Vanilla Sponge Cake, Step-By-Step
This soft and tender Sponge Cake Recipe is light and airy. Sandwiched between fluffy Chantilly Cream and delicious strawberry jam!
Ingredients
Sponge Cake
- 225 g cake flour see notes
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 8 large eggs 55g each, room temperature and divided.
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 210 g caster sugar superfine, divided in half
- 40 g warm water just above room temp
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Chantilly Cream
- 310 g heavy cream cold (see notes)
- 50 g powdered sugar sifted (see notes)
- 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract see notes
- 125 g mascarpone cold (see notes)
Decorations
- 200 g strawberry jam or raspberry
- Powdered sugar to dust
- A punnet of strawberries to decorate cleaned and dried
Instructions
Sponge cake
- Preheat your oven to 170C / 340F (fan off), 150C / 300F (fan on). Spray only the bottom (not sides) of two 8-inch cake tins with oil spray and line the bottom with baking paper.
- Combine dry ingredients - To a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- Make meringue - To a separate large bowl add the egg whites and cream of tartar. Use an electric hand beater to whisk until frothy. Slowly add 1/2 (105g) of the sugar while the mixer is on high speed. Once all the sugar has been added continue mixing for 2 minutes. The mixture will thicken and become glossy. Take care not to overwhip the mixture otherwise it will result in large air bubbles in your cake.
- Whisk egg yolks and sugar - To a separate bowl, add the egg yolks, remaining sugar (105g), water, and vanilla extract and use your electric hand mixer to whip until pale, thickened, and creamy, about 5 minutes. The mixture should fall off in ribbons when you lift the beaters.
- Fold in dry ingredients - Sift 1/2 of the dry ingredients into the egg yolk mixture and use a spatula to fold through. Then add the remaining dry ingredients and fold through until no dry ingredients are showing. Take care not to overmix.
- Fold in meringue - Add half the meringue and gently fold through with a spatula. Then add the other half and repeat.
- Bake - Divide the mixture between the two cake 8-inch tins and bake in the middle rack of your oven for 25-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Once baked, allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before carefully running a knife around the sides to release them. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Chantilly Cream
- Prepare mascarpone cheese - Add the mascarpone to a large mixing bowl (glass or metal) and use a spatula to stir and break up as some brands can be firmer than others.
- Whip ingredients together - Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and use an electric hand mixer fitted with beaters or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment to whip on medium high speed (not high speed) until you reach stiff peaks. This usually takes about 3 - 4 minutes to achieve. That you’re looking for is a smooth but stiff whipped cream, not one that appears split. If it does split or separate, unfortunately, you’ll need to start again. There’s no saving it.
To Finish
- Place your first layer of cake on your serving plate and spread strawberry jam on top. Then spread the Chantilly cream on top. Add the second layer of cake. Dust generously with powdered sugar and decorate with strawberries. Slice and serve!
Notes
Cake Flour - Cake flour is a low protein flour that is used to make desserts light and moist. You can use store bought which has a much finer flour consistency, or simply make your own with my simple recipe. I have an entire blog post on how to make your own cake flour on the blog!
Cream - make sure you use cream labelled heavy cream for this recipe. Whipping cream will work but won’t be as stiff as heavy cream. Low fat cream will not work.
Powdered sugar - I don’t like my cream too sweet, but if you like yours on the sweeter side you can add 30g of powdered sugar to the bowl before whipping. Make sure you sift it!
Mascarpone - is an Italian cheese that is similar in flavor to sour cream, but more creamy and less sour. Opt in for a better brand one as they tend to be thicker and make sure it’s cold straight out of the fridge! Use a spoon or spatula to mix the mascarpone cream a little before adding to the cream to ensure it’s not lumpy as some brands can be thicker than others.
Vanilla - I have a great recipe for Vanilla extract here on the blog which is alcohol based. It can be used for most recipes. However, I would advise against using it for whipped creams (yes, even stabilized ones like this one) or meringues as it can muck around with the air whipped in the mixtures. Instead use a syrup based vanilla extract. I find vanilla bean paste is best.
Storage - This cake is best served the day it’s baked but can be stored in an airtight container, in the fridge for up to three days.
Nutrition - is based on per slice. This cake serves 10 people.
A note on measurements - this recipe is offered in weight measurements. This is in an effort to offer the most accurate way to get the best results. Cup measurements simply aren’t accurate enough for a recipe that needs precision and cup sizes differ depending on where you are in the world. Here is where you can learn more about how to measure ingredients using digital kitchen scales!
Nutrition
Calories:466kcal | Carbohydrates:45g | Protein:10g | Fat:22g | Saturated Fat:12g | Polyunsaturated Fat:1g | Monounsaturated Fat:5g | Cholesterol:197mg | Sodium:154mg | Potassium:205mg | Fiber:1g | Sugar:24g | Vitamin A:842IU | Vitamin C:14mg | Calcium:83mg | Iron:1mg
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