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.
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
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
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.
Jenny says
Thanks for this recipe. I’ve just done a trial run for my daughters birthday and it’s yummy! Easy to make too!
Thanks again.
Charlotte Oates says
Excellent, I’m so glad to hear it. I hope your Daughter has a lovely birthday x
michelle says
thank you for you help Charlotte will give it a go.
michelle says
Hi, I’ve stumbled across your page and I’m definitely going to try your sponge for my daughters birthday cake which I am tempting to do this week for her party. Can I ask a couple of questions as this is my first time in making her cake.
1/ how far in advance can I make the sponge her party is on Sunday?
2. after the filling do you crumb coat it before putting the fondant icing on?
Many thanks
Charlotte Oates says
Hi Michelle, I usually bake the cake two days before and then decorate it the day before. However, we usually have some left over and it still tastes good a few days later so you’d be fine to make it a little earlier if you wanted. If you want to bake the sponge further in advance you could wrap it in cling film and freeze it until it’s needed.
I always put a decent layer of buttercream underneath the fondant. It helps to get the fondant smooth and it adds to the flavour of the cake too.
Ally says
Thanks Charlotte, I am trying a 10″ with your recipe so fingers crossed that it tastes as good as the 8″, I totally messed up the buttercream with my last bake by adding too much milk which made it runny, not going to make that mistake again. Thanks again for a great recipe for a great tasting sponge.
Charlotte Oates says
Thanks Ally,
I hope the 10″ goes well. Don’t be surprised if it takes a little longer to cook, check it at the usual time and then pop it back in for a bit longer if it needs it.
I’ve made that mistake with buttercream before too. I was in a hurry so used it anyway and it dripped off the cake into a big puddle at the bottom ( still tasted good though!). I hope your next batch goes better.
Ally says
Hi Charlotte, Just tried your sponge recipe and it was delicious the only problem I had was with the ready made fondant I covered it with, as it felt quite sticky, never had this problem before any ideas????
Charlotte Oates says
Hi Ally, I’m really glad you liked the sponge.
If I find my fondant getting sticky (if I overwork it or add a lot of food colouring) then I’ll sprinkle over some icing sugar and that makes it much easier to work with.
Keeley says
Hi Charlotte. I’m making a large rectangular cake today. I have 2 x 21cm square tins which I’ll be doubling up on. So any ideas on quantities for a 21 X 42cm cake?
Charlotte Oates says
Hi Keeley. To make a cake 21x42cm you’ll need roughly 1.5 times the ingredients listed. If you have a look at my reply to Melissa above you’ll see the measurements for 1.5x (they start with 335g self raising flour). I hope this helps and that you enjoy the cake.
Ellie. says
Hi Charlotte,
Sorry if this question has already been asked but can you use butter instead of margarine or would margarine be the better option?
Thanks. x
Charlotte Oates says
Hi Ellie, I’ve always made it with margarine but it should work fine with butter. Just make sure you take it out if the fridge before you want to use it so that it is soft.
Ellie says
Thanks. Used margarine and unveiled the cake today decorated with green icing and a gruffallo cake topper I made with fondant icing for my sons 3rd birthday using jam and your butter cream icing as the filing. It was YUM!!!! Thank you so much for posting the recipe. Has given me a new found cake making confidence 😉
Charlotte Oates says
Thanks Ellie, I’m so glad you all enjoyed it 🙂
Cheryl says
Hi Charlotte, love the cake, I’m not a baker and this will be my first attempt for my daughters 1st birthday. What brand of margarine and flour did you use?
Charlotte Oates says
Thanks Cheryl. I use stork margarine and whatever flour I happen to have in the cupboard (usually tesco own brand).
Melissa says
Hi there.
I would like to use your recipe for a birthday cake, but need it to serve up to 20 people. Please could you advise what size tin I should use and how I should adapt the recipe?
Thank you.
Charlotte Oates says
Hi Melissa, are you hoping to make a round cake or rectangular? How many layers would you like?
Melissa says
Hi Charlotte, thanks for the quick response! I would like it to be round and 3 layers. I am attempting a piñata cake!! Fingers crossed!!
Charlotte Oates says
Hi Melissa,
It’s a bit tricky with a piñata cake as it depends how much sponge you remove from the centre, it also depends whether you’re feeding young children (who only need a small slice) or adult who may want something a bit more generous.
With a 20cm cake tin each person could have a slice about 3cm wide (at it’s widest point) which given it’s 3 layers I’d imagine should be plenty for everyone to have a decent sized slice. If you’re unsure if that would be enough then you could go up to a 25cm tin which would give everyone a slice 4cm wide (at it’s widest point) which I’m sure would be plenty.
If you decide to go for the 3 layer 20cm cake then simply multiply all of the measurements by 1.5…
335g self raising flour
3 tsp baking powder
6 eggs
335g soft margarine
335g caster sugar
9 drop vanilla extract
3 tsp milk
If you decide to go for the larger 3 layer 25cm cake you’ll need…
500g self-raising flour
4 tsp baking powder
9 eggs
500g soft margarine
500g caster sugar
14 drop vanilla extract
4 tsp milk
I hope this helps x
Melissa says
Fantastic!! Thank you! Do I need to increase the baking time also?
Thanks 🙂
Charlotte Oates says
The baking time should be fine as the layers are the same thickness. Check it with a skewer at the end of the suggested time and you can always pop it back in for a couple more minutes of it’s not quite done.
Aileen says
Thank you for your recipe. I used it to make my son’s birthday cake yesterday. We have just had a piece and it is delicious, nice and light and goes well with the icing. It was my first ever attempt at using rolled icing on a cake. He wanted a Football Shirt. My days of just using buttercream or ganache are over.
Charlotte Oates says
Thanks Aileen. I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I have to say I prefer the flavour of buttercream or ganache but I love how creative I can be with fondant.
Irma says
What do you suggest inside please
Whipped double cream and strawberry jam or butter cream ( which I don’t know how to make ) thx
Charlotte Oates says
I usually use jam and buttercream (you can find instructions to make it here). As I decorate the cakes they’re made a day or two in advance and I find buttercream keeps much better. It would also work well will jam and whipped cream if you prefer, but I’d add this in the day you plan on serving it.
Joyce says
My 2 8″tins won’t fit side by side on my middle shelf how would you suggest I bake them
Charlotte Oates says
Either make 2 lots of batter and cook them separately, or put one above the other on separate shelves. If you take the second option you’ll probably find that the bottom one takes a little longer to cook than the one at the top.
Irma says
I am just making it and wonder what it will be like
I doubled the mixture but used a bit more milk by mistake
Then devised and mixed food colouring in one
They re in the oven and I m so nervous !
Charlotte Oates says
I’ve not tried it with extra milk so I’m not sure how it will turn out for you but I hope it’s OK. Let me know how it goes x
Donna says
Hi Charlotte,
This looks great – do you have any recommended ingredients/recipe for the buttercream filling?
Charlotte Oates says
Hi Donna. You can find my buttercream recipe here
Preeti says
hi Charlotte
I wanted to make a larger cake 10″
Can you give the ingredients for larger sizes please?
PS This looks fantastic!!!
Have you done a rainbow/marble effect sponge?
Charlotte Oates says
Hi Preeti,
I’ve not made this as a 10″ round cake as we only have small family parties so we don’t need too much! However, I’ve just done some sums and these quantities should work…
400g self-raising flour
3.5 tsp baking powder
7 eggs
400g soft margarine
400g caster sugar
3.5 tsp milk
10 drop vanilla extract.
Unfortunately I’ve not tried this as a rainbow/marble effect (although now you’ve mentioned it I want to give it a try).
I hope this helps x
Jenny says
Hi, I love this recipe and have made it lots for birthdays. I’m looking to do a 2 tier next time, how would I do the measurements for a smaller one?
Thanks.
Charlotte Oates says
Hi Jenny. What sizes do you want your tiers? If you let me know then I’ll work out the measurements for you x
Jenny says
I was thinking the 8 inch for bottom and 6 inch for the top.
Thank you. It’s for a princess cake
Charlotte Oates says
Hi Jenny. For the 6″ cake you’ll need half the ingredients of the 8″… 115g self raising flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 2 eggs, 115g margarine, 115g caster sugar, 3 drop vanilla extract and 1 tsp milk.
Carol erkan says
Hi is this for both layers or would I need double this for 2 layers.?
Charlotte Oates says
This is for both layers.
Honest mum says
Your cake is gorgeous, it’s so accomplished, wow! Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays
Charlotte Oates says
Thanks Vicki.
Just deciding what to write up next, for this week’s #tastytuesdays
Alison says
That looks totally amazing, well done! I bet the boys were impressed
Charlotte Oates says
Thank you Alison.
My two year old recognised the characters which made it worthwhile (he was more excited about eating the cake though. I think he would have been happy if I’d left it plain as long as he could eat it!)
Caroline (Becoming a SAHM) says
Wow that cake looks amazing! You cant beat a good simple sponge for cakes like that, great informative post 🙂 #tastytuesdays
Charlotte Oates says
Thanks Caroline
I agree birthday cakes are best with a simple sponge. It’s great for carving up to make shaped cakes too.
Irma says
I looked and looked for birthday cake recipes for 3 days and stopped at yours , as it sounded like the sponge I make and I know it already. Fingers crossed they re in the oven
I used food colouring too as my son likes red cakes 🙂
Charlotte Oates says
Thanks Jean, I’m so glad you like the blog and it means a lot to me that you keep coming back to see what I’ve been up to xx
Charlotte says
Hi Charlotte. I would like to make a rectangle cake for my sons 1st birthday. TheAll in one is great and I have seen quantities for this shape on your site. How would you suggest I decorate re icing? As your all in one does not mention step by step for this and I would love some guidance …. 🙂 thanks
Charlotte Oates says
Hi Charlotte. What type of icing are you planning on doing? Fondant, buttercream or something else?
Charlotte says
Probably fondant. What would be easier?
Thanks 🙂
Charlotte Oates says
Personally I like to use fondant as it’s much easier to get the cake looking how I want. I also put a layer of buttercream underneath as I prefer the flavour of buttercream and it also helps get the fondant smooth.
If you decide to put buttercream underneath, let it set a bit before adding the fondant. Make sure you roll your fondant out bigger than the size of your cake as it’s far easier to get it neat around the bottom. Once it’s rolled out place it loosely on top of the cake and work your way around the cake carefully lifting the bottom and the smoothing it down around the side of the cake with your hand, you want to try and avoid creasing it. Once it’s flat on the cake, trim the bottom with a sharp knife. I sometimes find I have some bits that are a bit rougher looking than I’d like, that’s where carefully positioned decorations come in!
If you decide to go for buttercream it’s best to use two coats. Do a thin layer, let that harden and then put a thicker layer on top. The thin layer underneath should help prevent you getting crumbs in the top layer and therefore help you to get a smoother finish.
If you’re not too sure what you’re doing the I’d really recommend watching some tutorials on You Tube, seeing someone demonstrate these things is so much better than just reading it.
Becky says
Hi Charlotte,
I would love to try your recipe for my daughters birthday cake, can I use butter instead of margarine?
Charlotte Oates says
Yes you can, just make sure you take it out of the fridge a bit before you want to use it to let it soften.
Charlotte Hamilton says
Hi if I use silicone cake tin do I need to line are greese it?
Charlotte Oates says
I’ve not tried it. I’d imagine it should come out OK but personally I’d err on the side of caution and line it just in case.
Lucy Parissi says
That looks amazing! I must admit I have no patience (or skills) to create anything like this and so my hat off to you… My son would love something like this. Thanks for linking to #CookBlogShare
Charlotte Oates says
Thanks Lucy. It took me about 7 hours (including making the cake) so a lot of patience needed. Most of the time when I’m decorating a cake I want to give up about halfway through when something’s just not looking like it should, the thought of my boys seeing the cake on their birthday keeps me persevering.
Mel says
Charlotte, your cake looks amazing! I am so impressed. I have never done anything like this and I think I would be too scared. Great suggestion for the scales. I have the same ones and I wouldn’t get anything else. They are perfect!
Charlotte Oates says
Thanks Mel, I’m glad you liked it.
The scales are great aren’t they, mine get very well used. I liked mine so much I bought my Mum some too!