,
Can I half the recipe
I wanted to make this in 2 6 ” pans and also can the batter can rest on the counter until the other one bakes
I have not tested this in two six-inch round baking pans to say for sure. It sounds like you are on the right track but I would guess that 4 eggs might work better or the cakes may be a little flat. Let me know if you experiment since others may have the same question.
I’ve made this cake in 6” pans many times.. but I used 3 pans for the full batch of batter.. and bake it a little bit longer. They come out nice and tall.
Hi Natasha,
Is this too much of quantity for 2 6 inch pan. I am planning to make a two layered cake for my daughters Birthday and as need height. Will it work with 2 6″ pan. What do u recommend.
How much Vanilla extract can be added
Can you recommend frosting I stay in Dubai and its very hot and humid here without eggs and not too sweet
Hi Almas, I have not tested this in two six-inch round baking pans to say for sure. Let me know if you experiment since others may have the same question.
Hi Natasha! Do I need to make any adjustments for altitude? I believe that I followed all the directions and kept the eggs nice and fluffy, but my cakes were nice and high in the sides, but fell in the middle. I’m in Colorado at 7000 feet.
Hi Anita, 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.
Hi Natasha,
Is this too much of quantity for 2 6 inch pan. I am planning to make a two layered 6″ cake for my daughters Birthday as need height. Will it work with 2 6″ pan. How much Vanilla extract can be added
Can you recommend butter cream without eggs and not too sweet
Hi, I would go with 1 tsp of vanilla and fold it in at the end. I haven’t tried this in 6″ pans so it would have to be an experiment. I think it would overflow if you didn’t cut it down. Without testing it, I could only guess. I have a new buttercream recipe that I will be posting next week.
I made this cake heater ago for my friends and it was a hit. I tried again last night and for some reason the topsof the cakes were really sticky. I don’t recall this happening the first time around. Any tips to ensure proper baking? Thanks!
Hi Jo, I’ll do my best to troubleshoot – do you live in a high altitude area? I wonder if that would affect baking temp/time on this one. Also, are you in a high humidity area? The top normally doesn’t turn sticky so I’m not sure why else that would be…
Hi, if i use 1 9″ springform pan to bake the batter, do i still bake at 350˚F for 23-28 minutes? If butter is not use, will the cake has no taste and will the cake be hard?
Hi Valerie, we used to bake this cake in a springform but you won’t get the same height and rise as you would baking in two separate cake pans. It was 30 minutes of bake time. This cake does not require any butter.
Hi,
When I scale it down or up using the slider the measurements in the metric system do not change. Do I simply divide or multiply your recipe? As I know that there are recipes that when scaled up or down they don’t necessarily work because of proportions.
Hi Anne, with baking it is tough to say. The slider is configured to the non-metric measurements. You can halve this recipe,
several of our readers have done so successfully
Hi! I am getting ready to start baking some of this. My question is about the baking pans you use – can I use springform pan or do you recommend using the round ones you use?
Hi Aldina, I’m using cake pans that are about 1 3/4 inches tall. If using a springform to make one tall cake you can use a 9″ springform that is 3″ tall.
hi Natasha is it just 1cup flour?
That’s right! We used one cup of flour for this cake.
I wanna know how well this will go as tree leches base? What’s the difference in texture in this one and the one is your tree leches base ?
Thanks
Hi Sana, I haven’t tried, but I think it could work since it is a sponge. I would highly recommend either of our tres leches cakes.
hi, i really want to make this cake but unfortunately i don’t have an oven, can you tell me how do i make this on a stove?
Hi, Unfortunately, I don’t think this one can be made on a stove.
Thank you… This recipe is phenomenal… Thank you Natasha…
I’m so happy you enjoyed that! Thank you!
Hi natasha
I want to make the cake but I dont have this stand cake mixer just a normal mixer
Pl help
Debbie
Hi Debika, if you have an electric hand mixer, it will take longer to mix. I would give it an extra 3-5 minutes of mixing time depending on how much power your mixer has and definitely on high speed.
Hi Natasha,
I was wondering if I could use this recipe in an 8 inch round pan.
Hi Marti, I haven’t tested this in an 8″ pan. I’m thinking it will fit but I also don’t want to lead you astray without testing it myself.
Hi Natasha,
How long do you recommend cooking this cake if I halve the recipe? Are the beating times still the same?
Thanks!
Hi Olivia, you can halve the recipe and just use one 9″ pan. I hope that helps.
May I use this recipe for sponge cake cupcakes? I want to fill them with pastry cream and then top with chocolate glaze.
Hi Loria, this cake base does not work well for cupcakes since it will stick badly to the wrappers as there is no butter or oil in the cake.
Hi Natasha I look forward to making this as I trust your skills, having done a favorite recipe from you- the strawberry jello.
For this cake recipe, I would like to use my dark square pan, what would you suggest I do with baking time and temp, more time and lower temp you think?
Thanks for sharing as always.
– Cha
Hi Maria, without testing in your particular pan, I could only guess. I did bake this in one springform pan in the past for 30 minutes. This was from our coffee cake.
Hi Natasha, i made the genoise cake. Just a question, why did my cake get hard. The taste is good but the texture is chewey. Where did i go wrong?
Hi CM, the primary culprits are either under beating (make sure to use a stand mixer on high speed with whisk attachment), and overbaking could also be a culprit.
Can i use this recipe to make Tresleche cake
Hi Ramya, I haven’t tried, but I think it could work since it is a sponge. I would highly recommend either of our tres leches cakes.
Thank you.
Can I make this recipe in 13*9 square pan
Hi Ramya, it would be a fairly skinny cake. Here is an example where I made this a 9×13 cake but I doubled the recipe and made the cake layers separately.
Natasha, do you think it would be possible to use this recipe in one big round pan (12”).. (trying to make a big cake)
Hi Natasha, I haven’t tested that with an 12 inch pan but I have doubled this recipe for a 9×13″ cake pan before. Without doubling it may be a fairly skinny cake depending on your pan size. Anyways, also note that each batch of batter needs to be beaten separately unless you have an industrial electric mixer, otherwise it will overwhelm the mixer and not whip sufficiently for the cake to rise properly.
Hi Natasha, I’ve tried this recipe and love it! I’m going to make it again for this weekend and once it’s baked I’m going to soak it with a little fig syrup to give it a different flavor. Will let you know how it goes! Thanks for the awesome recipes!!!
Yum! We use this base for most of our cakes! I’m so glad you enjoyed that!
It came out perfect!! I mean absolutely delicious! Thanks again for your awesome recipes!
You’re welcome, Martha! I’m so happy you enjoyed that!
Hi Natasha
What is the height of the 9″ pan u used please?
Hi Mary. I’m using cake pans that are about 1 3/4 inches tall. If using a springform to make one tall cake you can use a 9″ springform that is 3″ tall.