Simple Sponge Cake

Close up of a vanilla sponge cake that has been cut into.

5 from 6 votes

Every baker needs a reliable recipe for a simple sponge cake. This easy vanilla sponge cake recipe delivers consistently fabulous results. Adapt it with fillings to suit your latest whim safe in the knowledge that the basic sponge cake is as light and fluffy as any quality cake should be.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time40 mins

Course: Baking

Cuisine: British

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: People

Calories: 502kcal

Author: Jane Saunders

Ingredients

THIS RECIPE REQUIRES 2 X 6-INCH CAKE TINS

For the Easy Vanilla Sponge Cake

120 g Unsalted Butter - softened
120 g Caster sugar
2 Eggs - large, free range
2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
2 tablespoon Whole (full fat) milk
120 g Plain (all purpose) flour
1 teaspoon Baking powder

Filling

2-3 tablespoon Strawberry & rhubarb jam
250 ml Double (heavy) cream
2 tablespoon Icing (confectioner) sugar
2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoon Crystalised ginger (chopped small)

Instructions

Make the cake

Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ GM4 and grease & line 2 x 6-inch cake tins.
Using electric beaters, cream the butter and sugar together until light & fluffy.
Separate the egg white and yolks. Put the whites aside. Add the yolks to the creamed ingredients along with the vanilla extract and milk. Beat until just combined.
Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl and gently stir in, using a large metal spoon until thoroughly combined. Take care not to overwork the batter though.
Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Take a spoonful and mix it into the cake batter to loosen it, then fold the rest in. Continue to mix until just combined and no obvious patches of egg white are visible.
Divide the batter between the cake tins and bake for approx 20 minutes until well risen and golden. A cocktail stick poked into the centre of the cake should come out clean
Remove from the oven when sufficiently baked. Let cool in the tin for 2 minutes, before unmolding. Remove the parchment and allow the cakes to cool completely on a wire rack.

Filling the cake

Put the cream into a medium mixing bowl with the vanilla extract and sieve the icing sugar in. Whip until the cream holds its shape nicely.
Place 1 layer of cake on a plate/ stand and spread with 2 tablespoon jam.
Top with ⅔ of the cream - either pipe it on or smooth it out with a knife.
Scatter ⅔ of the ginger over the cream and place the second layer of sponge on top.
Spread a thin layer of cream across the top and pipe the rest of the cream around the edge of the cake (I used a Wilton 8b nozzle) and fill the centre with the remaining jam.
Garnish with the remaining pieces of ginger.
Best served immediately but this cake can be covered and stored in the fridge for up to 2 days (let sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours prior to serving).

Notes

Scaling up for 7-inch or 8-inch cake tins

The ingredients listed in the main recipe are sufficient to fill 2 x 6-inch cake tins. The recipe works on the following basis:

per egg add the following:

60g butter/ sugar / flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon milk

From these measurements, it is easy to calculate ingredients for a 2-layer cake using the following cake tin sizes:

6-inch tins (2 eggs + 120g butter/ sugar/ flour + 2 teaspoon extract + 1 teaspoon baking powder + 2 tablespoon milk) - the base recipe
7-inch tins (3 eggs + 180g butter/ sugar/ flour + 3 teaspoon extract + 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder + 3 tablespoon milk) - this is 1.5 times the base recipe.
8-inch tins (4 eggs + 240g butter/ sugar/ flour + 4 teaspoon extract + 2 teaspoon baking powder + 4 tablespoon milk) - this is 2 times the base recipe

Allow extra cooking times for the larger cakes - perhaps check at around 23 minutes for the 7 -inch cakes and 25 minutes for the 8-inch cakes.

Nutrition