![Classic White Cake](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/07/31/multimedia/ya-white-cake-vmbj/ya-white-cake-vmbj-mediumThreeByTwo440.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
Sponge Cake
![Sponge Cake](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021/05/27/dining/cs-sponge-cake/merlin_188067723_c149734b-f3b2-42ee-909f-fcc085c938b9-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 50 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- ¼cup/50 grams olive or vegetable oil, plus more for greasing if baking in a jelly roll pan
- 4large eggs, separated, at room temperature
- ½cup/100 grams granulated sugar
- ½teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼teaspoon cream of tartar
- ⅔cup/85 grams cake flour
- 2teaspoons vanilla extract
Preparation
- Step 1
Arrange an oven rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 325 degrees. If making a roulade, brush the bottom of a 10-by-15-inch jelly roll pan with a light coating of oil. Do not brush the sides, as the cake needs to be able to cling to the pan as it rises. Line only the bottom of the pan with a piece of parchment paper, smoothing to eliminate air bubbles. If baking in a 9-inch springform pan, leave the pan ungreased and unlined.
- Step 2
In a wide, medium bowl, combine the egg whites, ¼ cup sugar, the kosher salt and cream of tartar. Beat the mixture with a hand mixer fitted with the beaters on medium-low speed until the mixture looks frothy, then start to slowly increase the speed to medium-high. Continue to beat the egg whites until you have a dense, voluminous, glossy foam that forms stiff peaks, about 4 minutes. When you lift the beaters out of the bowl, the egg whites should come to a straight point that doesn’t droop. Don’t beat beyond this point, or the whites will become dry and lumpy. Set the bowl aside.
- Step 3
In a separate wide bowl, combine the egg yolks and the remaining ¼ cup sugar. Beat with the hand mixer (no need to wash it after you beat the egg whites) on medium-high until the mixture is very pale and fluffy and forms a slowly dissolving ribbon as it falls off the beaters back into the bowl, about 4 minutes. Slowly stream in the ¼ cup oil, beating constantly to ensure it emulsifies into the yolk mixture, until you have a smooth, light mixture that looks like mayonnaise.
- Step 4
Reduce the mixer to the lowest speed, add half of the flour and mix just until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon water, mix until incorporated, then add the remaining flour and mix just until it disappears. The mixture will have thickened and look a bit like cake batter.
- Step 5
Fold the yolk mixture once or twice with a large flexible spatula to make sure it’s evenly mixed, then scrape about a third of the egg white mixture into the yolk mixture and thoroughly fold in the whites until the mixture is loosened. Working more gently, fold in half of the remaining egg whites until only a few streaks remain. Fold in the remaining whites, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl, until you have a light, smooth, evenly mixed batter.
- Step 6
Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth into an even layer. Firmly rap the pan on the surface once or twice to pop any large air bubbles. Bake the cake until it’s golden brown, firm and springy to the touch across the entire surface, 25 to 30 minutes for a jelly roll and 30 to 35 minutes for a 9-inch cake. Remove the cake from the oven and immediately invert the pan onto a wire rack. Let the cake cool completely upside down to prevent it from collapsing.
- Step 7
Reinvert the cooled pan and cut along the sides with a small offset spatula or paring knife to loosen the cake. It will sink a bit, which is normal. If making a jelly roll, turn the sponge out onto the wire rack and peel off the parchment. If making a 9-inch cake, remove the ring of the springform pan, invert the cake onto the rack, and carefully peel off the bottom of the pan (it should come away cleanly, leaving behind just a thin film).
- Step 8
Use the sponge as desired. The unfilled sponge cake will keep at room temperature, tightly wrapped, for several days, but will become sticky after the first day.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Given the small amount of cake flour required, would using all-purpose flour be okay? Add a bit of cornstarch to accommodate the substitution? Thanks.
I've made many sponge cakes over the years and I can tell you that this is a terrific recipe. The family versions involve huge quantities of eggs, tube pans and a lengthy cooking time. This one is so simple, especially because of the manageable quantity plus the ungreased spring form pan. My cake came out prettier than the picture! I subbed some almond extract for some of the vanilla - a taste we prefer. I served it with rhubarb - ginger - raspberry sauce and whipped cream!
For those who like to bake with a scale (what baker doesn’t?) 1/4 oil - 57g 1/2 cup sugar - 100 g 2/3 cup cake flour (KA brand) - 85g I made this in a non spring form pan and it turned out great! There was a big bubble at the bottom of the pan but I still was able to slice the cake in half to assemble. It’s deliciously light and reminds me of the sponge cakes I got at Asian bakeries as a kid.
I didn't have cake flour. I didn't have a 9" springform, only a 10". I decided to give it a go regardless and if it didn't work, then I would only have myself to blame! But there was also the possibility of cake. To make the "cake flour" followed the interweb's advice and substituted all purpose flour by removing 1T+1t and replacing it with corn starch. As for baking time, I went for 30 minutes for a golden color (could have gone for another 2 maybe), and it was perfect (if I do say so myself).
I'm curious as to why in baking recipes the authors do not provide a temperature for the inside of the cake when done. Oven temperatures vary; 325 or 350 degrees doesn't mean the oven is constantly at the set temperature; any oven thermometer will tell you that as will any technician. Moreover, pre-heating the oven to a set temperature is not sufficient. The oven needs to be pre-heated to a given temperature for at least 45 to 60 minutes to allow the walls to heat up and retain heat.
I have never made a sponge cake before because they typically call for so many egg whites but I love how this recipe utilized the whole egg. I used cake flour and the entire recipe was pretty easy. It was the perfect cake for Ontario strawberries and sweet cream ice cream.
King Arthur Baking may be the best American resource for your question. Here's a link to their conversion chart: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart A lot depends on how the baker scooped the flour, so it's a bit of a guessing game. I've stopped baking recipes that don't give measurements by weight.
Yummy and easy recipe. I made twice to test - first with cake flour and then regular. Slightly coarser but otherwise it works. Perfect for summer and fruit with a bit of whipped cream or ice cream if you need that consistency alongside it. A keeper
In case there's anyone else with the same limited supply of baking pans as I have, wondering about substitutes: I made this cake in an 8-inch anodized aluminum cake pan (Fat Daddio's) with a parchment round on the bottom but still with an ungreased side, baked it for about 5 minutes extra to compensate for the additional height (40 mins), and it came out perfectly. I did still invert it to cool. After running an offset spatula around the side it slid right out once cooled! No springform needed!
I tried this with cup4cup gluten-free flour and it came out well—it didn’t rise high enough to slice in two but it was delicious piled up with strawberries and whipped cream.
so much easier than expected. I only had a non stick springform pan and was worried it wouldn't work, but it did all the same!! no one had commented that yet so thought I would confirm that it worked out pretty well!
Hello, Ute. The "Cups" measurement used in American recipes is 8 fluid ounces. Flour measures out to about 120gm per cup, both all purpose (regular) flour, and baking flour (lower protein, used for more delicate cakes). Some recipes will vary, telling you 140gm or 128gm per cup - there's a bit of wiggle room if that's the case. And you didn't ask, but sugar weighs 200gm per 8oz cup.
If you try to make a strawberry cream cake with pound cake you will see that the cake hardens when refrigerated due to the butter. Sponge cakes stay soft and are also great at absorbing syrups (like strawberry).
I made this as written, except I used a stand mixer. I moved the egg white mixture to another bowl, then beat the yolks without cleaning the mixer bowl or beaters. It came out fine. My results for the 9" springform were lighter and higher than the image here -- no dip in the center. Next time I'd use less salt and maybe add some lemon or orange zest.
Because I live at a higher elevation, cake making is almost never successful. Well, enter Claire Saffitz and her wonderful sponge cake recipe. I watched her video and then followed the directions almost completely, except I didn’t have cake flour on hand and used bread flour. It turned not as high as hers, but perfect for my planned dessert and very delicious. Good news for us cake bakers in the mountains. Next time I’ll have cake flour on hand.
I made this four times this summer- I use the springform pan- and it never gets fluffy/thick enough to be able to slice horizontally, but it tastes great. What is going wrong?
Did 75% of recipe to bake in quarter-sheet pan
This recipe is an amazing foundation for so many desserts. Minimal ingredients, cake is not too sweet but has perfect texture. I already want to remake it with different fruit combinations
I used two completely bare 8-inch pans with removable bottoms - no parchment or anything. Subbed about ¾ tablespoon of regular flour for cornstarch. It’s hard to tell when they’re baked through – I let mine get lightly browned on top and probably could have baked a few minutes less. The lightly sweet cake came out light as air.
First time trying this and used what I had on hand to make cake flour and subbed 1/2 tsp lemon juice for the cream of tartar, and I only had a nonstick springform pan. Voila! Came out perfectly!! Except I cooked using convection and needed a bit longer. Convection or regular for this cake? Anyway, fun to make, very light. However, in the end, not what I was looking for in nastiness and texture in an efforto try to replicate a local fruit basket cake. So, not for me. Bummer.
I accidentally added all of the sugar to the egg whites; turned out to be a happy accident since it produced a super stable meringue, and made no difference as far as I could tell to the end product. I beated the yolks, gradually added oil (basically made mayonnaise), and folded in the flour. I aerated it by adding in a scoop of the meringue to the yolks, and then folded the aerated yolk/oil/flour mixture into the rest of the meringue. The result was DIVINE, super light and melts in your mouth.
I love Claire and her recipes, but this one sadly didn't deliver for me. The sponge had a slightly off taste and I'm not sure I have figured out why (perhaps the new brand of Cream of Tartar I tried?). I've made successful sponges in the past (usually for Passover recipes) but this didn't do it for me. I didn't get a ton of height on the cake (perhaps even ungreased the cake pan was too slippery?) but I was able to split it for 2 not-very-tall layers. Not a repeater for me.
Baked exactly as directed and had no issues with deflating but the sponge is just a bit heavy for my taste. But great recipe overall, easy to follow and loved not having to prep the pan!!
Where can you even find a springform pan without a nonstick coating in 2024???
What are you suppose to add half the flour to? Later the recipe calls out adding the told and egg white mixtures so I'm not sure what step 3 wants me to add the flour to.
Does this cake freeze well ?
For people wondering about internal temp, since ovens and cook time vary so much (I used convection bake, for example, and it was about 24 minutes in the oven), I pulled out when it had just barely reached 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Because it stays in the pan to cool, albeit upside down, it continues to cook slightly. Between 200 and 2010 degrees is the desired internal temp for a sponge cake.
What shelf do you bake the cake on?
Delicious cake but it didn’t rise as much as I was hoping. Was scratching my head about why but I realized when cleaning up that my springform pan is NON-STICK. Didn’t think about that earlier. Big mistake! Will definitely make again
Turned out fantastically! I made it at high altitude (4270 ft) and ended up adding one extra egg white, an extra teaspoon of vanilla (you could also use rum) and then baked it at 340 degrees. It was done in about 30 minutes in my oven. Was amazing!
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