A delicious, light vanilla sponge birthday cake recipe. Quick and simple to make and perfect for decorating to make a birthday really special.
When I was a child I loved the birthday cakes my mum made and decorated for me. At my parties, I was always really proud to show off my birthday cake to my friends. In the weeks running up to my birthday, I used to look through my mum’s cake decorating book and choose the cake I wanted (actually I always chose the fairy castle, but never got it).
Now I have my own children, it’s important to me to do the same for them. Rather than choosing from a book, I let them describe what they want and then scour the internet for inspiration to achieve it (I don’t know what I’d do without Google Images and Pinterest). Today is my littlest’s second birthday so I thought it would be a good time to share with you the recipe I use for making the vanilla sponge which goes inside most of the cakes I make for my family. The recipe is adapted from a book called Cake Magic by Virginia Welsh and Alison French – the same book I chose my cakes from when I was little.
The theme I was given for today’s cake was Chuggington. I was told it must include an engine shed, three trains (Wilson, Koko and Brewster), and a turntable (they don’t ask for much!). I’m not a professional cake decorator, but what I lack in skill I hopefully make up for in enthusiasm and effort. Here’s what I managed…
If you want to take a look at the other cakes I’ve made for friends and family then visit my cake gallery.
Recommended Equipment
To make my vanilla sponge I’d recommend the following equipment…
NOTE – These are affiliate links which means that if you purchase from Amazon after clicking on one the product links below I will earn a small commission.
Accurate scales are essential when baking and I love these Electronic Scales from Salter. You can reset the weight every time you add a new ingredient which is perfect for something like this all-in-one sponge. They’re also compact so take up hardly any space in your cupboards.
If I’m making a round cake I use these tins
from Delia Smith (well if it’s good enough for Delia then it’s good enough for me!).
Instead of using greaseproof paper to line your cake tins I recommend trying these Bake-o-Glide reusable liners
. There’s no need to grease the tin as they’re easily removed, and they’re pre-cut to size so there’s no fiddling around trying to get the greaseproof cut to the right shape.
You’ll also need a large mixing bowl and an electric mixer (you can mix by hand if you don’t have a mixer just be prepared for some arm ache!).
Fancy making a chocolate birthday cake instead?
Then try my new CHOCOLATE BIRTHDAY CAKE RECIPE, it’s really chocolatey, easy to make and perfect for decorating.
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Birthday Cake (All-In-One Vanilla Sponge)
INGREDIENTS
- 225 g self-raising flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 4 eggs - I usually use medium but large also work well
- 225 g soft margarine
- 225 g caster sugar
- 6 drops vanilla extract
- 2 tsp milk
RECIPE VIDEO
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 160ºC/140ºC fan
- Line your baking tins(s) (I usually use 2 x 20cm round sandwich tins or a 20cm x 30cm rectangular tin, depending on the shape of cake I want to make).
- Sift the self-raising flour (225g) and baking powder (2 tsp) into a large bowl.
- Add the remaining ingredients (4 eggs, 225g soft margarine, 225g caster sugar, 6 drops of vanilla extract and 2 tsp milk) and beat until thoroughly mixed.
- Pour into the tin(s)
- Bake for 30-35 minutes. To check if the cake is cooked insert a skewer and if it comes out clean the cake is ready.
- Leave to cool in the tin(s) for about 10 minutes and then move to a wire rack to cool completely – Make sure the cake has cooled completely before decorating.
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Free From/Suitable For
- Suitable for Vegetarians
- Nut-Free
- Soy-Free
The ingredients for this recipe are commonly available free from all these allergens. However, please ensure you double-check allergen information for all ingredients.
I’m sharing this with the following recipe challenges… #TastyTuesdays with Honest Mum.
Sophie Gill says
Hi there,
I was just wondering how long the cake will last once iced?
I need to make it at least three days in advance, so you think it will stay moist?
Many Thanks
Charlotte Oates says
I find that the cake usually lasts about 7 days after baking.
Lauren mclachlan says
Hi,
My soon to be 8 yr old has requested a homemade cake. She needs gf flour. Should I adapt the quantities or go like for like! Also will the cooking time be the same?
Charlotte Oates says
You should be fine to switch like for like with a GF self-raising flour. Cooking time will be the same.
Fozia Javed Mahmood says
hello
can i use this recipe to make a rainbow cake?
Charlotte Oates says
Yes, although you’ll probably want to make thinner layers or you’ll have an extremely tall cake. I’d probably go for the mixture for three layers split between 5 tins. If you do this then the cooking time for the thinner layers will be about 20 minutes.
Joanna says
Hi, I would like to make this for my son who is dairy-free. I have dairy-free margarine, but could I substitute the milk for soy milk or a similar non-dairy milk, do you think? Many thanks!
Charlotte Oates says
Yes. This cake is easily adapted to be dairy-free. Switch the marg for a dairy-free alternative (I usually use Pure Sunflower, but anything similar will be fine and substitute the milk for any dairy-free alternative. I have a recipe for dairy-free buttercream which you can then use with it.
Kelsey says
Hi, planning to use this recipe to make my son’s 2nd birthday cake and just wanted to ask if I can sub the margarine for the same quantity of butter? And if so would that be salted or unsalted? Thanks in advance!
Charlotte Oates says
You can. I would use unsalted (but it won’t make a huge difference either way). Ensure you take the butter out of the fridge to soften before making the cake or it’ll be too firm to mix in properly.
Naz says
I’m baking this cake for my daughters 2nd bday too.. it’s tomorrow praying it comes out perfect x
Suzie says
Hi – used your chocolate cake recipe for my daughter and niece recently, absolutely brilliant cake, thank you! Soooo many compliments, and better than the local bakery! But niece would like a plain cake this year so I’m right back on your website getting this recipe! I tend to use butter instead of margarine when making cakes, will it be ok? Thanks!
Charlotte Oates says
That’ll be fine, just make sure it’s soft before you use it (leave it out of the fridge for a while) so it mixes in properly.
Joanna says
Hi, can you tell me how many ml is a drop of vanilla extract? Or how many teaspoons? I’m making this recipe for 2x23cm round cakes.
Many thanks
Charlotte Oates says
14 drops is around a quarter of a teaspoon.
Eliana says
Hi I have 4 7inch cake tins how much ingredient do I need to use?
Charlotte Oates says
Pop your tin dimensions into my calculator and it’ll tell you the ingredients you need.