French Vanilla Sponge Cake
This is about the best sponge cake recipe you can find. This cake is very light and fluffy and melts in your mouth when you eat it. In spite of its fluffiness, it has a firm and well aerated structure. It can be eaten as is, or with your choice of fresh fruits or frosting. It is especially great with Vanilla Buttercream, Vanilla Bean Buttercream or Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting. It can be used for wedding, birthday or any celebration cake of your choice. This is an adaptation of a recipe by Anh of Cooking with Anh. I have however given it my own twists and broken down the recipe to fit various cake pan sizes.
3 Tier Wedding Cake made with French Vanilla Sponge Cake
INGREDIENTS:
Below, I will be giving you the recipe for a single 8 or 9 inch sponge or two 6 inch sponges. The recipe can be doubled or divided to give you sponges of various sizes. I will be giving you measurements for various sizes in the notes at the end of this post.
(1) 120 Grams Cake Flour (1 Cup) (See Note 1)
(2) 6 Large Eggs (Separated) (See Note 2)
(3) 125 Grams Granulated White Sugar (1/2 Cup + 2 Tablespoons OR 10 Tablespoons) (See Note 3)
(4) 50 Grams Granulated White Sugar (1/4 Cup OR 4 Tablespoons)
(5) 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
(6) 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
(8) 85 Grams Unsalted Butter (6 Tablespoons) (Melted)
(9) 2 Tablespoons Oil (See Note 4)
(10) 2 Tablespoons Water
(11) 2 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
(12) 1/2 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar (Optional).
NOTES:
(1) This recipe calls for cake flour as opposed to regular or all purpose flour. This gives this cake its light and soft crumb structure. You can make your own cake flour at home using the tips on my homemade baking substitutions page.
(2) Sponge cakes get most of their volume from eggs. To get the most volume from your eggs, please ensure that they are at room temperature. Separate the eggs while they are cold, cover them and leave them to come to room temperature.
(3) The sugar in this recipe can be reduced by up to 1/4 cup. You might want to exercise this option for clients who do not want very sweet cakes. In addition, I always use a simple syrup along with this cake to add some moisture to it which also adds sweetness to the cake. You might want to reduce the sugar quantity if you will be using a simple syrup.
(4) Any flavorless oil will work great here. This includes corn oil, canola oil, peanut oil and vegetable oil.
PREPARE YOUR PAN:
It is always a good practice to prepare your baking pans before you start baking.
Grease your cake pan with some oil, melted butter or grease spray. Use a pastry brush while greasing to ensure that it gets to all the corners of the pan. Line the bottom and sides of the pan(s) with parchment paper after greasing. Alternatively, put a bit of flour in the pan after greasing it and rotate it so that the flour coats the pan completely and line only the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. These steps are important to ensure that the cakes rise properly and come out easily. Don’t use only oil or melted butter to coat your pan as sponge cake batters need some friction to rise while baking. Due to how light the batter is, it needs to cling on something: the parchment paper or flour molecules. Set the pan aside.
PROCEDURE:
(1) Preheat your oven to 350 (F) or 177 (C) degrees and place the baking rack on the bottom tier of your oven. The sponge needs the high heat from the bottom of the oven to rise.
(2) Whisk the cake flour with the baking powder and salt and set aside. Melt the butter and combine the melted butter with the water and oil and set aside too.
(3) Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Place the egg yolks and 125 grams of sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer attached with the paddle attachment and beat at high speed for 5 to 8 minutes. Please ensure that the eggs are at room temperature so they beat faster. At the end of the beating process, the mixture will be thick and have a pale yellow color. When you lift up the beater, the batter should fold back like a ribbon before merging with the rest of the batter. Add the 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. About 30 seconds.
(4) Take the mixing bowl off the mixer. Pour in the melted butter/water/oil mixture and fold in with a spatula. The butter mixture will sink to the bottom of the bowl when you pour it in. Be very gentle when folding so as not to deflate the egg yolk mixture. Fold until blended. Make sure you get to the bottom of the bowl when folding.
(5) Next, fold in the flour mixture. Again, be very gentle when folding so as not to deflate the egg yolks. Set aside while you beat the egg whites. If you have two stand mixing bowls, beat the egg whites while folding in the above. If you have only one mixing bowl, pour the beaten egg mixture into another large bowl before folding in the flour and butter mixtures. Wash the mixing bowl thoroughly as egg whites are very fussy and will only beat well in a clean, grease-free and dry bowl. A hand mixer and aluminium bowl can also be used to beat the egg whites.
(6) In your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, pour in the egg whites (at room temperature) and beat at high speed. As soon as it starts to form, add the cream of tartar and continue beating. The cream of tartar helps the egg whites beat to full capacity. You can leave it out if you do not have it. Next, add in the remaining 50 grams of sugar a tablespoon at a time and beat until medium (not stiff) peaks form. This takes about 3 minutes depending on temperature of the egg whites and how clean and dry your mixing bowl is.
(7) Fold the egg whites into the batter in 3 additions. Again, be very careful not to deflate the batter. The egg whites need not be completely blended with the batter; a few streaks of egg whites is fine. The resulting batter will be very light and airy. Pour batter into prepared cake pan and bake on the bottom tier of the preheated oven. Bake for 30 mins or until a toothpick or tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Please do not over bake the sponge as this will give you a dry cake. Try as much as possible not to “disturb” the cake while it bakes. You can disturb a cake by opening the oven door, taking it out of the oven, reducing the heat or prematurely inserting a tester.
Note: If doubling the recipe and using more than one cake pans, be sure to distribute the batter evenly among the cake pans. If after 30 mins you notice that only one cake is ready, take that one out and leave the second to continue baking. After 25 mins of baking, you can rotate the pans and swoop their positions so as to ensure that they bake evenly. Do not do this earlier as they might deflate when handling. Fit both pans on the same bottom baking tier so they both get even high heat.
(8) VERY IMPORTANT: As soon as you take the cakes out of the oven, DROP them on your counter from about a foot above. This will shock the cakes and prevent the sides from caving in as it cools.
(9) Allow cakes to cool completely on wire racks before taking them out of the baking pans. You might need to run a knife or flat edged spatula around the edges of the pan before removing the cakes to ensure that they do not stick to the pan and tear. After taking them out, ensure that they are sitting right side up (as they were baked) and not upside down. Be very gentle when handing the cakes as they will be very soft.
PS: Cakes can be frosted as needed. To make the cakes extra moist, prepare a simple syrup. Directions on how to make simple syrup can be found here. Each cake can be divided into 2 layers. It is good practice to keep your cakes in the fridge for at least a couple of hours to firm up before leveling, dividing or frosting. Its easier to work with firm cakes as they will not tear/break when handled and will produce fewer crumbs when frosting. The cakes below were made using this recipe.
END NOTES:
RECIPE FOR TWO 8 OR 9 INCH SPONGES OR ONE 12 INCH SPONGE
(1) 240 Grams Cake Flour (2 Cups)
(2) 4 Teaspoons Baking Powder (1 Tablespoon + 1 Teaspoon)
(3) 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
(4) 170 Grams Unsalted Butter (3/4 Cup)
(5) 4 Tablespoons Oil (1/4 Cup)
(6) 4 Tablespoons Water (1/4 Cup)
(7) 12 Large Eggs
(8) 250 Grams Granulated White Sugar (1-1/4 Cups)
(9) 100 Grams Granulated White Sugar (1/2 Cup)
(10) 4 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract (1 Tablespoon + 1 Teaspoon)
(11) 1 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
RECIPE FOR ONE 11 INCH SPONGE
(1) 200 Grams Cake Flour
(2) 3-1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
(3) 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
(4) 142 Grams Unsalted Butter
(5) 3-1/2 Tablespoons Oil
(6) 3-1/2 Tablespoons Water
(7) 10 Large Eggs
(8) 208 Grams Granulated White Sugar
(9) 82 Grams Granulated White Sugar
(10) 3-1/2 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
(11) 3/4 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
RECIPE FOR TWO 7 INCHE SPONGES OR ONE 10 INCH SPONGE
(1) 180 Grams Cake Flour (1-1/2 Cup)
(2) 3 Teaspoons Baking Powder (1 Tablespoon)
(3) 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
(4) 127 Grams Unsalted Butter
(5) 3 Tablespoons Oil
(6) 3 Tablespoons Water
(7) 9 Large Eggs
(8) 186 Grams Granulated White Sugar
(9) 75 Grams Granulated White Sugar
(10) 3 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract (1 Tablespoon)
(11) 3/4 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
RECIPE FOR A SINGLE 7 INCH SPONGE
(1) 80 Grams Cake Flour (2/3 Cup)
(2) 1-1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
(3) 1/8 Teaspoon Salt
(4) 57 Grams Unsalted Butter (1/4 Cup)
(5) 1-1/2 Tablespoons Oil
(6) 1-1/2 Tablespoons Water
(7) 4 Large Eggs
(8) 83 Grams Granulated White Sugar
(9) 33 Grams Granulated White Sugar
(10) 1-1/2 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
(11) 1/4 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
RECIPE FOR A SINGLE 6 INCH AND SMALLER SPONGES
(1) 60 Grams Cake Flour (1/2 Cup)
(2) 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
(3) 1/8 Teaspoon Salt
(4) 42 Grams Unsalted Butter
(5) 1 Tablespoon Oil
(6) 1 Tablespoon Water
(7) 3 Large Eggs
(8) 62 Grams Granulated White Sugar
(9) 25 Grams Granulated White Sugar
(10) 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
(11) 1/4 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
Terry Adido is passionate about showing people how easy it is to recreate restaurant quality meals in the comfort of their kitchens. With a style of cooking he refers to as Afro-European Fusion, his meals are influenced greatly by French and Italian Cuisine with a West African twist. If you love good food, you are in for the ride of your life.
thanks Terry am soo gonna try dis loving it n tx for sharing freely ur knowledge with all
Thanks. You are welcome.
Am going to try out the sponge cake this weekend. Thanks Terry!
You are welcome.
God bless you Terry, just got this your kind of pan, am so trying this this weekend. God bless, oh i said that b4, double then:)
Thanks
Thanks Terry God Bless You.
Pls Terry, is cake flour same as self raising and what is the difference with all purpose flour. Thnx for your recipes.
Hi. All 3 flours are different. Self Rising flour has some baking powder added to it. Cake flour has some corn starch added to it to make it light. All purpose flour is regular flour which can be used for most bakes.
Nice one Terry, will try it
Please do. Thanks
Terry can you make your own cake flour from scratch.
You can make a substitution. Combine 3/4 cup all purpose flour (97 grams) with 2 tablespoons of corn starch (25 grams) to make 1 cup of cake flour.
Dear Terry,Thank you for all this information am really grateful. May God continually blessed you.Abundant wisdom, knowledge and understanding. Thanks kay
Thanks Kay.
Hello Terry, thank you for this very easy to follow recipe. Can I store this cake in the freezer or fridge, and for how long?
You can store the cake in the freezer for up to 2 months and in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Remember that cakes dry up as they age. It is advisable to use a simple syrup when frosting the cake if storing for long to make the cake moist.
Reading thru,makes baking more easier and fun…thanks Terry,u rock.God bless you.
You are welcome. Baking is fun and easy.
Hi Terry, tried the cake this weekend and I must say it was awesome! Followed every step. Light as air. I guess spending 5.59 on the pure vanilla extract was worth it! Thanks again!
You are welcome Tope. Pure vanilla extract is a lot better than the artificial extract.
pls Terry if i dnt use d cream of tar tar wil it affekt ma end product in termz of texture n oda aspekt
No it would not. That is why it is optional.
Thanks 4 all U’ve bn sharing. U r indeed blessed, pls kp it up.
You are welcome.
Hi Terry, pls can i use de all purpose flour in place of de cake flour. I don’t know if i’ll see de cake flour here in Asaba. Tanx. God bless.
Yes you can but it will not be as light and fluffy. You can visit my facebook page, Grated Nutmeg, for how to make your own cake flour at home.
Terry, you are a blessing to many of us,keep up the good works you are doing, God bless you
Thank you.
Terry please I don’t have mixer, what will I do…I need ur help cos I want to try it dis weekend
You can use a hand mixer. Doing it with a wooden spoon and whisk, while possible, will be very difficult.
Ok, thanks very much will try it with hand mixer this weekend.
How do I make d frosting?
I have a post in the “HOW TO” page on how to make Vanilla Buttercream Frosting. Do check it out.
This is so cute and lovely. Will love to try this but av never baked before so am scared if it will come out nice. All the same good work here.
So long as you follow the recipe, it will turn out great.
Thanks Terry for this recipe but I would like to know if the sugar can be reduced!
Yes it can be. I have made this cake and reduced the sugar by 1/2 Cup before. It still turned out great.
Tnks Terry. Would like to ask if margarine can be used in place of butter.
Yes it can but you will be missing out on the buttery taste. The cake will also be more dense.
Hi Terry,
Please can I use a non stick cake pan for this cake, if so do i still need to line with parchment paper? also, can i use this recipe for cupcakes too.
thank you.
As a rule, I always flour or line my cake pans, whether or not they are nonstick, so I will advice that you do same. Though I have never used this recipe for cupcakes, I know a couple of people who have and they said it turned out great.
Okay, thanks .
So, Terry i made the cake and it was delicious. However, mine was a bit chewy. pls what did i do wrong?
Hi. I do not know why it was chewy. Did you frost it?
yes, I did. it seemed kind of dry and oily. I followed ur directions to the T.
Well, I really cannot say what happened as I and a lot of people who have tried out the recipe didn’t have the same result. Butter luck next time.
Terry Please can you recommend a simple and nice cake to make for kids. I want to bake my daughters birthday cake.
Thank you.
Aside from the ones I have on this site, I can’t think of any. You might wanna try joyofbaking or any other popular baking website.
alright, will check them out. thanks for your help.
Hi Terry i tried this recipe and it was all looking good until i left it to cool after baking. The cake rose properly and looked a picture of prefection but when i came back to it when it had cooled it looked like it had shrunk into itself.. I want to try it again any suggestions on how to stop it shrinking. Thank you
Did you “drop” the cake after it came out of the oven?
No not at all.
Can I make baby shower cake from this recipe or is there any odr recipe I can add to it? Tnx
You can make a baby shower or any other cake with this recipe.
Pls is bicarbonate same as cream of tar tar
No it is not. Bicarbonate is baking soda. Cream of Tartar is added to baking soda to produce baking powder.
Hi Terry. Please I want to make a 14 X 10 cake. By wot should I double this recipe. Thank you.
I usually double the recipe for a 9 by 13 inch cake. I assume you can do the same for a 10 by 14 inch cake. It will also depend on how high you want the cake to be. You can look at my Plaid Shirt cake for an example of how high the outcome will be. For a higher cake, you can triple the recipe. I tripled the recipe for my Dora the explorer cake but baked it in two separate tins.
Thank you x
Hi terry,I just tried out dis recipe,its sooo nice,so spongey and tastes great,its quite light tho,does it harden with time or do I hv to put it in d freezer before I can cover with buttercream and fondant?tnx soooo much for sharing dis wonderful recipe,may God bless and enlarge ur coast ijn…
I am glad you loved it. You should keep it in the fridge for some hours before frosting. It will become very soft again when its at room temperature.
Hi good day, please what preservatives can I use for the sponge cake and it is a must to bake with salt, thanks, your really doing a great job, weldone
Hi. I know nothing about preservatives as I don’t use them. Salt isnt a must but will improve the tastes of your cakes.
Hi Terry,is there a particular reason why preservatives was not included in the ingredient list? Because I want to preserve this cake after baking.
Hi. I do not use any form of preservatives for my cakes. It is not needed.A well baked cake should go through its normal life span.
Hi Terry.ow can I even prepare a cake on my own? I haven’t done it before.my sist. knows how but she is too busy.pls
Just follow the steps I gave. Its that simple.
Hi Terry, my mixer did not come with a paddle attachment,what effect will using a whisk attachment for the the egg yoke/sugar mixture have? Thanks.
And thanks also for sharing your knowledge.
The whisk attachment should work equally well. Most of the mixing anyway is gonna be done by hand when folding.
Hi Terry,
Thanks so much for this recipe. I tried it on Wednesday and oh my it was really light. I even put red food colour to make swirls. I will do it again this weekend.
Thanks so much.
That’s great Sapphire.
Mr Terry,
Will I still melt the butter and all other methods here if am using turning stick.
thank you.
Yes you will. It would however be a lot o work beating the egg whites by hand, doable, but a lot of work.
Thanks again. I used this recipe for a friend’s daughters birthday cake and she loved eating the scrap. She was so sad there was no left over. I made it with the buttercream. Your website is my go to for recipes.
Thanks. I am glad you all enjoyed it.
Hi Terry,
Mine was exactly the same as yours when it came out of the oven. As soon as I “dropped” it a huge crater appeared. I want to make it again in the future. Any idea why this happened?
Thanks
Hi. Sorry about that. I would say the cake was not yet fully cooked. The tester must come out dry. The drop should not be too high or with great force.
Pls Terry on the simple syrup, can you explain more? You said ratio 1:1 and how do I measure? Water(fluid) n sugar(powder). Thnks
Pls Terry on the simple syrup:
How do I achieve the 1:1 ratio in terms of measurement since water(fluid) n sugar(powder) forms.
Also, can the left over be used at a later date?
Thnks
The 1:1 ratio refers to volume. So 1 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water. or 1/4 cup of sugar to 1/4 cup of water. I am not sure what they leftover can be used for, so make just enough that you would need.
I tried out this recipe yesterday for a client who requested for a fluffy cake and I knew of course she needed a sponge cake,I made 4x this recipe,followed the same procedure and it yielded a fluffy spongy#lol#.I wish I could share a pics of what it looks like. Thanks Terry, your the best.
Thanks. Nice to hear that it turned out great.
Terry please can I make this cake using a hand mixer? I don’t have a stand mixer. If not, which one of your cakes can I make using a hand mixer for a birthday and to frost with butter icing. Thank you
Yes you can but it would be somewhat labour intensive. All other cakes would be fine.
Tanx dear.Will given it a try
You are welcome.
Hi Terry can I use this recipe for cupcakes?
Yes you can. You might want to work with a smaller recipe though.
Thanks
Thank you for the measurement for different pan sizes. Very helpful.
This recipe is awesome, I’ve used it for some of my cakes. I thought it’ll be too light to be decorated with fondant though but it wasn’t.
Sometimes it feels like the procedure is stressful but its worth it.
Thanks for the feedback Dweet. Yes, the mixing can be somewhat tedious, but the end result is always rewarding.
Love to read yr recipes the way you explain it. Wl try it out surely. Also, can I use lime juice instead of cream of tartar.
Thanks Aisha. Lime juice won’t be a good substitute. A pinch of salt will help.
Thanks boss
You are welcome Teniola.
My hero u have just done an amazing thing with this post. But if i may ask, is corn starch the same with corn flour and corn syrup. Then another question, is this recipe for shallow pan or deep pan?
Thanks Tosin. Corn starch is finer than corn flour. It is definitely different from corn syrup. I would suggest you bake it in a deep pan (about 3″ deep)
Wow! I tried this method and my cake was so nice. thanks so much Terry.
I’m glad your cake came out great.
Cool………..
Thanks
Terry u r simply d best.ur recipes r so detailed n easy to follow.God bless u.
Thanks Uche
Terry, are we to frost d cake right-side up should we turn turn it up-side down as usual?
I’m not sure I get your question. Do you mean the individual sponges or the whole cake? If its the whole cake, it depends on the method you wanna use.
Tried this recipe sometimes ago and it was smelling of egg, is there something I’m missing?
It does contain a lot of eggs, it however should not smell of eggs. The type of flavor used, the quality of the melted butter and freshness of the eggs matter a lot. Having said that, some people have a heightened sense of smell.
Hi Terry, great recipe you have there. Thanks alot.
A client ordered a “very fluffy cake” without any form of frosting. So I tried your recipe for myself before going ahead to bake the client’s. Well, the taste was great but the cake however shrunk itself. Didn’t look presentable but it tasted nice. Please do you have any idea what I must have done wrong?
Considering I followed the instructions step by step!
Hi. Sponge cakes tend to shrink a bit after baking. This is the reason why I drop the pan as soon as it is out of the oven so it shocks the cake and prevents it from shrinking. Another thing you wanna watch is the size of the baking pan. Too small and the cake would implode in the middle as it cools. I trust that you used the suggested recipe break down for the size of pan you used. All the best in your future bakes.
Okay. Thank you. 🙂
Pls what is the difference btw cornflour and cornstarch bc in nigeria here,I’m told its d same thing.I also googled it to learn more n both are called the same thing but d name difference is as a result of countries like canada calls it cornstarch while UK calls it cornflour. Pls explain to me so that I won’t make a mistake.
Hi. True, depending on your location, they could both mean the same thing. However, corn starch is generally lighter and finer than corn flour. In terms of texture, it is lighter than cake flour and icing sugar. It has the same texture as the Nigerian “lafun flour” (cassava flour).
Hi you lovely lady. I have just finished making your french vanilla sponge cake, i used the recipe for a 10 inch square tin and it’s turned out beautifully, so a massive thank you for sharing that. I haven’t tasted it yet, even though it was a trial for a cake i am making for this Saturday, its now Wednesday night. It’s too good to eat, so i’m thinking i will use it instead of trying it!!! My question is, how long will it keep for in the fridge?? I’m not covering it in buttercream frosting and fondant until Friday evening?? It will be delivered to a birthday party Saturday night, so needs to last until at least monday i would imagine!! Will it be ok waiting in the fridge until i cover it Friday? I fear not! I will be making another 2 tiers (2 more 10 inch sponges) tomorrow also. This is eventually going to look like a Chanel handbag, the classic quilted black one, with gold chain. I cannot wait. I love the white one you did standing up, but that looks too hard, mine will be laying down!! Anyway, i’m waffling on, my main question is what is the lifespan for this cake?? I normally use a madeira sponge as the lifespan is long, but find its too dry and hard, this seems so spongey and soft, absolutely gorgeous. I’ve also used red food colouring gel, as i want a pink sponge. I added that after the egg whites, but for the next 2 tiers i will add that just before the egg whites i think, otherwise i’m folding far too much, even though it doesn’t seem to have effected it in any way. Your recipe and the method is so wonderful to follow, i just changed the amounts as i went to make it right for a 10 inch square tin and cooked for 40 minutes…perfect. Thank you so much for your time. Sarah xx sorry for waffling on, very tired!! Hope you can advise me xx
Hi Sarah, first of all, I’m a guy. That aside, I’m glad the recipe turned out great. As per storage, this is how I bake my cakes. For a cake due on Saturday, I’d bake it on Wednesday (like you did), cover it with cling film when cool and keep in the fridge. I’d frost it on Thursday. I would advice soaking with a bit of simple syrup when frosting. Return to fridge. Then I’d cover with fondant on Friday. Depending on how hot, humid or cold the weather is, it might stay outside the fridge until it is ready for pickup on Saturday. As per life span, I have kept this cake, frosted and all out of the fridge for about 4 days and it was still fine. It however gets drying as it ages. All the best with the cake.
I forgot to say it’s in the fridge covered it in cling film/food wrap
Thank you so much for getting back so quickly and massive apologies for the mix up!!! I’m so embarrassed!!! Terry, you’re a lovely guy and can seriously bake!!!
I decided to freeze the sponge in the end last night. Was then going to take it out the freezer Friday, leave to defrost for a few hours and then shape, buttercream and cover in fondant, all in one go on Friday.
Will make the other 2 today and keep them in the fridge once cooled.
Thank you again honey, you’re amazing xx
You are welcome.
Hello Ted ! I want to made 1/4 sheet cake so which amounts recipe should I follow ?
Thanks in advance
It actually Terry. 1/4 sheet is 9 x 13 inches. I’d go with double the original recipe (12 eggs).
Really sorry my bad , spelling check keep jumping , once again sorry , thanks you for your replay , I love all your cake work , awesome job
Thanks.
Hi Terry, Each time i try to bake a sponge cake using this procedure,the egg usually settles when d cake is done. tried your recipe and d same thing happened, egg settles down, cake smells so eggy, texture not nice at all… i wonder what could be d cos… i used magarine dou… its whats available here
Unfortunately, being that I’m not there with you while you are baking, I cannot tell you where you went wrong. Egg usually does not settle in cakes. The use of margarine is definitely not to blame.
I finally conquered my fear for this cake. It was a hit! Thanks
Awesome! You are welcome.
Mr Terry please the water and sugar syrup can I add it to my cake before frosting and covering it with fondant.
That is when you add it.
Hi terry, thanks so much for this recipe, I tried it with margarine and it was heavenly so Fluffy and delish… Lol. But am scared it won’t hold up well with fondant icing as its so Fluffy and light. Thanks
Nice. I used it for this fondant covered wedding cake.
Hi uncle Terry! I must say, you’re heavensent. been a silent follower. Tried some of your recipes, they really turned out great.lol. would try this particular one nextweek cos i have to bake for someone using butter not margarine.
Thank you so very much. God bless you.
Thanks Kemi. I trust it would turn out great. I appreciate you.
hi terry i actually bake this cake often it comes out very well, but at times i have little lumps, please advise me on how to avoid this, because over mixing makes the cake dense, so i dry to be very gentle when folding the flour.Thank you
Hi Hasna. This happens when you do not properly incorporate the flour into the batter. Yeah, its tricky as you do not want the batter to deflate. I would suggest sifting the flour before using. You might also be under mixing.
thanks for the advise, i always shift the flour, i will mix abit longer now and see if i can overcome this problem..
You are welcome.
Please Terry, what do you mean by dropping the cake as soon as it is out of the oven
Letting the cake drop on your counter from a small distance. This shocks the cake and prevents the center from caving in.
Hi Terry, I’m looking for a sponge cake recipe to make for my niece’s upcoming birthday and happened upon your recipe for this French sponge cake right after seeing Anh’s recipe on Cooking with Anh. Her recipe makes a 10-inch layer, but yours makes a single 8- or 9-inch layer. I was wondering why the difference. Your unfinished cake layers look very tall–are you using 3-inch tall pans with your recipe?
I see that you converted the dry ingredients to metric measurements; use slightly less sugar; and replaced her salted butter with unsalted butter plus salt, but I don’t see any major differences between your recipes. Thanks!
Hi Peggy, yeah, like I noted in the recipe, it is an adaptation of Anh’s recipe. Any quantity of batter can be put in any cake pan size so long as the pan is large enough to contain the batter. It thus really isn’t a course for concern if someone baked a recipe in a 10″ pan and another person used an 8″ pan. The difference would be in the baking duration and height of sponge. You are free to use any of the recipes you desire. The pans I used in the unfinished sponge are 10″ and about 2.5″ high.
Thanks for the quick reply, Terry. I like that you converted the recipe to metric measurements because that’s my preference for baking. The reason I asked about the pan size is because when I watched Anh’s youtube demo of the cake (baking a double batch of her recipe), her cakes turned out as tall as the 10 X 2 inch cake pans she used, so I was curious whether you use a taller 8-inch pan to accommodate all of the batter, or does the cake bake up considerable higher than the cake pan? Thanks again.
Btw I looked at some of the decorated cakes on your site — your work is awesome!
Thanks Peggy. My 8 inch cake pans are 3 inches high so they are able to accommodate the batter. I guess you would only know for certain after trying it out yourself.
Mr Terry, Thank u so much for this post, what kind of butter can one use? i have used unsalted butter (President) but my cake dint come out fine.
Hi. Use any butter you can afford. Your challenge had nothing to do with the butter you used.
Well written recipe with every detail Thank u once again im sure after trying all your recipes I will have more clients.
Awesome!
Sir,I av tried lots of recipe but this one is too different. Thank u soooo much
I am glad to hear that Doyin.
Thank you so much terry,u are always a blessing. Pls jst 1 question, after the cake is ready,what do you mean by “place it on the counter,jst a foot above u”. Pls expantiate,so I dnt miss it.Thanks a lot
It means you drop it on the counter to shock it.
Terry, so sad this recipe didn’t work for me. It was a fail. My cakes didn’t rise at all, was hard and not spongy. I used margarine instead of butter. Don’t have butter where i am.
I’m sorry to hear that. I can’t say why it didn’t work.
Hi Terry, thanks for your FREE tutorials and reply to questions.
First, Please what is the difference between:
1. Madeira Cake;
2. Nigerian Cake;
3. Sponge Cake;
4. Vanilla Sponge cake.
How long do you mix each of them in the mixer?
Secondly, how do you get the inside of the sponge cake to be white and not cream colour.
Look forward to your reply soon. Thanks and God bless.
Hi. (1) Madeira cake is similar to pound cake. To be sincere, I cant tell the difference between the two.
(2) Nigerian cake is like pound cake but not as rich. Margarine is used for Nigerian cake.
(3) Sponge cake is light and fluffy as it uses egg whites as part of its rising agent.
(4) Vanilla sponge cake is a type of sponge cake.
(5) Time of mixing: the recipe will tell.
(6) The inside of my french vanilla sponge cake is white. The egg whites make it white.
Terry, just want 2 say, u are my “GENERAL” when it comes to cake world. God bless u real good. Cheers
Thanks sir, Glad to have you here.
Why did my vanilla sponge cake sink in the middle??
A lot leads to that: too much batter in pan, too much air in cake, high heat, too much baking powder, taking cakes out before they are ready, etc
Oh! Terry you are God sent…I tried d French sponge cake and your red velvet recipes… My oh my!!! They came out perfect, lovely, mouth melting and fluffy😍😍😍
I am glad they came out great Jennifer.
Can I still add buttercream to Di’s recipe to make it very moist
Yes. This cake can be frosted with buttercream.
What’s the deffrence BTW salted and unsalted butter
One has salt, the other does not.
Lolzz dat was funny. Anyways I woulda loved to try this recipe with the unsalted butter but the client underpaid paid me so I’ll just use margarine, and let’s see how it goes. Thanks for the detailed explanation and to think that I actually stumbled on this post while surfing the net.
Hi Peecky. Do let us know how it turns out.
Hi Terry.I got to know your website through Pininterest and I must say that your method of teaching is awesome.I would like to try out this recipe for a 14 and 12 inch round cake pan.Should I double the recipe or bake in batches and stack them high?Thanks.
Glad to have you here. I would say batches and stack.
Thanks Terry for such a wonderful cake recipe. indeed the cake melts in the mouth. so soft, fluffy, divine, spot on!. may God continue blessing you. thanks again for sharing.
Glad to hear that Ntokozo. Thanks
nice one. can preservative be added and what type?
tanx
Hi Funmi. I know nothing about preservatives.
This cake is indeed the best in the world. Made one on Monday and to be honest I eat 3/4th before my kids closed from school. I wanted to make one today but realised my baking had run out. Nonetheless I made it anyway with my own substitution and it turned out great. I used baking soda 3/4 tsp, brown sugar and milk in place of the water and honestly I didn’t notice any difference. Good job Terry💪💪💪. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the feedback Josie and for sharing your substitutions with us.
Thank you terry for this recipe,I just finished baking & it came out beautifully!THANK YOU
I am glad to hear that Ronke. Thanks
Hi Adido,Will salted butter do well wit dis recipe?
Yes. Simply leave out the salt in the recipe.
You deserve a bear hug for this. You have really demystified the whole mystery. I have been trying to figure this out for a long time. Trying out several recipe after another. I have not tried it yet. But looking at this, I know this is it. Thanks a millions. May you always get answers to all your questions. You are the best so far.
Thanks Comfort.
Hello Terry, thanks so much for all the replies n your time. Really appreciated, can I use self raising flour instead of cake flour. Also can I add corn flour to self raising flour for the cakes and I can I use butter like stork instead of unsalted butter. Thanks
Hi Mary, (1) I have never worked with self rising flower before and so do not know much about it. I know for sure that it is flour mixed with baking powder. That being the case, it is not a substitute for cake flour as cake flour is all purpose flour mixed with corn starch. There is no baking powder in cake flour. (2) I am not sure as I have ever used SRF. (3) Yes.
I dont understand the same sugar as used ie 125g white granulated sugar and 75g white granulated sugar are the sugar the same tnks
They are the same but added at different points. The 125g is used when beating the egg yolks. The 75g is used when beating the egg whites.
Dear terry, thanks for the post, I want to ask, what is the height of the pans, I understand the sizes, but the height?
Hi. They vary between 2.5 and 3 inches.
Hi Terry, your cake recipe looks nice. I will definitely try it out tomorrow and will give you feedback.
I look forward to your feedback Gloria.
Hi Terry! I’ve used your recipe many times and really like it. Do you have an adaptation for chocolate sponge cake? I read thru the comments hoping to find one, but no luck. I look forward to hearing from you!
Hi Amy. No I do not. If I were to make one though, I’d just add cocoa powder to the flour mixture.
Hi Want to make the cake for a wedding. It will just have buttercream or ganache on it .
2 questions
as we don’t want to be making cake a few days before .
1. Can we bake and freeze it
2. Whats the best portion the cake and freeze or cut when just defrosting
Hi Anne. This cake freezes well. Cut after thawing.
Well hello there Terry. Thanks alot for your recipes. I just wanna ask if this particular cake can be covered with fondant icing or do you think it’ll be too heavy for this cake?
You are welcome and yes it can be covered with fondant. As you can see, the 3 tier wedding cake in the beginning of the post was covered with fondant.
Hello Terry. Can one increase d number of eggs for this cake?
I for one will not.
I just tried this and it’s PERRRRRRFECTA!THANK YOU Terri.God bless you plenty.
Awesome!
Hi Terry, ain’t you the sweetest person ever? Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe, and for all you do. I appreciate you so much. You are always in my prayers. May God bless your kind heart, amen. I have a few questions please. 1) after washing the mixing bowl(in preparation to beat the egg whites), is it okay to dry it with a clean cloth, or does it have to be air dried? 2) The technique of “droping” the cakes on the counter, does it apply to all sponge cakes? 3) Please in the final End Notes, your “Teaspoon” measurement is it the same as 1/2 Tablespoon of a standard measuring spoon? And I’m a bit confused as to how 4 Teaspoons of a certain ingredient translates to 1 Tablespoon + 1 Teaspoon. I would appreciate it if you could kindly shed more light on this for me 4) Please how do you keep your covered cakes (with buttercream and fondant) in the fridge, do you put them in a cake carrier/doom before putting it in the fridge, or do you just put them like that, and even outside the fridge too while they are waiting for pickup? Thanks in anticipation.
Hi. (1) Cloth is fine (2) Yes to the very light ones (3) 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons (4) Like that on cake boards in fridge. Bowed for pick up.
Hi,how can I achieve a size 10 inch square cake, 2.5 inch high. Do i double the recipe you gave for size 10 round cake or double recipe for size 12 round cake. Thanks. Your blog is a cake saver.
Double for 10.
Thanks so much.
You are welcome Barbara.
Hello Sir,is the oil on your recipe a normal cooking oil?
Yes
Hello Terry, thanks for the post. please which is the best way to store the cake after baking, in a refrigerator or freezer? thank you
Fridge I’d say. Freezer is good for log storage.
Thank you so very much Terry, God bless you for your help.
Hi Terry. Thank you for sharing. This cake is awesome! The first time i tried it using 12″ round pans. It came out tall and high. But subsequent baking haven’t been so successful. I noticed the cakes rise to the top of the pans but as soon as they come out the oven the sides cave in and the centre falls. I have tried so many more times but can’t seem to get it like the first time. Kindly advise on possible reasons for this as am baffled and nearly frustrated. This is such a beautiful tasting cake and i would like to bake it as frequently as necessary…..help help ooooohhhhh
Hi. The cake does shrink a bit as it cools. Do you drop it on your counter as soon as it gets out of the oven as advised?
Hi Terry have a doubt about the measuring cup …in the recipe its said 1 cup flour is 120 gmail and half cup sugar is 125 gm…the measuring cup I use is I cup 250gm please help
Hi Sara. 1 Cup of Cake flour is 120 grms.
1 Cup of All Purpose Flour is 130 grms.
1 Cup of Granulated White Sugar is 200 grms.
1/2 Cup of Granulated White Sugar is 100 grms.
The recipe calls for 1/2 Cup + 2 Tablespoons of Granulated White Sugar which is roughly 125 grms.
Please can I add milk to it
No.
Hi Terry….
I appreciate your tutorials so far. Pls you said corn starch is finer than corn flour. Knowing this fact can I use corn flour instead of corn starch to achieve my cake flour since corn flour is found in this area.
Hi Uzo. Corn starch is sold as corn flour in Nigeria. I noticed that during my recent visit to Nigeria.
This recipe is fab, I have gotten order like crazy since I started it and I’m just a new kid. kkkk I made a chocolate cake by substituting 30-60g flour with cocoa, it worked well. I use margarine coz butter expensive. we find only self raising flour, cake flour and plain flour in our shops so I use self raising when I’m tight works just as well but the cakes wont be as fluffy as cake flour. I reduce baking powder by a qtr (just out of my head calculation, no maths done- same bp wld make the cake rise like crazy then sink kkkk.) iv found overmixing at ribbon stage sinks ur cake. overwhipping whites to stiff is also bad for it.
You are absolutely right. Thanks for your valuable feedback esp on the chocolate cake.
self raising flour or self raising cake flour works just as well but it wont be as fluffy as with cake flours when I tried it, but I got a few sinks until I began reducing my bp by quarter.
Thanks for your impute Kudzai.
Hi Terry. Thanks for all the well elaborated recipes.
I would like to make a dolly varden cake using the special tin (I’m sure you know it). I love sponge cakes and would like to use this recipe in it. Have you had any experience with this? What would you advice me to do or not? TIA
Thanks Terry,have tried some of your recipes I most confess dey are d best so far.plz I will like to know if I can bake dis cake in a figure 2 pan
Tarry without adding cream of tartar To my egg whites will it bring out that peak foam like.
Yes
Hello, thanks for this recipe. I am on a hunt for a cake I tasted once as a child and the look of this struck me. I am surely going to try this out and give my reports 😊
You are welcome.