Similar to a chiffon cake, the key to making a pillowy-soft sponge cake lies in the making of meringue (beaten egg whites). This is the most important step in the recipe that determines its success. Overbeating or underbeating the egg whites will cause the cake to collapse, shrink, deflate, or not rise high enough, resulting in a dense cake.
This recipe yields a light and fluffy sponge cake with a cloud-like texture. It’s so versatile that pairs well with literally anything like fruits and whipped cream – perfect for a dessert or an afternoon tea snack.
Table of contents
What is a sponge cake?
Sponge cake is a foam cake that is made with eggs, flour, and sugar. Containing little or no fat, sponge cake often has a large proportion of eggs where beaten egg whites acts as a leavener, yielding its characteristic light, airy, and fluffy texture. Some sponge cake recipes may also include baking powder to strengthen the leavening effect to ensure the cake rises high and tall while baking.
Ingredients for sponge cake
- Cake flour: Using cake flour will give you a lighter and more delicate sponge. If you don’t have cake flour, you can substitute with plain flour plus some additional cornstarch to achieve a light and fluffy texture.
- Oil: This contributes to the tenderness of the crumb, yielding a light and soft texture.
- Milk: Adding milk to the cake batter prevents the baked cake from becoming dry and crumbly, producing a soft and moist crumb.
- Salt: This acts as a flavour enhancer.
- Eggs: Eggs are the most important ingredient in this recipe. The egg yolks add moisture and richness to the cake, while the egg whites (beaten) act as a leavening agent that allows the cake to rise to a fluffy texture.
- Sugar: Sugar will be used mainly for making the meringue (beaten egg whites) to stabilise it after beating.
- Vanilla extract: This is optional but it will enhance the cake’s flavour with a touch of vanilla.
How to make sponge cake
- Separate egg yolk and egg whites in two mixer bowls.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C.
- Mix together egg yolks and vanilla extract. Set aside.
- Beat the egg whites until 80% stiff, adding in sugar 3 separate times. See how to make a perfect meringue below.
- Add the egg yolk mixture to the meringue, continue whisking until just combined.
- Sift in cake flour and fold until smooth with no lumps.
- In a separate bowl, add in oil, milk, and a small amount of batter. Mix well.
- Pour the mixture back to the batter, add in salt, and fold until smooth, frothy, and silky.
- Pour the batter into a 6-inch cake tin lined with parchment paper.
- Use a toothpick or a baking needle to swirl through the batter and tap the cake tin against the table several times to release excess air bubbles.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 160ºC for 40-45 minutes.
How to make a perfect meringue
To make the perfect meringue, divide the sugar and add in 3 separate times while beating the egg whites. Begin with beating the egg whites on low speed using a hand mixer. When it forms a pale colour foam with large air bubbles, add in ⅓ of sugar.
As the egg whites become foamy like soap, increase the speed to medium-low and beat until the egg white foam increases in volume with smaller air bubbles. Add in another ⅓ of sugar.
Continue beating on medium speed until you see a thickening, slightly glossy texture, then add in the remaining ⅓ of sugar.
Beat gently on low speed to make a smoother meringue. Once it forms firm peaks with tips that slightly fold over, the meringue is ready to mix with other ingredients!
Success tips for making a perfectly fluffy sponge cake
Mix until just right.
Mixing and folding the batter until just right is key to ensuring the sponge cake rises high and tall without collapsing. Undermixing will mean there’s not enough air incorporated into the batter, resulting in a cake that shrinks, collapses, and deflates after cooling down. On the other hand, overmixing will mean too much air is incorporated in the batter, the cake will then not rise in the oven and may collapse, resulting in a dense cake.
Release excess air bubbles in the batter before baking.
To ensure a perfectly even, uniform crumb without large holes after baking, be sure to pop and release excess air bubbles in the batter before baking. I often perform these steps when baking a sponge cake:
- Pour the batter from a higher distance to pop any large air bubbles as the batter falls into the cake tin.
- Use a toothpick or a baking needle to swirl through the batter to break any excess air bubbles
- Tap the cake tin against the table several times before transferring to the preheated oven
Beat the egg whites until 80% stiff (or soft peaks).
Since you will be beating the batter again after adding in the egg yolk mixture, I usually beat the egg whites until firm peaks to avoid overbeating the ingredients. The meringue with 80% stiff, or soft peaks, will have distinct ridges with peaks that hold themselves but the tips will slightly fold over.
Why did my sponge cake crack on top?
If the oven temperature is too high, the outer crust of the cake receives more heat than the batter within, causing the exterior to cook a lot faster so the sponge cake cracks on top.
Why did my sponge cake not rise/deflate?
The beating of egg whites with sugar helps incorporate air into the batter and stabilise it to allow the cake to rise when baking. The main reasons why your sponge cake didn’t rise or deflate are because you might have overmixed the batter, deflating the air produced in the meringue, and you might not have beaten the egg whites long enough to produce firm peaks.
This recipe makes a basic, irresistibly fluffy sponge cake using simple pantry ingredients. It is light and spongy with a tender crumb and a touch of sweet vanilla flavour. Perfect for a dessert or an afternoon tea snack, give this recipe a try to enjoy a soft and moist cake in every bite!
More dessert recipes
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Fluffy Sponge Cake
Equipment
- 1 6-inch cake tin
- 1 Hand mixer
Ingredients
- 3 egg yolks
- 3 egg whites
- ¼ tsp salt
- 70 g sugar
- 90 g cake flour
- 30 ml vegetable oil
- 30 ml milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160ºC.
- In a small bowl, mix together egg yolks and vanilla extract.
- In another mixer bowl, beat the egg whites until 80% stiff (or soft peaks), adding sugar in 3 separate times.
- Transfer the egg yolk mixture to the meringue. Whisk till well combined.
- Sift in cake flour. Fold the mixture until smooth with no lumps.
- In a separate bowl, add in vegetable oil, milk, and a small amount of the batter. Mix well.
- Pour the mixture back to the batter, add in salt, and fold until you get a smooth, frothy, and silky texture.
- Pour the batter into a 6-inch cake tin lined with parchment paper.
- Use a skewer, toothpick, or baking needle to swirl through the batter and tap the cake tin against the table several times. This step helps release air bubbles trapped in the batter.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 160ºC for 40-45 minutes.