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.
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.
Caitriona says
Brilliant recipe. Always get complimented on it. I add a few drops of Sicilian lemon flavour instead of vanilla and it is unreal. Thanks for the recipe.
Melissa says
Hi, I am planning on using this recipe to make a christening cake. The tin I’m going to use is 10″ and 3″ deep but i’ve read a few comments saying this didn’t work as well in a deeper tin.
I did originally plan to cook one cake and cut it into 2, if I split the mixture in half, how much should I reduce the cooking time for?
Also just to make sure I’m using the calculator right, I would only enter ‘1 layer’?
Charlotte Oates says
The original recipe assumes that the mixture is split in half and cooked in two sandwich tins so if that’s the approach you decide to go for, then the 30-35 minutes specified in the original recipe is the right time. If you decide to go for one deep tin then it’ll need 45-50 minutes, although, as you’ve read the results of using a deeper tin are more inconsistent so I’d recommend splitting it.
Regardless of whether you want to make two layers in one deep tin and split it after baking, or cook two layers in sandwich tins you’ll need to enter 2 for the number of layers into the calculator. If you’re only planning on making a single thinner cake (or you only have one tin so need to make the two later separately) then enter 1 layer to get the required ingredients.
Heather says
This was far far too sweet (even for my children) and very dense. I would say reducing the sugar content would help a lot with the consistency and also with the taste.
Charlotte Oates says
I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy it. Can I check – did you use the grams or cups measures?
Sasha says
Hi Charlotte,
I just wanted to thank you so much for this recipe. I’m very much a home Baker however took on the task of making my friend’s wedding cake (she wanted a semi naked Victoria sponge) I needed to feed 50and alongside the ease of this recipe, your conversion chart & guidance re tin size helped me so much in creating a 4 tiered beauty. There were a lot of compliments. So, from the bottom of my heart, thankyou for this delicious recipe & brilliant advice. I’m just about to make a single tier for my son who cannot get enough cake at the moment xx
Linda Battisto says
Hi Charlotte, I am making a dinosaur cake and I am using a 2L stainless steel bowl to create the body. Can I double up on the quantities of this recipe and do you think it will work?
Charlotte Oates says
You can increase the mixture. However, it sounds like you’re planning to make a much deeper cake, which I found doesn’t always work as well with this recipe.
georgia rose says
can I freeze this cake and then defrost and decorate ?
Charlotte Oates says
Yes you can. Wrap it in clingfilm to protect it in the freezer.
Jess bennett says
Hi I’ve made this a couple times now and mine seems to keep sinking in the middle whilst in the oven. I’m not sure what I am doing wrong. I also used one 3inch tin and cooked it for longer.
Charlotte Oates says
I find the results using a deeper tin can be mixed. Some people seem to have no problem and others experience the problem you have. I would suggest splitting the mixture into two tins as that always has consistently good results.
Cindy says
What temperature are the cakes to be baked at ?
Charlotte Oates says
160C or 140C fan or 320F or Gas Mark 3
Amber Friedler says
WhAt is the serving size for this cake please?
Charlotte Oates says
This cake serves 12
Hannah says
Hi Charlotte I am making this cake for my sons first birthday, just wanted to ask what jam do you use? Also what fondant do you use? I want to make a 4 layer cake as it’s to serve 20 people also sorry to ask so many questions I want to make the white chocolate frosting would I put the frosting in the middle with the jam? Thank you c
Charlotte Oates says
I don’t always use jam, but if I do it’s either raspberry or strawberry.
I would also add buttercream in the middle as well as the jam.
Hannah says
Thank you so much for your reply, you are so talented your cakes are so pretty , thanks again x
Caroline says
I use this cake recipe *every* year – I love it. But this year, my son has requested a massive rainbow cake. If I add a whole heap of food colouring gel to the mixture will I need to change anything else about the recipe? Extra flour? Then I just need 6 of them.piled on each other….
Charlotte Oates says
As long as you use the gel colours they’ll be no need to change the mixture. You may want to consider making each layer thinner as six layers this size will be huge! You could use the mixture for 4 layers to make 6. If you do this you’ll need to reduce the cooking time to 20-25 minutes.