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!!)
Amy says
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,
Sandy Ku says
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.
Michelle Saunders says
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
Amna Waseem says
Hi if I make this recipe in 2 x 8 inch pans. How many pounds will that be in total?
Dee says
Hi Nagi
Can you recommend the best Vanilla Essence I tried an ALdi one- no good. I have always used Queen
Nagi says
Hi Dee, I’ve always used Queen brand. N x
Rajavi Agarwal says
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
Nagi says
Hi Rajavi – that’s because flour is lighter than sugar and will weight less per cup.
Rishita says
I love your recipes. Can I add food colouring to this recipe.
Nagi says
Sure can Rishita! N x
Rhonda says
Can almond flour be used instead of flour and cornstarch? Same amount of butter?
Nagi says
Hi Rhonda, unfortunately that wont work here sorry and will make the sponge too dense. N x
Michele Glassenbury says
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
Nagi says
Hi Michele, was the texture similar looking to the pictures? N x
Nazneen says
Hi Nagi! I want to make this cake for my son’s first birthday. Do you it is achievable without stand/hand held mixer?
Michele Glassenbury says
yes it was, it just wasn’t the texture of a sponge.
Pati Korzeniak says
I just made this cake for my sons 9th Birthday today ! SOOOO yummy all our family loved it 🙂 Thank you ❤️
Nagi says
Wahoo! I hoe he had a fabulous birthday Pati! N x
zavia says
i have a 9.5 inch pan and i want to make a single layer what should i do?
Kerrie says
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
Angela says
Can I use 9 inch pan?
Lori says
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. 😉
Nagi says
Hi Angela, you can ,you’ll just have a slightly shorter cake. N x
Mics says
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.
Claris says
Hi Nagi, loving every recipe that I have tried so far!
I’m going to try and make this for my daughter’s birthday. I’m thinking of making a tall cake with buttercream frosting. If I use a 6inch tin x 4 layers how much of the recipe would I need?
Does the sponge freeze well? As I would like to make the cake in advance. Thx!
Kerrie says
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
Nagi says
Hi Claris, I would try 1.5 x the recipe. It freezes well so perfect to make in advance! N x
Coral says
Hi please can you tell me how many grams is 1/4 cup corn flour as it doesn’t say in the recipe. Thank you
Kameel Naiker says
I baked this cake today for my niece’s birthday. She requested a vanilla sponge with fresh cream. My brother was going to buy one but I said I would make it. I followed the recipe ingredients & method exactly as per the recipe. I only adjusted the temperature & cooking time to suit my oven. I haven’t even put the cream & strawberries on but I already know that it will be delicious!! I trimmed the top of the cake off and my husband & I can’t stop eating it!! Nagi, I recently discovered you on Instragram and have made several of your recipes, all of which have been absolutely delicious and loved by my family. Thank you so much 🙂 Regards, Kameel.
Yulie Liyanage says
Hi Nagi,
Instead of using milk, can I substitute that 1/2 cup for heavy cream (cooking cream)?
Thank you:-)
Nagi says
Hi Yulie – it will be too heavy in the sponge – id use half cream/half water. N x
Zoe says
Hi Nagi, I’m doing this tomorrow but just have one cake pan. Can I put it all into the one? It’s an almost 8 inched lol
Zoe says
**** it’s an almost 8 inch cake pan
Mira says
HI I really want to ask what is whipping cream? Is it in the can spray whipping cream or something else? Can you please tell me.
Nagi says
Hi Mira – not the canned cream, it’s thickened cream/heavy cream 🙂
Mira says
Any brands of heavy cream that you could recommend to me??
Thanks!