Classic Sponge Cake

25 minutes

This recipe is from Delia's Cakes.

This is where it all begins: what I am aiming to do here is get you started on cake making.

Once you have mastered the art of the classic sponge cake you can then move on to all the variations and never look back. The best bit is that from now on you are going to know just how easy it is.

The Delia Online Cookery School: Watch how to make Classic Sponge Cake, just click the image to play.

Got a question on Delia's recipes? Ask Lindsey

Ask a Question

Sponge cake with whipped cream filling.

Asked by: Steve C

Hello, When making the Classic sponge Cake, how much whipping cream is needed for the filling if this option is used? Many thanks,

Answered by Lindsey: Hello, I’d do 150ml double cream for an 18cm cake or - 200ml for a 20cm. Best wishes Lindsey

Wanting to make a deeper sponge cake

Asked by: Daniel

I have just made double quantities of the all-in-one Victoria sponge cake in order to get a decent rise in two 8" tins. I know Delia's recipe says single quantity into two 7" tins but that just doesn't produce a fat cake! Am I doing something terribly wrong? Grew up with Delia on Noel Edmonds Multi-Coloured Swap Shop. Kudos. Daniel

Answered by Lindsey: Hello Daniel, Did you use large eggs? We find that large eggs are often a bit on the small side. I always pick out the largest ones in the box (preferably at least 73g each). Delia’s sponge cakes are not like any of the very deep sponges you see everywhere nowadays. The proportion of filling to sponge is important so the recipes have been developed with that in mind. This classic sponge cake video is worth a look is you have 5 minutes. We still do 2 eggs for an 18cm and 3 eggs for a 20 cm but we know that a 4 egg recipe will fit in the 4 cm deep, 20cm tins for a deeper sponge. Or you could line the sides so they are higher and do a 5 egg sponge mixture. Best wishes Lindsey

Victoria Sponge

Asked by: maddy.yokling

When making the all in one Victoria sponge, my cake mixture bubbles up and goes flat in the oven. Why does it do this?

Answered by Lindsey: Hello Maddy, It could be that your oven is running too high. An oven thermometer is an inexpensive and useful gadget. Or, might you be cooking with the oven set on fan? If you are, you could try baking your next sponge using conventional top and bottom heat. If you only have a fan option you should reduce the oven temperature by 20 degrees. If you haven’t already done so, you might like to look at our Cookery School Lesson on Sponge Cake. Best wishes Lindsey

Method

All you do is sift the flour and baking powder into a roomy mixing bowl, lifting the sieve quite high to give the flour a good airing as it goes down, then simply add all the other ingredients.

Now, using an electric hand whisk, combine them for about 1 minute until you have a smooth creamy consistency. Next divide the mixture between the two prepared tins, level off using the back of a tablespoon, and bake near the centre of the oven for about 25 minutes. The cakes are cooked when you press lightly with your little finger and the centre springs back. Remove them from the oven and after about 30 seconds loosen the edges by sliding a palette knife all round them out onto a wire cooling tray.

Now carefully peel back the lining by gently pulling it back. Lightly place the other cooling tray on top and just flip them bother over so that the tops are facing upwards (this is to prevent them sticking to the tray). When cooled, sandwich them together with any sort of preserve or lemon curd, with or without fresh whipped cream (in the summer, fresh berries and cream make a superb filling). For a final flourish, dust the whole cake generously with icing sugar. Store in a tin, or if you are using cream, in a polythene box in the fridge.

You can also watch how to make a classic sponge cake on our Online Cookery School Video on this page.