The best moist sponge cake recipe that every home baker needs. Trust me, this is hands down the best sponge cake recipe that you will ever make! This trustworthy and reliable moist sponge cake recipe is the perfect base, and once you have mastered it, you can adapt the flavors and make so many delicious desserts.
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🌟Why this is the best recipe
- Professional results - This is a professional sponge cake recipe adapted for a home kitchen and explained in step-by-step directions. It sits somewhere in between traditional sponge cake and chiffon cake, with all the benefits of both.
- Simple method - Whilst it looks and tastes impressive, it is actually surprisingly easy to make! Even beginner bakers can master this moist sponge cake recipe.
- Basic ingredients and equipment - You will not need any fancy pieces of kit to bake this super moist cake; all the ingredients are the basics from the pantry. You can then use it in so many ways, like this Victoria sponge cake recipe.
📝 Ingredient notes
The ingredients for the best moist sponge cake recipe are actually very simple, but be sure to read my detailed notes to get the best from your baking.
- Cooking oil - Butter-based sponge cakes tend to firm up in the fridge - oil is what keeps a sponge cake moist. A moist sponge cake recipe with oil is your safest bet for a soft and tender cake. Use good quality vegetable oil that is neutral in taste.
- White granulated sugar - Superfine sugar (sometimes called caster sugar) is the best sugar for moist sponge cake recipes, but regular granulated white sugar can work fine too.
- Egg yolks - For the fluffiest sponge, rather than using whole eggs, I recommend separating the eggs and incorporating them into the batter as directed in my recipe below. Always use room-temperature eggs in baking.
- Egg whites - Egg whites are the leavening agent in this cake; there is no baking powder or baking soda! Whipped egg whites trap air bubbles inside them, so making a meringue to fold into the cake batter gives us a super light and airy sponge cake.
- Milk - I use whole milk in this easy sponge cake recipe. Take it out of the fridge to bring it to room temperature before you begin baking.
- Flour - All-purpose flour or cake flour makes the best cakes. They are so-called “soft flours,” which are lower in protein, resulting in a delicate, tender texture. Read more about the best flour to use in cakes and baking.
🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all Ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post
👩🍳 How to make this recipe
A fluffy vanilla sponge cake recipe is an excellent base recipe to learn that you can adapt to your own personal preference. Perfect sponge cake awaits!
1. How to make moist sponge cake
- Preheat the oven to 170C / 338F (no fan) and line your cake pan with parchment paper.
- Use an electric hand mixer to beat the egg yolk, vanilla extract, and half of the sugar until pale, creamy, and fluffy.
- Add in the oil and milk just until combined; do not overmix.
- Whip egg whites on low speed in your stand mixer and add the rest of the sugar one tablespoon at a time. Increase the speed and whip for about 5-8 minutes until the meringue is white, stiff, and glossy.
- While the mixer is on, sift the cake flour into the bowl of the egg yolk mixture, then gently fold it in with a rubber spatula just until combined; do not overmix.
- Use a Rubber spatula to gently fold the egg whites into the flour egg yolk sugar mixture. Start with ¼ of the whipped egg white mixture to loosen it, and then very gently fold the rest of the egg white in.
💡 Top Tip: Do not overbeat the egg whites mixture into a super hard meringue, as that is a difficult texture to fold with the rest of the ingredients. Aim for 'early stiff peaks'.
2. How to bake sponge cake
- Pour the sponge cake batter into the prepared 15 cm (6 inch) round cake pan.
- Bake the cake in your preheated oven for approximately 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not open the oven at all for the first 45 minutes.
- Flip the sponge cake upside down and let it completely cool on a Cooling rack.
- This 3 egg sponge cake recipe is tall, so it can be sliced horizontally into pieces to make a 2 or 3-tier cake.
💡 Top Tip: The top of the cake will feel springy to the touch when it is fully baked, and the sides will start to pull away from the edges of the pan. An inserted toothpick will come out clean and with no sticky batter on it.
Storage and Freezing
Once the sponge cake is baked, let it completely cool before using it to make any layered cake. If you do not need it immediately, cover it with foil and store it for 2-3 days in the fridge. It will not harden like sponge cakes made with butter.
Sponge cake will last for up to 3 months in the freezer. To freeze sponge cake, first, wait until it cools to room temperature. Then, double wrap in plastic food wrap and aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn. Defrost in the fridge or at room temperature thoroughly before use.
📚 Flavor Variations and Substitutions
This easy, moist sponge cake recipe can be made into a two or three-tiered cake. Try spreading it with homemade lemon curd, cream cheese cheese frosting or whipped chocolate ganache frosting for a delicious dessert. Or, this simple sponge cake tastes amazing with just whipped cream and fresh fruit.
This round-up of the best layer cake recipes will give you some inspiration on how to use a sponge cake! If you are baking around a dietary restriction or preference, check out my baking guides first to make the best swaps and check your conversions.
🥣 Equipment notes
Always weigh ingredients on a Digital scale for precision, and do not rely on measuring by volume e.g. the cup system.
I highly recommend getting to know your own oven. Invest in a Digital oven thermometer to check you are baking at the right temperature every time, as it is not uncommon for non-professional ovens to have a 16C / 60F difference between what the display says and what the actual temperature is. Even this small difference in temperature can have a big impact! It could mean an extra 10-15 minutes of baking time.
Combine ingredients using an Electric hand mixer, a Rubber spatula, and a Stand mixer. Always use the right tools to mix cake batters; baking is a science, and all the instructions need to be done a certain way to achieve the right results.
Choose a straight-sided 6-inch cake pan that has a 3-inch height (for a nice tall cake) in stainless steel or aluminum. It is essential to use a pan with straight sides to bake the perfect, uniform, moist vanilla cake recipe with oil.
Allow the cake to come back down to room temperature on a wire cooling rack.
Wondering how to bake the best sponge cake from scratch that does not dome? Use a cake pan strip! It cools the edges in order to avoid high-rise centers. It prevents the outside of the cake from heating up too quickly as it provides a cooling effect.
📖 How to make a homemade cake strip
You can make your own cooling cake strip so easily! Fold a piece of kitchen paper into thirds and then dip it into water to dampen it. Wrap the wet kitchen paper in aluminum foil, and then wrap it around your cake pan.
On a side note, I do actually like it when the edges of a sponge cake caramelize a tiny bit, so I usually remove the strip after ¾ of the baking time. But this is completely optional. And strictly do not open the oven door any sooner than this whilst baking the fluffy sponge cake recipe.
🎓 Expert Tips
- All the best sponge cake recipes use ingredients that are at room temperature before baking (eggs, milk, etc). This allows for proper emulsification of ingredients in this moist sponge cake recipe.
- Take care not to get any egg yolk into the egg whites when you separate eggs, or the whites won't whip properly.
- Make all of the components in this cake batter fresh and bake it immediately; it can dry out otherwise.
- Having too much cake batter in a pan that isn't big enough can cause doming and cracking. Check my equipment notes to bake in the right size pan.
- Sponge cake is very sensitive to temperature change, so do not open the oven door during the first 45 minutes of baking, as oven temperature fluctuation can cause issues with the cake.
- Every oven behaves differently, so you may need to adjust the baking time. A toothpick will come out clean when inserted into the sponge if it is fully baked.
- Cool the sponge cake upside down to prevent the cake from sinking. Flipping it upside down ensures that it doesn’t collapse during the cooling process.
- Brushing the inside of the cake pan with a tiny bit of oil before lining it with parchment paper can help you to release the cake from the cake pan.
- The moist sponge cake texture will properly set as it cools down, so do not attempt to cut whilst it is hot.
❓Recipe FAQs
This is quite a runny cake batter, so springform cake pans might not be the most appropriate ones to use. Also, the side of the cake pan must be absolutely straight in order to bake a neat, straight vanilla moist sponge cake recipe.
No, cake flour is even finer and has a lower protein content than pastry flour. Cake flour will give you a lovely light and fluffy sponge cake. Alternatively, use all purpose flour.
It could be due to an incorrect ratio of ingredients, an inappropriate mixing technique, or it could be over-baked. Weigh ingredients by the gram using a digital scale and I highly recommend using an oven thermometer to check temperature before baking.
A sunken cake is almost always due to it being underbaked in the center, which could be down to oven temperature, baking time or other issues. Check this guide to why your cake sank to learn more.
Using oil instead of butter in my easy moist sponge cake recipe helps to keep it super moist as butter can harden over time. Butter is also partly water, which evaporates during baking. Oil is 100% fat, which ensures a more tender texture.
How To Use This Sponge Cake Recipe
Have you tried this recipe?
Please leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on the recipe card and consider leaving a comment as well! I would love to hear about how your dessert turned out, and your feedback also helps other Readers!
RECIPE CARD
The Best Moist Sponge Cake Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 (3) Eggs room temperature yolk and white separately
- 150 g (¾ cups) Granulated sugar
- 2 Teaspoon (2 Teaspoon) Vanilla extract pure
- 100 g (⅓ cups + 1 tbsp) Whole milk room temperature
- 80 g (⅓ cups) Vegetable oil
- 190 g (1½ cups) Cake flour AP works too
US customary cup measurement is an indicative figure only. Measure the ingredients with a digital scale by weight (gram). Baking is art but also science which requires precision and accuracy.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 170 C / 338 F (no fan) and bring all the cake ingredients to room temperature.
- Prepare a 15 cm (6 inch) round cake pan lined with parchment paper inside and a cake strip around.
- Beat together the egg yolk, vanilla extract, and half of the sugar (75 g) with an electric hand mixer in a mixing bowl for at least 5 minutes until very pale, creamy, and fluffy.
- Beat in the rest of the wet ingredients; oil and milk.
- Sift the flour, and then gently fold it into the wet mixture with a rubber spatula just until combined, do not overmix
- Whip the egg whites starting on low speed in your Stand mixer while adding the rest of the sugar (75 g), one tablespoon at a time. Increase the speed and whip for about 5-8 minutes until stiff and glossy, and the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Use a Rubber spatula to gently fold the whipped egg whites mixture into the flour and egg yolk mixture. Loosen it up first by adding ¼ of the whipped egg whites, and then very gently fold the rest of the egg whites in.
- Pour the moist sponge cake batter into the prepared 15 cm (6 inch) round cake pan.
- Bake for approx. 60 minutes, and do not open the oven door in the first 45 minutes. The cake is ready when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Flip the sponge cake upside down and let it completely cool on a wire Cooling rack
- Use according to your chosen cake recipe.
Notes
- Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature before you begin baking this moist sponge cake recipe.
- Take care when separating your egg yolks and egg whites so that no yolk gets into the whites or they won't whip properly.
- You can use all-purpose flour in place of cake flour if this is hard for you to get hold of.
- Always weigh your ingredients by the gram using a digital scale for precision.
- Ovens can vary, so use an oven thermometer to always bake at the right temperature.
- Each oven is different so you might need to adjust the baking time slightly, but in my oven, this cake takes 60 minutes. Use the toothpick test to ensure your cake is fully baked.
- The sponge cake texture will further set as it cools, do not attempt to cut whilst it is hot.
- This sponge will be tall, so it can be used either as a 2-tier or 3-tier cake.
Susan
Hi, thanks for your reply. I made the cake in two separate batches and it was great! I now want to try a chocolate version, how would you add cocoa powder to this 3 egg recipe please?
Kata
Hey, replace about 10% of the flour with cocoa powder. Have fun:)
Niazi
What will be the ingredients ratio for two 18cm pans that are 3 inch tall???
Kata
I have a cake pan conversion chart in my chocolate sponge cake recipe pls check it out.
Susan
I want to make a version of this cake in a 10” round tin. What quantities would you recommend?
Kata
For such a large cake you will need significantly more batter (like 3x more) however pls note that with delicate sponges like this, you cannot simply triple a recipe and bake in a bigger pan as it might not bake throughout or evenly. I suggest about 3x this recipe but bake it in 3 different pans.
Doug Kerr
In the Uk we have three types of flour
Self raising
Plain
Bread
Which one is compatible with the recipe
Kata
Use plain although I have seen cake flour as well in the UK 🙂 Have fun baking!
Jay
Hi,
The cake looks amazing and so looking forward to baking it, however I have a ton 8inch by 3.5 inch, are you able to either provide a formula to adjust the baking ingredients and time or suggest the ratio of ingredients and time please, thank you so much 🙂
Kata
I have a cake converter in this post: https://www.spatuladesserts.com/chocolate-sponge-cake/
Sia Yeow Hui
can I increase egg to 5?
Kata
If you increase one recipe ingredient, you have to increase the rest as well and probably use a bigger tin and increase baking time.
Kim
Hi there, just a quick question on the eggs...are they medium or large ones please?
Kata
Normally my eggs are 50g each (without shell)
Yvonne
I want to make 2 cakes in 12" by 3" cake tins, how long do you suggest I cook this for and on what temperature? I'm guessing I should just double up the ingredient quantities.
Kata
I do not recommend to bake this tall sponge cake in 12 inches cake tin, it is extremely huge and the cake might not bake throughout.
Kay
My cake didnt rise enough, could it have been because I overmixed? I was mixing to break the flour clumps which formed while trying to fold in the flour.
Kata
Sorry to hear! Yes over mixing can cause low rise, or perhaps you used a bigger cake pan? Flour should be always sifted.
Rivkah
This recipe is excellent and I appreciate all of the precise instructions. I prepared the pans as directed; a small amount of oil on the pan to adhere the parchment to the pan, lining the bottom and sides. The cooling upside down was a bit problematic, however, as the entire cake released from the pan due to the parchment. There was nothing to allow the cake to grip the pan for cooling upside down. I reread the instructions and it seems to imply that the cake should be removed from the pan after it is cooled upside down. Can you clarify for me? I really like the recipe and will definitely use it again. Thank you.
Kata
Cooling the cake upside is a common method for light airy cakes eg. Angel food cake. If the cake does not rise "into" the entire tin then it might fall out during the fillipg process, but just keep the tin on top of the cake and remove it when it is fully cooled.
Rivkah
Thank you for your reply. I've made many angel food and chiffon cakes that were cooled upside down in the pan. I'm experienced with the technique. I've never seen instructions for an inverted cake which called for lining the sides of the pan with parchment. My cake didn't fall, it released from the pan. It wasn't an option to cool it inverted in the pan. In your picture it looks like the parchment is taller than the pan itself. Should it only extend halfway up the sides of the pan so it can grip? I really enjoyed the recipe and will definitely try again. It's an excellent sponge.
Kata
The parchment does not need to extend the pan:) Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
holly myles
I only have 9inch cake pans, how would I adjust the recipe for these?
Kata
You can use the 9-inch pan however the sponge cake will be about half as tall as it would be in a 6-inch pan. Pls do not double the recipe as it might not be throughout in such a large pan.
Tin
My cake becomes sticky on top after leaving it at room temp to cool down. What can I do to prevent this?
Kata
Probably you need to bake it a bit longer. Otherwise, it is rather normal and just the sugar.
Pin
Hi
Can I freeze the cake?
Kata
Yes, as explained in the Recipe FAQs
"You can easily freeze the sponges after baking, cover it in foil and bring it to room temperature when you need it"
Shanae
I only have 2 inch call cake pans. How would I adjust the temperature and time for 6x2 inch round cake pans?
Kata
You can easily make the recipe and bake it in 2 baking pans. (of course the sponge will be half as short)
Brittnie
Amazing recipe! Texture & taste were absolutely perfect! I increased the ingredients by 50% to put into two 6 x 3 pans to make an even taller cake and it came out beautiful! I was on the search for an oil based sponge cake for awhile and am so glad I came across this one! I hope there will be a chocolate version of this recipe soon
Brittnie
Hello, I made this recipe & loved it so much! I need to fix some things but the taste came out great 🙂 However, I did want the cake a bit taller, like 4 or 5 inches. Do you have any recommendations on how I can achieve this? Thank you in advance!
Kata
Hey, anything taller than this would need very careful baking, lower oven temp and bake much longer.
louise kirby
Hello there,
I haven't baked this yet, but the depth of info you have given is fab. I have been looking for tall sponge cake recipe. Can you tell me how to make this a chocolate cake, I wanted to make a tall sticky chocolate cake but can't find a recipe that gives the right quantities for this size tin.
Thank you for the helpful info
Kata
Hey this can be turned into a chocolate cake by replacing some part of the flour with cocoa powder, however, it won´t be sticky, more like fluffy. Pls check my German chocolate cake recipe for a super moist sticky chocolate sponge cake.