Sponge cake is one of the most versatile and easy-to-make desserts, with endless flavour combinations to experiment with. From a fruity Victoria sandwich to a rich chocolate cake, there are so many ways to switch-up this simple vanilla sponge cake recipe. Here’s the quickest way to make your own basic sponge, and the best ingredients to add in to make it even more impressive.
How to make a sponge cake
This tasty tea-time treat is perfect for the bank holiday weekend, and can be made from scratch in less than one hour from start to finish.
To make your sponge cake, you will need:
- Two 20cm cake tins lined with baking paper
- An electric whisk
- 225g unsalted butter or margarine
- 225g golden caster sugar
- 225g self raising flour, sieved
- Four large eggs
- One teaspoon vanilla extract
- A splash of milk
- Icing sugar for dusting
- Optional fillings of jam, lemon curd, whipped cream, butter cream
What to add to the sponge cakes
While the cakes can be enjoyed as they are with just a hint of vanilla, these fluffy sponges will need a solid filling to sandwich the two halves together.
Lemon curd and jam should be spread over a light layer of freshly whipped cream or a sweet buttercream on the inner layers of the cakes.
To make your own plain butter cream, you will need:
- 200g soft, unsalted butter
- 500g sifted icing sugar
Slowly add the icing sugar to a bowl of soft butter and whisk until thick and creamy.
Add a few drops of vanilla extract or lemon flavouring to change the taste of the icing, or two tablespoons of cocoa powder and a dash of milk for a chocolate buttercream.
You can add more for a deeper flavour, just make sure the consistency is balanced well to keep it thick but spreadable.
Simply fill the cakes and sandwich them together before dusting the top with icing sugar.
