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.
Amber says
Hi. Might sound silly, but are your cake tins those thin sandwhich tins or normal size cake tins please?
Charlotte Oates says
Sandwich tins.
Jenny says
Lovely easy recipe.
Have you tried freezing it? Does it freeze ok?
Charlotte Oates says
Yes. If you take a look at the FAQs (linked just below the main recipe). You’ll find some more info on freezing.
Jacqueline says
Always perfect every time
Mary says
Can the vanilla birthday cake be baked in a dome shape using a Pyrex bowl and if so would any adjustments be needed to the cooking time ?
Charlotte Oates says
I’ve not tried it. It should work, but you may find it could sink in the middle if it’s a deep pyrex bowl. The cooking time and ingredient quantities needed depend on the size/depth of the bowl. Can you supply a bit more info?
Anita says
I made this cake and they turned out fine but they weren’t an even surface like the video they rose in the middle ? I would consider my oven a hot oven so maybe it was the temperature?
Charlotte Oates says
I suspect you’re probably right about the temperature. It might be worth getting yourself an oven thermometer to check your temperature if you think it runs a little hot. They’re very inexpensive from somewhere like Amazon.
Tiffany says
Tried this twice and both times the middle didn’t rise.
Everything in the recipe was fine, my baking powder is fine as I used the same stuff for cookies 3 days ago which had risen fine. Never opened the door of the oven until finished so I have no idea what’s went wrong.
I have baked a cake from BBC good food before and it turned out perfect.
Charlotte Oates says
I’m sorry to hear the cake didn’t turn out as you expected.
To try and help me to figure out what might have happened, it would be great if you could answer a few questions…
1) Did the cake not rise at all in the middle, or did it sink after baking? If it sank after baking it could be that you added too much baking powder meaning that is roe too much and then didn’t have the structure needed so sank. The baking powder should be measure with a measuring teaspoon which should be level.
2) Did you bake the cake in 2x 20cm sandwich tins as per the original recipe or did you use a different size of tin?
3) Is there any chance your oven runs a little on the cold side? (over temperatures can vary and can go a bit out of alignment over time). If it does then that could cause the cake not to rise in the middle.
Sam says
Hi, this is basically a victoria sponge, do you have a more longer lasting vanilla recipe, not quite a madeira but somewhere between the two?
Charlotte Oates says
How long are you hoping the cake will last? This sponge is fine for around a week after baking.
Cherish says
Hi Charlotte,
Could I use butter instead of margarine?
Thanks! x
Charlotte Oates says
Yes, just make sure it’s soft at room temperature.
Lisa says
Hi Charlotte
If I was to use a 10” tin would I need to double this recipe?
Thank you
Lisa x
Charlotte Oates says
If you have a look below the recipe there’s a link to my calculator which will tell you the ingredients you need for any tin size.
Pippa says
Hi Charlotte, do you know how many children this would serve? (Roughly!) Thanks x
Charlotte Oates says
It depends on the age/appetite of the children. It serves 12 adults so I’d say double that for a small child’s slice.
Steph says
Hi, I am planning on making a cake for my son’s birthday next month, and will use this recipe as it seems simple 🙂 for the figures is it blocks of fondant icing that you use? And is it food colouring that you would use for the different colours?
Thanks.
Charlotte Oates says
I usually buy white fondant and colour it so I can get the exact shade I want. I use gel food colours (these ones, but anything similar will be fine). If you’d like to know a bit more about how I make my fondant figures then take a look at this tutorial.
G says
Can I replace margarine with butter?
Charlotte Oates says
Yes, just make sure it’s had time to soften at room temperature so that it mixes in well.
Claire De Almeida says
The best cake I’ve made – my go to recipe now!
Sheralea says
I’m making this cake for my nephew I’ve done two layers absolutely fine went and did the third layer exactly the same recipe and it sank in the middle my husband followed the recipe too and his was even worse.. what are we doing wrong as I made one layer just to check for taste and was gorgeous.. gutted because I need another layer and it to be iced by Saturday.. help!! ♀️
Charlotte Oates says
Hmm that’s a bit of a mystery as the first two were fine. Did you halve the ingredients to make the third layer?
agnes says
Just made this cake because my 18 year old son likes cakes,He almost finished the cake for the rest of the family.
I must say,it is super yummy coz i ate the rest.The ingredients are enough forr one layer.Thanks for the recipe
Carol Davies says
Thank you so mutch you’ve answered every question I had becsuse im just learning i wont be askinf anyone else from now on your so helpful
Kat Inkley says
Just wanted to say, I tried this exact recipe for a 12″ by 9″ tin. Used your cake calculator (which came out the same as your one above. But gave me a 1 layer cake).
Worked a treat!
Cheryl says
Hi Charlotte, absolutely love this recipe in the 8inch.
I am using the calculator and I have two 6 inch tins and I want the cake to have four layers, do I put two layers or four layers in the calculator my plan is to cut the cakes in half.
Charlotte Oates says
If you only want four very thin layers (so half the height of the ones shown) then use the ingredients for 2 layers to make 4. If you want them thicker then use the ingredients for 3 or 4 layers. If you choose to use the mixture for 3 or 4 layers, you’ll need to increase the cooking time.
Jennifer says
Hello, if you make this or the chocolate birthday cake, how tall should the cake end up roughly? Would it turn out taller if it was made in two separate tins? Thanks
Charlotte Oates says
Each sponge is about 3cm tall. I find cakes rise better split into sandwich tins rather than using one deep tin so that’s what I always recommend.
Alison says
From a non baker: Followed this recipe twice for my twins second birthday cakes. Thank you for providing a very simple all in one recipe which surprised everyone (including me) when it worked a treat and I was able to create Peppa pig and George shaped cakes. There’s a first time for everything and now I’ve set a high bar for all their future birthday cakes! Thank you x