Light and Fluffy Sponge Cake

Jump to:

• The Right Ingredients
• Pro-Tip
• How to mix for a light and fluffy sponge cake
• What if it curdles - you could potentially lose its fluffiness?
• Which Tins for the Lightest Cakes?
• Baking Rules for a Light and Fluffy Cake
• What is this cake best for?
• Professional Bakers Ebook
• Light and Fluffy Sponge Cake Recipe

Do your sponge cakes always come out as light and fluffy as you’d like? You may have heard that baking is a science, well here is the most basic recipe, for a Light and Fluffy Sponge Cake, which proves it is.

Baking isn’t just luck, it’s a science, tried and tested through generations. Baking is a combination of the right ingredients and the right techniques…and this combination of ingredients and technique will make the perfect, light and fluffy Sponge Cake, in England often known as a classic Victoria Sponge.

The Right Ingredients

Cakes are made up of 4 basic ingredients: Butter, Sugar, Eggs and Flour with a raising agent. Quantities vary to get different results, but to get this perfect Victoria Sponge all ingredients are equal. For more information on ingredients read Cakes Essential Ingredients.

This recipe is one of the easiest and most scalable ever. It starts with your eggs. Weigh them in the shell. I used just 2, but I only made a small 2 layer 6” inch cake. For a 3 layer 8” round cake I would recommend 4 large eggs.

Once you know the weight of your eggs, you weigh all the other ingredients to the same weight.

My 2 eggs weighed 135gms, which meant I used 135gms of baking spread, 135gms of caster sugar and 135gms of plain flour. When I sifted the flour, I added 1.5tspns of baking powder – 1 tspn, rounded to the nearest half, per 100gms of flour, or you could just use Self Raising Flour.

Once I cracked the eggs, I was going to lose the weight of the shell, so to get that back I added 1tbspn of milk, per egg, before beating them ready for the mix. For flavour I also added a teaspoon of Vanilla Essence, which can added either to the butter or the egg mix.

Pro-Tip

Always make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature. It'll make it easier for them to come together in the mix.

How to mix for a light and fluffy sponge cake

Do you use the creaming method? For this recipe you should! Make friends with the creaming method.

Put the sugar and butter (or baking spread) in a stand mixer and using the paddle attachment, beat it until its changed colour to at least 3 shades lighter. Next you need to add your beaten egg and milk mix – but do it slowly! Adding too much liquid, too quickly will make it curdle.

What if it curdles - you could potentially lose its fluffiness?

If it does start to curdle you will start to lose all that lovely air, and, well basically, it goes a ‘bit funny’. If you start to see it curdling pop a dessert spoon of flour into the mixer. This will help it come back together. Don’t add too much flour at this stage tough.

Also, make sure you mix on as high power as possible, without it covering the kitchen and/or you with mixture..

When all the egg mix is added, stop the mixer. You’re now going to finish the batter by hand. Place a sieve over the bowl and sift together your flour and baking powder into the mix.

When all the egg mix is added, stop the mixer. You’re now going to finish the batter by hand. Place a sieve over the bowl and sift together your flour and baking powder into the mix.

Now, using a large metal spoon, or a rubber spatula, carefully fold the flour in. Folding means cutting through the mix and folding it in on itself. Don’t beat it or stir it, as, you’ll lose all the lovely air you have taken the time to lovingly beat into it. Fold it until all the flour is incorporated.

Pour the batter into your baking tins, which should be well greased with baking parchment on the bottom. I then scrape a well in the middle. As a cake bakes, the edges will bake first. Then when the inside heats up it will need to expand and that’s why you get a dome on your cake. There are a few tricks for avoiding a dome – baking at a lower temperature, adding a ‘baking belt’ to your tin, or as I do, starting with less mix in the middle to start with.

Which Tins for the Lightest Cakes?

I recommend you bake these in several shallow pans. I have tried baking in one big deep pan and slicing the layers. However, as it is such a light and fluffy sponge cake, the airbubbles inside can’t support themselves, and it collapsed in on itself. When I tried to bake in a deep tin, the inside of my cake ended up tough and chewy.

Lastly, give you tins a couple of good bangs onto the work surface. This will ensure the mix is distributed into the corners of the tins and will encourage any large air bubbles to rise to the surface.

Baking Rules for a Light and Fluffy Cake

I bake a 150c (which is quite low – to avoid the domes). Pop your cakes on the same shelf if possible and

I bake a 150c to avoid a domed cake. Pop your cakes on the same shelf if possible and don’t open the door for at least 25 minutes!

You may have heard how you should never open the oven while a cake is baking, or that you should never bang the door. There is a very good reason for this!

As the cake is baking the air inside is getting hot and expanding. This is when it’s at its most volatile. If you open the door, and let a cold gust of air in, it may stop the air from expanding, or worst still, pop all those lovely air bubbles and then there is only one, sad, result – a sunken cake!

Slamming the door of the oven may also pop the bubbles, again resulting in a sunken cake. Be gentle and be careful.

So, no matter how tempted you are….DO NOT OPEN THAT OVEN!!!!!

After 25-30 minutes test your cake to see if it’s done. I do this by either pressing the top – if it bounces back its done. Or the old tried and tested method stick a skewer in the middle – if it comes out clean, it’s done.

When it’s done remove from the oven, allow to cool slightly, before running a thin knife around the edges and removing from the tin. Always put your cakes bottom side down on the cooling rack to avoid any unsightly lines on the top

What is this cake best for?

This classic Victoria Sponge is ideal as an afternoon tea cake. I filled mine with orange buttercream and lemon curd. The Women's Institute frown upon buttercream and recommend filling with JUST raspberry jam. (I once got disqualified from a local cake baking competition for using it.) However, in my mind the classic combo is actually vanilla buttercream and strawberry jam, or even fresh whipped cream and strawberries.

This light and fluffy sponge cake is also great for celebration cakes. If you are covering your cake in fondant, I would recommend filling and crumb coating before wrapping it in cling film and leaving it overnight to settle. If you try to fondant it immediately it will settle afterwards and muck up your fondant work.

This cake is also great in a tiered cake, if your dowelling and internal structure is good.
This cake, however, is NOT good for sculpting or carved cakes. It’s just too light and fluffy for the job. Believe me I’ve tried, with terrible results.

Now, the only decision you have to make is – what are you going to fill yours with?

If you're looking for tips on cupcakes, head to How to Bake Cupcakes - Hints and Tips or if you want to know more about the science of baking read my post on Cakes Essential Ingredients. Make my Easy Coffee and Walnut Recipe for a flavour variation of this cake.

Professional Bakers Ebook

If you are a cake maker running a business, or someone who'd like to add more knowledge and variety to you baking, why not download my Ebook. The Light and Fluffy Sponge Cake Pro Baker Ebook is available for just £10.

For other classic recipes try:
The Best Lemon Drizzle Cake
Ginger Cake
Easy Coffee and Walnut Cake
Tottenham Cake
Big and Fluffy Scones
Cookies and Cream Cake

You can use this recipe to make Creme Egg Cupcakes. I also use this same technique in my Best Lemon Drizzle Cake Recipe.

Try my Ginger Cake Recipe for an alternative celebration cake flavour.