Wirral Mums Guide on How to Bake a Sponge Cake from Scratch

Homemade sponge cake is lighter, fluffier and tastier than any store bought variety. While there are a few extra steps in making a great sponge cake, they’re certainly worth it. Here is how to make your own delicious sponge cake from scratch.

This recipe makes about one 9” cake.

Ingredients:

¾ cup sugar 6 large eggs – separate the eggs from the yolks 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 cup flour 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 tablespoons milk

You will also need to 1 tablespoon of water and 2 tablespoons of sugar to make a syrup you will brush on the cake after it has cooled.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to gas mark 3 or 325 F. Grease and flour a 9” cake pan. Using a spingform pan makes it much easier to remove your cake easily for cooling, but we’ve used a regular cake pan in our example.

In a large bowl, use a whisk to mix the egg yolks with the sugar and vanilla. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, add the egg whites. Mix on high speed until stiff peeks form.

Fold half the egg white mixture into the large bowl with the egg yolks. Add the flour, oil and milk and mix gently until well combined. Finally, fold in the remaining egg whites carefully; making the mixture stays light and fluffy.

Pour the entire mixture into your cake pan, ensuring even distribution. Place in the oven and bake for about 25-30 minutes.

The top of the cake should be light brown and the cake should spring back if you push your finger gently in the middle. You can also insert a toothpick in the middle to ensure it comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven once it’s ready.

Run a butter knife around the edge of the cake pan to separate the cake from the sides of the pan. The cake will shrink some as it cools and this will allow it to shrink evenly, instead of being pulled to the sides of the pan.

Let the cake cool for about 10-15 minutes and then remove it from the pan. If you’ve used a springform pan, simply open it and gently remove the cake and cool it on a cooling rack. If you’ve used a regular cake pan, put a cooling rack on top of your cake. Flip the rack and cake together and gently tap the pan to release the cake. You may need to loosen the cake further with a knife along the bottom of the pan.

Meanwhile, you can place the 1 tablespoon of sugar and 2 tablespoons of water into a small saucepan. Heat it until the sugar dissolves and set aside.

Once the cake has cooled, use a pastry brush to paste the water and sugar mixture all over the cake.