An exceptional, yet simple Vanilla Butter Cake. Adapted from a master Cook’s Illustrated recipe, this sponge cake is made with pantry staples, has a velvety, tender crumb and keeps well for 3 days. An essential addition to every recipe collection!
Want to step it up? Try my ultimate Perfect Vanilla Cake.
Moist and tender Vanilla Sponge Cake
I call this a plain-jane Vanilla Sponge Cake, but it’s really anything but that. Everyone should have a classic vanilla sponge cake in their repertoire, and it took me many years to find the “perfect” one.
This is a classic, simple Vanilla Sponge Cake that is made with basic ingredients – eggs, milk, butter, flour, sugar, vanilla, baking powder and salt. That’s it. No sour cream, no buttermilk – these are not pantry staples in my world – or any other schmancy ingredients. Yes adding sour cream and/or buttermilk makes an even more tender, more moist cake. But I wanted to share a truly great Vanilla Sponge Cake that is made with just pantry staples.
I have a soft spot for old fashioned Vanilla sponge cakes. I am pretty sure the Women’s Weekly Best Ever Sponge was the first cake I ever (attempted?) to make. 🙂 Freshly made, they are lovely, albeit a wee bit dry for my taste. But the biggest issue I’ve always had is that after 12 hours, the sponge is incredibly dry. Even slathered with copious amounts of cream and frosting can’t hide it.
This recipe I’m sharing today is made with the same ingredients as old fashioned Vanilla Sponge Cakes, but there’s one very important step that you won’t see in any Women’s Weekly recipe books from the 1980’s: beating softened butter into the dry ingredients. THIS is the secret to a moist, tender sponge cake made without sour cream or buttermilk.
How do I know this?
Because this is a Cook’s Illustrated recipe. 🙂 They’ve gone and done all the hard work with the recipe testing for us.
Regular readers know I’m never going to win any awards in the cake decorating category. I’m much more focussed on the body of the cake – getting that sponge right. So I kept this simple and just slathered on lots of cream and and sandwiched it with strawberries. In addition to adding some lovely fresh juicy flavours into the cake, the strawberries also stop the cream from oozing out of the cake when you cut into it.
You’ll see in the video. 🙂
Happy weekend everyone! Hope you have a lovely one. I’m off to a festival of some sort – for a friends’ birthday. I’m not really a festival-type gal, so it will be an experience. I don’t even know what the festival is for – music, I’m guessing. Guess I should probably leave my stilettos behind. 😉 – Nagi x
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Vanilla Sponge Cake recipe video!
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Butter Cake (Vanilla Sponge Cak)
Ingredients
- 225 g / 2 sticks unsalted butter , cut into 8 pieces and softened
Wet:
- 4 large eggs (55 – 65g / 2 – 2.5 oz each), at room temperature
- 1/2 cup / 125 ml milk (whole or low fat, not no fat), room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Dry:
- 1 3/4 cups / 265g plain flour (all purpose flour, 7 oz) (Note 1)
- 1/4 cup cornflour / cornstarch (Note 1)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups / 330g caster sugar / superfine sugar (normal white sugar also ok)
- 3/4 tsp salt
Strawberries & Cream:
- 2 1/2 cups / 625 ml whipping cream
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 400 g/ 14 oz strawberries , halved (1 1/2 punnets)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F (standard) or 160C/320F (fan / convection). Put the rack in the middle of the oven.
- Butter 2 x 20cm / 8″ cake pans (Note 2). Line the base with baking paper.
- Place Wet ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
- Place Dry ingredients in a bowl and use a handheld beater on speed 1 (slowest) to quickly whisk.
- Add 1/3 of the butter, then put the beater whisk in the butter, and mix using speed 1. Once the butter is incorporated a bit, speed up to 5 and whisk for 10 seconds.
- Add another 1/3 of the butter then repeat, then add remaining butter and repeat again. It should look like wet sand (see video / photos in post).
- Add half the Wet mixture, beat until incorporated. Add remaining Wet mixture, then beat on speed 5 (medium) until almost completely smooth.
- Divide between cake pans, smooth surface (it levels out in the oven), then bake for 25 minutes.
- A skewer inserted into the middle should come out clean but moist.
- Cool on cooling rack for at least 15 minutes then remove cake from pan.
Frosting / Decorating with Strawberries & Cream:
- Optional: Use a serrated knife (I use a bread knife) to cut the top off each cake to make it completely flat. This makes neat layers when you cut into the cake.
- Place cream, vanilla and sugar in a bowl. Beat on high with a handheld beater or stand mixer until firm peaks form.
- If piping little swirls around the edge like in the photos, transfer 1 cup of cream into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle.
- Place a cake on a serving platter. Spread a thin layer of cream over the top.
- Cover with strawberries, cut side down.
- Top with 1/3 of the cream.
- Place 2nd cake on top. Cover top and sides with remaining cream. Pipe cream around the edge.
- Decorate with remaining strawberries, as desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
More cake goodness
LIFE OF DOZER
You do not want to know how big the puddle on the floor was….EEEEWWWW!!!! (watch me teasing him with this in the video!!)
Do sponge cakes have butter in them? I thought they contained no fats, and were leavened with eggs. I’ve been looking for a sponge recipe like my Nan used to make, please help!
Hi Louise, some don’t, I like to use butter for flavour. 🙂 N x
Hello Nagi! I’m going to try baking this cake for my daughter’s first birthday! Just wondering if the whipped cream will hold up if I make this cake a day in advance? Otherwise, can you point me to an alternative frosting? Thank you!
Hi Sherlyn, this recipe uses whipped cream & I talk about storing it in the recipe notes 🙂 N x
Hello Nagi! I’ve just baked this cake today and it turned out to be a hit with the family! I reduced the sugar by 25% reduction and baked for 35 mins at 170 but cake still turned out moist! I also spread homemade strawberry jam in between the layers and the contrast with the cake and the mildly sweet whipped cream was perfect. Thank you for this beautiful recipe!
Hello! If I’m baking it one cake at a time instead of putting two tins into my oven at one go, are there any changes to the baking time and temperature? Also, what’s the temperature for baking the cakes? I couldn’t find it…
Hi Ally, you’ll need to make the recipe in two halves as once you activate the raising agent it will need to be baked. Bake as per the recipe – oven temp is noted in step 1 of the instructions. N x
Hi Nagi, if i were to use 2 x 6″ cake pans instead of 8″ ones, what would be the measurements? Thank you!
Hi Isabella, I’d reduce the servings to 9 – enjoy! N x
Thank you for replying! I didn’t know i can change that! 🙂
Hi Nagi, I’d love to make this cake for my son’s birthday but I only have one 9″ tin. Would it be too much batter for that? I know I would have to increase the baking time and decrease the temperature as well? Thanks!
Hi Ana, yes you wont get the lift unfortunately – I’d make the recipe in half anda do it in two batches. N x
Thanks! Probably I need to buy another tin.
are you able to just used slated butter instead of non-salted butter and not add salt either?
if that makes sense
Hi Viv, you can, just omit the salt from the recipe. I just prefer to use unsalted butter so I can control the amount of salt going into any recipe. N x
hello Nagi,
I love your recipe. i wonder if i could add cocoa powder in the cake ingridients? and also just stick with the original 2 cups cake flour?
thanks,
I’m usually intimidated by Asian sponge cake recipes. This recipe was so easy to make. The cake was moist and delicious without the frosting.
I’ve never made a sponge cake before, this was an absolute hit (and the best sponge cake I’ve ever tasted) with everyone – a rare occurrence in our household. 😁 Thanks
Hi if I make this recipe in 2 x 8 inch pans. How many pounds will that be in total?
Hi Nagi
Can you recommend the best Vanilla Essence I tried an ALdi one- no good. I have always used Queen
Hi Dee, I’ve always used Queen brand. N x
I’m a little confused the flors is 1 3/4 cup and that 265 gm and the sugar is 1 1/2 cup and that 330 gm
Hi Rajavi – that’s because flour is lighter than sugar and will weight less per cup.
I love your recipes. Can I add food colouring to this recipe.
Sure can Rishita! N x
Can almond flour be used instead of flour and cornstarch? Same amount of butter?
Hi Rhonda, unfortunately that wont work here sorry and will make the sponge too dense. N x
HI Made it it tasted lovely but is was more a butter cake consistency than sponge. The method is completely different than other sponges I have made. Did i do something wrong ( followed the recipe but used the stand mixer
Hi Michele, was the texture similar looking to the pictures? N x
Hi Nagi! I want to make this cake for my son’s first birthday. Do you it is achievable without stand/hand held mixer?
yes it was, it just wasn’t the texture of a sponge.
I just made this cake for my sons 9th Birthday today ! SOOOO yummy all our family loved it 🙂 Thank you ❤️
Wahoo! I hoe he had a fabulous birthday Pati! N x
i have a 9.5 inch pan and i want to make a single layer what should i do?
Hey Nagi, can you help me. . . how much coco would you suggest to make this a chocolate sponge 😬🍫😋 xx thank you for your delicious recipes
Can I use 9 inch pan?
Fabulous, made a single layer 9×12 and decorated as a US fla for July 4th using fresh blueberries, strawberries and whipped cream. Will be making again. Love your recipes, I am obsessed. 😉
Hi Angela, you can ,you’ll just have a slightly shorter cake. N x
Hi Nagi, thanks for this amazing recipe! What would you recommend for a single 10 inch pan? If possible, I was hoping to slice it as well to get two thin cake layers.