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!!)
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!
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
Hi Claris, I would try 1.5 x the recipe. It freezes well so perfect to make in advance! N x
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
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.
Hi Nagi,
Instead of using milk, can I substitute that 1/2 cup for heavy cream (cooking cream)?
Thank you:-)
Hi Yulie – it will be too heavy in the sponge – id use half cream/half water. N x
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
**** it’s an almost 8 inch cake pan
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.
Hi Mira – not the canned cream, it’s thickened cream/heavy cream 🙂
Any brands of heavy cream that you could recommend to me??
Thanks!
would the strawberries stay fresh?
Hi, I’m wondering if you can make mini sponges with this recipe??
Hi Ebony, I store this up to 3 days successfully 🙂 N x
THIS IS AN AMAZING RECIPE… I added about 1/2 cup less sugar and about 1/4 cup more flour to the mixture!! I was sooo impressed on how light it was!!! I totally recommend to everyone!!!
That’s great to know it still worked Josia!! N x
Love love mega love it. The recipe is so good. Fluffy, moist, yummmm.
I reduced sugar to 250g, added: 130g of white chocolate melts.
Baked with one rectangular pan.
Oh my, was so heavenly and I couldn’t stay away. Even my partner was like… woow…
What a great sub Nonny, love this idea! N x
Hello Nagi,
I am excited to try this recipe for my sons second birthday, just wondering how to and if I can freeze it if I make it a week or so before hand, and if it will affect the texture?
Hi Nagi, you are right about the half and half being too heavy. I tried it, knowing it was quite risky, and it just didn’t work. In a pinch, would evaporated milk work? Thank you for the amazing recipes! Your recipes are always incredible!
Hi Nagi, thank you for yet another 5 star recipe! I have made this cake a few times previously, and it always turns out great! Is half and half an acceptable substitute for the milk, or is too heavy? It is all I have on hand.
Hi Michelle, it may be slightly too heavy here unfortunately – N x
Followed the recipe to a T and it turned out perfect! Thank you!
Excellent Rania!! N x
I cooked this beautiful sponge for my husband’s birthday. It was the best sponge I have ever cooked.Thankyou..It will certainly go into my favourite recipe cookbook now.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Cath!! N x
This sponge cake recipe was the best I have ever had. I followed the recipe directions exactly as written. The recipe was easy to follow and the cake turned out perfect. I did not assemble the cake like pictured, although it looks beautiful. I decided to cut each layer separately into pie shape cuts, topped each slice with fresh strawberry’s that I cut up and let macerate in a little sugar for a few hours. Then I topped each slice with a dollop of fresh whipped cream. The juices from the strawberries soaked into the cake and it was plate licking good. Each cake layer will cut into 8 large pie shape slices. The left over cake I just wrapped up tightly and served over the next 2 days, it was still moist and fresh tasting. We enjoyed all the strawberry sponge cake we could eat over the past 2 days. Thank you. This will be my new go to sponge cake recipe.
I would like to bake the cake using three 10″pans. How should I alter the proportions of ingredients?
Hi N. I’d double it just to be safe 🙂 N x
Thank you for this recipe! I decided to use 6in round ponds instead and they turned out well. If anyone is interested, the batter was enough to fill 3 6 x 2in round pans! I did have to bake it longer, for about 35 minutes but other than that, it’s a great recipe. Can’t wait to ice it tomorrow!
Great to know Natalie! N x
Most delicious sponge I think I have ever made!
That’s great to hear Becci! N x
Hi Nagi,
Can I use Buttermilk instead of normal milk?
Hi Sarah, I haven’t tried with this one sorry – buttermilk may quite be too heavy for this light sponge – N x
Hi Nagi! If I halve the recipe, what size pan should I use? Thanks!
Hi Caroline, if you halve the recipe but still want two cakes, I’d use a 6″ pan – N x
Hi, I wanted to make this for my mum’s birthday which is coming up but I don’t have any cornflour or cornstarch left. I was wondering if there was anything I could substitute it with?
Hi Christine – I talk about this in the recipe notes – you could alternatively use 2 cups of cake flour. N x
Sorry, I should’ve been more clear. I forgot to mention: I live in Australia and I can’t actually find any cake flour at supermarkets so that’s why I was wondering.