A basic sponge cake for beginners

Published 11 November 2026

A light sponge is the base for birthday cakes, cupcakes and tray bakes alike, and once you have mastered one you can vary it in dozens of ways. Good results mostly come down to soft butter, eggs added slowly and a light hand with the flour.

Ingredients for two 20 cm tins

• 4 medium eggs
• 225 g soft butter, plus extra for greasing
• 225 g caster sugar
• 225 g self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons milk
• Jam and a little icing sugar, to finish

Weighing it out

We set the quantities using the fuzavuze weigh-in, as we call it. Four medium eggs in their shells weigh roughly 225 g, so we weigh the eggs first and then use the same weight of butter, sugar and flour. It keeps the mixture in balance even when the eggs are a little larger or smaller than usual.

Mixing the batter

1. Heat the oven to 180°C, or 160°C for a fan oven. Grease two 20 cm round tins and line the bases with baking paper.
2. Beat the butter and sugar together for 3 to 4 minutes, until pale and fluffy.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a spoonful of the flour with each to stop the mixture curdling.
4. Sift in the rest of the flour with the baking powder and fold it in gently with a large metal spoon, then stir in the milk.
5. Divide the batter between the tins and smooth the tops. Don't eat the raw mixture, as it contains raw egg and raw flour.

Baking and checking

Bake on the middle shelf for 20 to 25 minutes, and keep the oven door shut for at least the first 15 minutes, as a rush of cold air can make the cakes sink. They are done when they are golden, have shrunk slightly from the sides of the tins and spring back when pressed lightly in the centre. A skewer pushed into the middle should come out clean.

Cooling, filling and storing

Leave the cakes in their tins for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack and peel off the paper. Let them cool completely before filling, or the jam will soak in and the layers will slide. Sandwich them with jam and dust the top with icing sugar. Kept in an airtight tin, the cake stays fresh for about three days. If you add a fresh cream filling, keep the cake in the fridge and eat it within a day or two.