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.
Jude Brown says
I tried this recipe for my daughters 2nd birthday and it was fabulous, thank you. We made a “wheels on the bus” cake.
One question, could you substitute the margarine for butter? If so, would it be the same quantity?
Charlotte Oates says
Yes, butter is absolutely fine (same quantity). Just make sure you allow it to soften at room temperature before you use it to ensure it mixes in well.
Charlotte Pritchard says
Hi Charlotte. I’m thinking of giving this recipe a go for a birthday cake I’m making for my sisters 40th birthday. It’s going to have miniature bottles of Vodka on the top of it so will be carrying quite a lot of extra weight. Do you think this recipe will be suitable?
Charlotte Oates says
It depends on how many you’re planning to use. It’ll be absolutely fine to add 3-4 of the mini bottles, but if you’re adding a big pile it might be too heavy.
Charlotte Pritchard says
Will be 4 max! I’ll give this recipe a go then, thanks 🙂
Margrietha says
Perfect. Needed a vanilla cake to decorate for my bosses birthday when a colleague asked if I would make one…exactly what I needed, looks great, rose well and easy to decorate. Really great recipie, thank you for posting. And your sons cake turned out amazing!! Great job!!
Angeka says
I made this cake and used black currant jam and vanilla cream for the filling and did s light layer of vanilla cream on all outer edges and then covered in fondant icing can honestly say best birthday cake ever!!!!!
Charlotte Oates says
I’ve not tried it with blackcurrant jam before, I’ll have to give it a go sometime. I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it 🙂
Chloe says
This looks wonderful! I want to try baking a 12 inch version of this cake for my daughter’s birthday party. I have no previous experience of doing such a large cake (or much cake baking experience at all really!). Is this a madeira or a normal sponge? My research tells me that a madeira cake is better for larger cakes and decorations.
If I put buttercream on top would the cake keep for 2 days in a plastic storage container out of the fridge (the weather is very cool at the moment)?
Thank you!
Charlotte Oates says
I’ve not made a 12″ one, but I’ve known others who have and have said it turns out well. I have made something a similar size in a rectangle and it worked well for me. This is a normal sponge, not a Madeira (which has more flour and is a little firmer. As long as you stick to 2-3 layers and don’t put anything too heavy on top you should be fine with this sponge.
It will keep absolutely fine for 2 days in this weather.
Rupal says
Hi charlotte, I have just baked this cake for my girls birthday tomorrow and was wondering how I would store the cake after decorating with buttercream and fondant? Thank you.
Charlotte Oates says
Preferable you should store it in the fridge. However, I always store mine covered at room temperature (unless the weather is very hot like we had last summer) and it’s always absolutely fine.
Megan says
Is it just a strawberry jam layer in with the buttercream or what is it ? Thanks
Charlotte Oates says
It’s raspberry jam.
Danielle McGarva says
I absolutely Love this Recipe Only one i have used On my Birthday cakes, I’m in the middle of doing my sons cake for his birthday tomorrow He can not wait Thanks charlotte xx
Steph Nimmo says
I love this recipe. The cakes always turn out beautiful and moist. This is the only recipe I use now when I make birthday cakes.
Carol Pugh says
Just used this recipe to make unicorn birthday cake. Perfect ly cooked
Anya Rowe says
Absolute and utter tosh.
Cake sunk in the middle like I’ve never seen before. Followers recepie to the letter.
Just. NO
Claire says
Love this recipe! Easy to follow, really tasty and not too sweet.
I made a beehive 3-tiered cake for my daughters 1st birthday using this recipe and your cake ingredients calculator – had so many compliments so thank you!
Rachel Williams says
Hi Charlotte
I love this birthday cake recipe so much and have used it 4x now! Can I just ask, once it’s been decorated with fondant icing, how it is best stored? I’m tempted to put it in the fridge but not sure!
Thanks
Rachel
Charlotte Oates says
It’s a good idea to store it in the fridge if you’ve used buttercream, however in winter I find mine are always fine at room temperature for about 4 days (as long as it’s not right in front of a radiator). If you do store it in the fridge then take it out a bit before you want to serve it as it tastes best at room temperature.
Lucie Near says
Hi Charlotte,
This cake looks amazing. I just have a few questions…
It the cake quite moist? I just love traditional birthday cakes and really want to make one that tastes like that and this looks like just the one!
It’s my son’s birthday on boxing day and would like to make the cake in advance. Is this recipe freezable and would I need to wait for it to fully defrost it before adding the filling and icing?
What filling would you recommend for the vanilla cake?
My son has type one diabetes, what portion size of cake is the nutritional information for? I couldn’t see a weight, unless I’ve totally missed it!
Thanks so much and I hope I can do your recipe proud.xx
Charlotte Oates says
Yes, the cake is quite moist.
Yes, you can freeze the cake. Wrap it in clingfilm to protect it and then defrost it before decorating.
It’s really up to you what you fill with. I usually go for vanilla buttercream (and sometimes a little jam too), but you could opt for whipped cream (and again some jam if you like) or as vanilla goes with most other flavours, any of my other buttercream flavours (take a look at my “everything sweet” recipe index for the full selection.
The nutritional information shown is for 1/12 of the cake and is for the cake only (not the icing, nutritional information for the icing can be found with that recipe). I don’t know the weight per portion (sorry). Also, as stated with the nutritional information it is estimated as a rough guide (it’s based on the nutritional information provided on the packets of the individual ingredients used). The nutritional information can vary according to exactly which brands you use. I would, therefore, recommend checking the nutrition of each of the ingredients you use.
Lucie Near says
Great, thank you so much. Merry Christmas to you and your family.xx
June says
Fabulous recipe and delicious but I found the cake to be very crumbly and difficult to cover in buttercream before icing. The cke was breaking up.
Charlotte Oates says
That’s a shame. If you find a cake a bit soft in future, I’d recommend chilling it before adding the icing as this will help to firm up the cake and should stop that happening.
June says
Thanks Charlotte i will try that next time
Lucinda says
Hey this looks great! I just wanted to check – does it have to be margarine or can it be butter? Thankyou x
Charlotte Oates says
Butter is fine, just make sure you let it soften a bit so that it mixes in properly.
Hayley says
I have really little experiencing in baking and used this recipe and the cake turned out perfect. Was really tasty too. Will be trying the chocolate one next. Thanks
Simon Leigh says
I love this recipe and use it twice for my children. It is simply and tasty.
This years incantation is Steve from Minecraft in a Lego Mould for my 9 year old son.
Now if there were only a way that was as simple as this recipe to decorate him!
Thank you Charlotte
Simon Leigh says
That should be twice a year btw
Charlotte Oates says
I’m so glad you like the cake. I wish icing were easier too, I need to have created hulk bursting out of a cake in the next week. Fingers crossed it goes OK!
Sarah Price says
Hey
I’ve not made this cake before but wondered if I could sub the vanilla for lemon essence to make it lemon flavoured. Someone told me to add a really small teaspoon of lemon curd to the mixture too, do you have any experience of this? X
Charlotte Oates says
Add some lemon extract would definitely work. To make my cake lemon I usually leave out the vanilla and grate in the zest of two lemons.
Gabi Bailey says
Charlotte,
Just wanted to say thank you sooooo much for this recipe. I made it for my son’s 4th birthday party and it was awesome!
I made 2 tiers, used your converter as well for the small tier. The cake was so moist and really good. It went down a treat. Will definitely be back for more ideas.
Jessica Rylatt says
Hi how long do you bake if you want one full cake rather than 2 sections? Thank you
Charlotte Oates says
It should take 45-50 minutes.