Sponge cake recipe for a birthday cake

A successful birthday cake starts with a good base, and what could be better than a fluffy sponge cake? Simple to make and light, it allows you to create recipes that are sure to please the little ones.

In this guide, we’ll show you the recipe for sponge cake to make your birthday cake!

Equipment and ingredients

Before going into the details of how to make it, let’s first look at the equipment and ingredients you’ll need.

For equipment:

• a large salad bowl
• an electric or manual whisk
• a spatula (“Maryse” type)
• a kitchen scale
• a sieve or fine strainer
• a round cake tin (approx. 20 cm in diameter)
• baking paper
• an oven

Ingredients (for a 6-person birthday cake):

• 3 eggs
• 90 g powdered sugar
• 90 g sifted flour, preferably type T45
• a pinch of salt
• butter or oil to grease the pan, if you’re not using baking paper

Recipe for sponge cake

Here’s the detailed sponge cake recipe for your birthday cake.

First, to save time, preheat your oven to 180°C (gas mark 6).

Whisk the eggs with the sugar

Butter and lightly flour your baking tin, or line it with baking paper to facilitate removal from the mould. For a successful sponge cake recipe, also sift the flour into a bowl to avoid lumps.

Break the eggs into whole pieces in a bowl. Add the powdered sugar and whisk the mixture in a bain-marie. To do this, place it over a pan of boiling water. This will help the mixture rise.

Continue whisking until the sugar has dissolved.

Remove from the bain-marie, then whisk vigorously, with an electric whisk if you have one, until the mixture whitens and triples in volume. It should form a ribbon as it comes off the whisk.

Stir in flour

Continue the sponge cake recipe, adding the flour in batches. Gently fold into the mixture with your spatula.

To avoid the mixture falling back, use upward and downward movements.

Once the mixture is homogeneous, pour it into your mold. Smooth the surface with a spatula if necessary.

Baking sponge cake

Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 20 to 25 minutes. The sponge cake is cooked when it is lightly browned and a knife or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

During cooking, avoid opening the oven door to prevent it from falling back. Keep an eye on it too, to prevent it from becoming too dry.

Once out of the oven, wait 5 minutes before carefully unmolding the sponge cake.

Let cool completely on a wire rack before garnishing or decorating.

With this quick and easy sponge cake recipe, you can now make all kinds of birthday cakes. Its softness will seduce your guests, while its simplicity will allow you to personalize it according to your desires!