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Sponge birthday cake recipe

Birthday Cake (All-In-One Vanilla Sponge)

A delicious, light vanilla sponge birthday cake recipe. Quick and simple to make and perfect for decorating to make a birthday really special. Recipe VIDEO below.
4.73 from 194 votes
Active Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 12 servings

INGREDIENTS

Metric - US Cups/Ounces
  • 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

Using a different shape or size of tin? Find out the exact quantities you need and the answers to lots of other FAQs about this recipe – BIRTHDAY CAKE FAQs.
If you’d like to make your own buttercream to fill and cover the cake you can find the recipe here – VANILLA BUTTERCREAM.
Adapted from Cake Magic by Virginia Welsh and Alison French.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Calories: 297kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 199mg | Potassium: 131mg | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 750IU | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 0.5mg

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.
Course: Dessert