This sponge cake is very light, airy and fluffy. It is just 3 ingredients and doesn’t require any butter or oil. It can be enjoyed on its own or used to make a nice layered cake.
Sponge cakes are my favorite type of cake. I especially like the Asian-style sponge cakes that are very light and fluffy. This is my favorite recipe to use. It’s so quick and easy. I use it to make just a plain sponge cake when I’m in the mood for sponge cake and I also use it to make layered cakes for birthdays.
Ingredients
- Eggs
- Flour
- Sugar
Eggs: You will need four large eggs. The eggs need to be separated and the whites are beaten until stiff peaks.
Flour: This cake uses regular all purpose flour. You can also use cake flour.
Sugar: This cake is made with regular granular white sugar.
Type of Sponge Cake
There are many different kinds of sponge cakes. Almost all sponge cakes are leavened with beaten eggs. The most common kind of sponge cakes found in Europe use a method of beating whole eggs when making the cake, resulting in a cake with a tighter crumb that bounces and springs back (like a sponge). This cake is rarely served plain and is usually used to make layered cakes.
There are also sponge cakes made with separating the eggs and folding the beaten egg whites into the batter. This results in a lighter, fluffier and more delicate sponge. This type of sponge cake is popular in most of Asia and is often used as the base for layered cakes, roll cakes or served plain (often as an undecorated cupcake). This is the kind of sponge cake recipe I’m sharing in this post.
How to Make Sponge Cake
The egg yolks and whites are separated. Mix the egg yolks with half of the sugar. The flour is then whisked in until a thick batter forms.
The egg whites are beaten with the remaining sugar until stiff peaks form. The egg white mixture is then folded into the batter. The batter will look very light and airy.
The cake is then poured into the prepared pan and ready to be baked.
Sponge Cake Tips
Do not grease the sides of the pan. Only line the bottom with parchment paper. If you grease the sides, it will cause the cake to collapse along the sides when it cools.
Make sure to add half of the sugar to the egg yolks and half to the egg whites. The sugar is needed in both. The egg yolk batter needs the sugar or else the batter will be too dry. The sugar is also needed to create stiffer egg whites.
This cake can be served on its own, baked as individual cupcakes or made into a layered cake.
The amount of cake the recipe yields works best for a 2-layer cake. If you wish to make it a 3-layer cake like this one, you will need to make a second cake.
More Cake Recipes
3 Ingredient Sponge Cake
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs separated
- 6 tbsp (72 g) granulated white sugar
- 5 tbsp (41 g) all purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease only the bottom of a 7 inch round nonstick springform pan. Line the bottom with a parchment paper round. Do not grease the sides of the pan.
- Add egg yolks and half of the sugar (3 tbsp/36 g) to a large mixing bowl. Whisk until sugar is fully dissolved into the egg yolks. Make sure you do this first and do not add the flour in until the egg yolks and sugar are mixed together. If you try to add the flour with the egg yolks, you'll get a crumbly dough and your batter will not turn out. Once the egg yolks and sugar are mixed, add in the flour (see notes on measuring the flour) and whisk until batter is smooth. The batter will be quite thick.
- Add egg whites and remaining sugar to a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on highest speed until stiff peaks form.
- Add in 1/3 of the egg white mixture to the egg yolk batter. Fold it gently in with a spatula, making sure to always start folding from the bottom of the bowl to the top. Fold in gently until no egg white streaks remain. Repeat with the next 1/3 of the batter and then the final 1/3. Your batter should look very light and airy.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Rap the bottom of the pan 3-5 times against the counter to remove any air pockets.
- Place pan into the oven to bake. Bake cake for about 23 minutes or until done. Be careful not to overbake the cake. When the cake is done, the surface should be puffed up and evenly browned on top. Once the cake is removed from the oven, it will deflate a little. Let cake cool for at least several hours or overnight before serving. Use a thin spatula or similar tool to completely loosen the cake from the sides of the pan. Make sure you do this before you release the springform ring, otherwise your cake will stick to the ring and break when you release it. You can serve the cake plain or dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Notes
- This is an Asian style sponge cake. If you are unfamiliar with this kind of cake, it is lighter and more delicate than some other types of sponge cakes and is not super sweet. When it first comes out of the oven it does have a little bit of an eggy smell. This goes away by the next day which is why I recommend serving it the following day if you are serving it on its own. If you are making it as a layered cake, the frosting and filling will overpower any slight egginess.
- Make sure you do not add too much flour. This is very important for this batter because this batter has very little liquid and if you add too much flour, your batter will be too thick and dry and will not mix with the egg whites. If you are using a measuring spoon, level off the top with a knife. If you are using a measuring cup, spoon the flour into the cup and then level off with a knife.
- Make sure you add half of the sugar to the egg yolks. The sugar adds moisture to the batter and without the sugar, your batter will be too dry.
- Do not grease the sides of the pan. The cake needs to stick to the sides to keep it from collapsing along the sides as it deflates. By leaving the sides ungreased, it allows the sides of the cake to stay up so that the cake only deflates slightly on top.
- I used a springform pan. You can use a regular pan but make sure it is nonstick, otherwise it will be hard to remove the cake from the sides of the pan.
- If you wish to make a layered cake, you can slice the cake in half horizontally for a two or three layered cake (though the layers will be very thin for 3-layers). Or you can bake a second cake for three fuller layers.
- When slicing the cake for serving, I recommend using a large sharp knife and gently running it back and forth instead of forcing it all the way down. Because of how delicate the sponge is, if you simply push down on the knife, it will squish the cake. Instead, cut into the cake like you are slicing bread (back and forth motion).
- This recipe uses standard large US eggs. You should have approximately 69 g egg yolks and 122 g egg whites.
- This cake is often made with cake flour. You can use cake flour. I made it with all purpose because I know cake flour is not a common pantry staple. I found the differences to be very slight. If serving on its own, I prefer the all purpose flour version. If making a layered cake I prefer cake flour because the cake flour one is slightly fluffier and also doesn't deflate as much. However the cake flour version is also slightly eggier.
- I used this 7 inch springform pan.*
- *This product link is an affiliate link. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
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