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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 use splenda instead of sugar?
Hello! I have not personally tried using splenda to advise. I’m sure that will be fine but you will have to make some adjusments in the recipe. We’d love to know how it goes if you try it!
Hi Natasha thank you for sharing your vanilla recipe. Is it possible for you to share the recipe for buttercream please
Hi Isabelle! If you type “buttercream” in the search bar above, you’ll see my buttercream recipes and you can select one.
Hi Natasha,
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! I’ve tried many others, but none have given me such a perfect flat top and beautiful rise. This one is definitely a keeper.
My only concern is that while the cakes have a lovely golden top, the sides and bottom don’t have the same color. Do you have any suggestions for what I might have missed or how I could achieve a golden exterior all around?
Hi Veena, the color of your pan can make a difference in the color of your cake. A darker pan will give the cake a little more color.
I made it in one pan and it turned out nice it took 30 minutes in the oven and it was a lot higher but as I took it out of the oven it went down, still nice and fluffy I love it 🥰 thank you Natasha
Hi! Can I bake this recipe as one cake instead of splitting it into 2 (and double the bake time)? I only have 1 pan, and am not really sure how it would work to split the batter and pour the second half into a hot pan after the first is done.
Hello! Yes you can bake the sponge cake as one large cake instead of splitting it into two. You will likely have to bake it longer so just be sure to keep checking it. Lower the temp a bit and check for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the center of the cake. Hope it becomes a success!
I cannot thank you enough. This is the FIRST sponge cake I have not messed up. I’m making Swedish Princess cake and other recipes have been too dry or easily deflated. I specifically didn’t offer sponge cake in my business because I failed too much. Great recipe. Mine took 25 min in 2 8 inch rounds.
Thanks for your comment. I’ll be making mine also in two 8 inch pans!
Hi Natasha can I bake this as a loaf in a stoneware loaf pan?
I think it should still come out wonderfully! Just make sure to use the correct size of pan and it might require a bit loger baking time. You can test for doneness by inserting a toothpick—it should come out clean when the cake is ready.
Hi Natasha! I wish to halve the ingredients so I can make a simpler two layer cake. I have an electric hand mixer. How long should I beat the eggs? I see you have mentioned an extra 2~4 minutes.
Where do I insert this extra time? (I am guessing in part B 🤔)
A) Initial 1 minute
B) After adding sugar 8~10 minutes
Also I find folding a bit scary… I end up deflating the mixture by the time the flour is properly incorporated. I have seen some videos about the J method for folding. Off the top of your head is there a ‘number of folds’ I should aim for within which the flour should be incorporated? For example maybe 20 or 25 folds? Apologies if I’m complicating it 😅
I tried your tres leches cake recipe. It was incredible btw… My neighbours loved it! 😍
Hi Jayanth! It’s hard to put a specific time limit or number of folds to this. I would watch my video that I linked above so you could see my process and what my egg mixture and batter looked like. It’s best to go off visual cues.
Ya, this is my “Go to” recipe for cakes. Versitle, easy, no mess, gauranteed results.
It tastes good but for some reason my cakes keep sinking in the middle after baking
Hi Dianna! 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? This cake relies on the eggs being whipped well for volume. I would watch the video attached above to see my process and 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.
This recipe is perfection. I actually make it with about 3/4 the amount of sugar and its perfect for my family. I tried so many recipes for this cake that use butter or cornstarch or other things and nothing works as well as keeping it simple. I have baked it over a dozen times now, and I wish I could give it 10 stars.
I also make cupcakes with it. And I use a condensed milk frosting which is ridiculously easy too.
Thank you for your awesome review, Shana! I’m so happy you found a favorite sponge recipe on my blog!
Just made for the 1st time ever a sponge cake with this recipe for my boyfriend per his request for his birthday , it’s in the oven now and will come back to give yall details. I also drew the figure 8 and it stayed it didn’t sink fast I counted 16 sec and then it started disappearing, I’m excited to see how it turns out and tell us more about the condensed milk frosting
Hi, I’m excited to bake this cake. Can I make this ahead? Thank you.
Hi Rhonnie! Yes, the cake sponges keep well at room temperature for a couple of days or refrigerate/freeze for longer storage. Just keep them wrapped well or in an airtight container.
Hi, if I wanted to make a lemon-flavored sponge should I use lemon juice or extract, and how much?
Hi Diya, Adding the lemon zest and extract would be fine but you may want to add this at the end of making the egg mixture or add it when you stir in the dry ingredients. I hope you love the recipe!
Can this recipe be used to create a tiered cake?
Hi Lindsey! I don’t see why not.
Hi! Can I use this recipe for a tres leches cake? And would it turn out ok if I made the cake in a 9×13 pan?
Hi Manha! Please follow my Tres leches cake recipe here for that size sponge.
If I wanted to add lemon extract to the cake, at what point should that be added?
Hi Nancy! Add it to the egg mixture so it’s well distributed.
I AM 10 YEARS OLD AND WHEN IT IS BIRTHDAY WE BAKE IT, ALL WAYS WORKS!
Hi Natasha, I’m a big fan and look forward to making this for Thanksgiving tomorrow. Question for you, can I double to recipe? I want to make two different cakes for two separate events and would like to get it all done in one day! Thx
Hi Kathy, yes, it will work to double the cake if you can bake it immediately and have enough room to bake it right away. I recommend clicking “Jump to recipe” at the top of the post, it will take you to our printable recipe where you’ll have the option to change the number of servings. Hover over the number of servings highlighted in red and slide it to how many servings you would like to make. I hope that helps!
Hi natasha, I love all your recipes! I want to try using this one making individual raspberry lemon drop cakes. Can I put this sponge cake recipe into muffin tins? 🇨🇦
Hi Rhonda! Yes, it can work. I would use parchment liners since the batter tends to stick. I’m not sure how many this recipe will yield so you’ll have to experiment. Keep your eye on them in the oven since they will bake much faster than a cake.
You may also enjoy our Perfect vanilla cupcake recipe.
Hi Natasha why do you add only 210ggrams of sugar and 130 grams of fĺour why not full cups
Hi Linda that’s what the recipe requires and this is what I’ve tested to work.
Hi Natasha, how can this recipe be adjusted for high altitude (5000 ft)?
Thanks
I have not personally tested this recipe in high altitude but I usually recommend this free resource for high altiotude baking for guidance.