Sponge Cake
One eight-inch cake. You can bake this in a smaller or larger tin, but the rise may vary. It’s a very forgiving recipe! See notes below for further details.
Ingredients:
For the cake —
4 eggs
54 grams of neutral oil
170 grams of sugar
90 grams of all purpose flour
For the whipped cream —
180 grams of heavy whipping cream
15 grams of granulated sugar
Instructions:
For the cake —
Cut out a piece of parchment round for your baking pan. Do not oil or butter your pan! The cake will come out - I promise.
If you want your whipped cream to be flavored in any way outside of using an extract, diffuse it into the heavy cream now so it has time to sit and marinate for maximum flavor. A couple examples of this can be tea leaves, coffee beans, etc. Whatever you want!
Preheat your oven to 325F/162C.
Dissolve 170 grams of sugar in 1/4 cup of water and bring it to a boil. You can do this in a microwave or on the stove.
Separate your 4 eggs yolks from their egg whites. If you have a stand mixer, place your egg yolks into the stand mixer bowl and your egg whites in another one. We will be whisking our egg whites to stiff peaks later, so be mindful of what bowl you want to use for those now.
Once your sugar is boiling, slowly pour it into the whisked yolks while constantly whisking. We want to avoid making scrambled eggs. You can do this in a slow drizzle or in increments. If using a stand mixer, keep it at a medium speed.
Whisk your egg yolks for 8-10 minutes. This might take longer if you’re whisking by hand. We are seeking pale egg yolks that are stiffer (almost like a thick foam), have risen twice as much, and the bowl should feel slightly above room temperature to the touch.
Add 54 grams of a neutral oil (I use vegetable) to your yolks. To make sure it’s completely emulsified, take 1/4 of the yolks and whisk it into the oil, then return that 1/4 back to the main mixture of eggs. Fold it in gently.
Sift the 90 grams of AP flour into your yolks until there are no lumps.
Returning to your egg whites, add a pinch of salt to them and whisk until you have stiff peaks.
Once you have stiff peaks, add them to the egg mixture making sure you don’t beat it too much! We want to keep as much volume in this as we can since it’s a sponge cake.
When the mix is evenly combined, pour this into your unoiled, unbuttered baking tin. Bake it at 325F/162C for 40 minutes until puffed and the cake top a light brown.
Depan this cake immediately after it comes out of the oven by first running a knife around the tin! After depanning, let this cool to room temperature on a wire rack.
For the whipped cream —
In a chilled bowl ideally over an ice bath, add 180 grams of heavy whipping cream and whisk until you have soft peaks.
Add the 15 grams of sugar as you whisk, in small additions.
Once you have denser peaks, add in your desired flavors or extracts. Be careful with pouring this in. I’ve had some experience where dumping it in can cause damage to the peaks I’ve worked hard to whisk!
Taste and sweeten as necessary.
Cake Assembly —
I like to keep it simple and slice the cake in half horizontally.
Add a layer of your whipped cream to the center layer or simply dollop on top.
Decorate as desired.
Notes:
Use this as a base recipe and add whatever flavors you want. In the past I have added ube extract, fresh mango, strawberry, matcha, hojicha, and Thai tea flavors to this cake. You can add these flavors in powdered form, as an extract to the cake base, or add it into the whipped cream. Being mindful of how much of the dry or wet ingredients you’re adding to the base is my only precaution. If you’d like to see this recipe in action, I have a TikTok recording of it here!
Drop a note through my contact page if you have any questions or suggestions, and please let me know if you end up using this recipe! I’m always happy to troubleshoot as needed.