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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
Can this sponge cake recipe be dyed/coloured? Gel or liquid dyes? I’m planning a rainbow cake…
Hi Twinkle, I have never tried anything besides chocolate and just a white cake but I imagine it could work – I would suggest experimenting with folding in a gel food coloring so you don’t deflate the batter and make sure not to overmix. If you experiment, I’d love to know how it worked out 🙂
Not sure if you’re still checking this post, but I tried thhis recipe for the first time and the batter started sinking while baking. It was beautifully risen one minute and the next minute I checked thru the glass (I didn’t open the oven door until 25 min mark) the cake sunk in the middle like a crater. I wish I can show you the picture. Anyway, what do you think went wrong?! Was going to use this cake to make my husband’s birthday cake tomorrow but now I’m not sure if I need to give a second try…
Hi Rachel, not sure if this is the same cause but that happened to me once when I added baking soda instead of powder – it was completely like a bowl! Also be sure that you are beating on high speed with a high powered mixer with the whisk attachment. The main culprit with the cake not rising properly is under-beating the eggs and sugar since the eggs are the main leavening in the cake. Also, this is intended for a conventional oven, not convection. I hope that helps!
Hi Rachel, insufficient beating of sugar and eggs is usually the main culprit for the cake sinking in the middle.
A silly but foolproof way to determine if it was beaten enough is for it to hold a peak or trail for 8 seconds.
also, ensure the oven temperature is correct
That is a great tip! Thanks Andrea!! 🙂
Hi Natasha,
I m planning to make rainbow cake using this sponge.Can I add vanilla essence to this cake.If yes what will be quantity
Hi Manj, I would suggest 1 tsp of real vanilla extract. 🙂 You can add it before adding the flour.
Thanks
Hi. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I’m not really a good baker and I thought I could practice with your recipe. Mine looks pretty good, I’m surprised I must say. I just noticed that it smells like scrambled eggs. Did I bake it too long? I used 9×3 round baking pan and baked it for 25 minutes.
Hi Judy, If the eggs are whipped for the specified amount of time with a high powered mixer, it should sufficiently incorporate enough air to result in a fluffy soft and non-eggy sponge cake. One thing I have noticed is that this cake can have an egg scent when set in a drafty area – where you have outdoor air draft. I’m not sure why but it’s the same with meringue desserts and cakes – something about baked egg desserts and outdoor draft don’t meld well. 🙂 I hope that helps for next time!!
Hi Natasha. Thanks for your reply. I made another one and I’m not successful this time, it collapsed in the middle! What did I do wrong? But this one doesn’t smell eggy. 😀
Hi Judy, did you bake the entire cake batch in the one pan? In that case, it should be baked for 30 minutes. I have done this successfully with my tiramisu cake. I hope that helps!
Yes I did bake in 1 pan. It started collapsing about halfway through the baking time. Then when it was done, it just flopped down right in the middle, but it was super moist this time and I like that. I’m going to make one again and will bake it for 30mins. Thanks so much for your tips!!! 🙂
Hi Judy, absolutely! And don’t give in to the temptation to open the oven door mid-baking. That can also hurt the rising of the cake.
HI, I am Andrea
Anytime eggs are used you will get that eggy odour unless lime/lemon extract is used, and maybe the grated rind of the lemon as well. For every 6 eggs, 2-3 tsp of lemon essence is great, and a 1-3 tsp of rind
I love orange flavour so I used the said quantities of freshly squeezed orange juice and rind.
Add the rind to the sifted flour and the extract or juice to the eggs.
Hi Andrea, I’ve never seen that added to this sponge cake but it sounds like a great experiment! thank you for sharing your tip with us 🙂
Hello, can we cover this sponge cake recipe with fondant??
An, I really don’t have any experience with fondant, but I think it could work if you had a stiff enough frosting.
I hope this an active post where I can get an answer. My question is whether these work in loaf pans? I read through the other reviews and questions, but maybe I missed this entry. Would it work in loaf pans?
Hi Kim, to be honest, I have never tried making a sponge cake in a loaf pan so I’m not sure how it would rise or if it would cave in the center.
HI, I am Andrea
Anytime eggs are used you will get that eggy odour unless lime/lemon extract is used, and maybe the grated rind of the lemon as well. For every 6 eggs, 2-3 tsp of lemon essence is great, and a 1-3 tsp of rind
I love orange flavour so I used the said quantities of freshly squeezed orange juice and rind.
Add the rind to the sifted flour and the extract or juice to the eggs.
This is the best cake that I have made. My family and friends love it. Thanks to share this simple cake recipe.
It’s my pleasure! I’m happy to hear how much everyone loves this recipe! Thanks for sharing your awesome review!
Hi Natasha,
When you say leave your eggs at room temperature, how long should I leave them out on the counter..is an hour or two sufficient? Thanks!
Hi Jackie, yes 2 hours would be sufficient for this recipe 🙂
I’d love to try this recipe, but I don’t need two pans worth of cake. I’d like to halve the recipe and bake it in a loaf pan. My question is, is it okay to simply halve the ingredients, or is there a proportional rule that needs to be followed, ie, I can halve the amount of flour, but I cannot halve the baking powder? Thanks in advance. 🙂
Hi Dia, yes you would halve everything proportionally 🙂
cup means pyrex cup or a measuring cup
I use a pyrex cup for measuring liquids and a regular measuring cup for dry ingredients. Can’t wait to try a sponge cake for the first time.
Hi Natasha:)
my cake smelly eggy 🙁 do u have an idea why?and should I just throw it away??
Hi Raghda, If you whip the eggs for the specified amount of time with a high powered mixer, it should sufficiently incorporate enough air to result in a fluffy soft and non-eggy sponge cake. One thing I have noticed is that this cake can have an egg scent when set in a drafty area – where you have outdoor air draft. I’m not sure why but it’s the same with meringue desserts and cakes – something about baked egg desserts and outdoor draft don’t meld well. 🙂 I hope that helps for next time!!
Excellent recipe. I used lemon and strawberry jam, and whipped cream to make a kick ass cake for my Sister in Law. She loved it! Now making it for my hubby.
Awesome, I’m glad to hear you enjoy the recipe! Thanks for sharing your great review Rue!
Hi Natasha,
I tried this recipe before,to use for tiramisu base,it came out well..thanks for the recope
I wanted to make this again as a base for tiramisu,can this cake be made ahead,around 2 days before.should it be stored in the fridge?
Hi Shafna, you can make the cake base ahead of time and store it either in the fridge or at room temperature. I would suggest assembling the same day you are enjoying the cake for the tiramisu and refrigerate until ready to eat. Dust with cocoa powder just before serving.
I’m going to make this for a dinner party. I am planning on putting whipped cream frosting and berries on it. Do you think that will make it moist enough, or should I soak the cake in a glaze? I’ve never made sponge cake before. Thanks.
I would still probably lightly brush the layers with syrup since the cake itself is pretty dry without syrup. It will still taste good though, but if you like a moist cake, the syrup is always nice.
Hi! Made this cake for the first time this weekend. It turned out kind of dry… any tips? I think I may have beat the eggs too long I was looking at the finished product, and the air pockets were quite small. I was really careful to no over mix the flour. Looking forward to your insights and trying it again.
Hi Kristin, this cake is intended to be used with a soaking syrup for a moist cake – you can add nearly any flavoring and make hundreds of different cakes with this base. 🙂
How much is it if I am using gram as a measurement?
Hi Sally, it would be about 130 grams of flour and 210 grams of sugar. You might check an online converter for the smaller ingredients since I don’t have those weighed out. I hope that helps!
Thanks so much. This helps!!
so made this and it turned out scrumptious. I actually put it into an 11×15 because I planned on only cutting it into squares for strawberries and whip cream. It only took about 15 minutes in the oven and it’s exactly what I was craving. thanks.
That’s great to hear AnnaMarie! Thanks for sharing your great review! 🙂
Hi Natasha,
I made the cake and it looks wonderful. I noticed a lot of the recipes require slicing the cake to make 4 layers. Is this hard to to? Do you have a video showing how to do this? I would hate to break my beautiful cake. Thanks!
Wendy
It’s a piece of cake…no pun intended! Here is the direct link to the video of this recipe, I hope it helps Wendy! https://natashaskitchen.com/2016/05/06/easy-sponge-cake-genoise/
Hi Natasha, u mentioned this cake should not sit out for too long after folding the flour. My oven is small & cant fit in 2 pan at once, can it wait out at least 30mins while the 1st pan is being baked?
Hi Ana, this particular cake is not recommended to sit out that long. It can go flat and not rise as well in 30 minutes. I would recommend putting the entire batch into a 9″ springform pan and then cutting the cake in half or thirds. I would bake at 350˚F for closer to 30 minutes.
Hi Natasha,
Thank you for this recipe – I have now made it several times and we love it – I reduced the recipe in half using 3 eggs – and 8″ pan – it’s strawberry season now so I added freshly made strawberry jam and covered it with whipped cream! Most delicious!
You’re welcome Mary! I’m so happy to hear everyone loves the recipe Mary! Thanks for sharing your tips and excellent review!