Moist Vanilla Sponge Cake Recipe | Easy Light and Fluffy Vanilla Cake
A light, tender vanilla sponge with a fine crumb and balanced sweetness. Perfect plain, frosted, or layered for celebrations.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups (300 g) cake flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract (or 2 tsp vanilla bean paste)
- 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk, room temperature
- Butter and flour for greasing pans
- Parchment paper for lining pans
- Vanilla buttercream or whipped cream (optional, for serving)
- Fresh berries or jam (optional, for serving)
- Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)
Instructions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and position a rack in the center.
- Grease two 8-inch round pans (or one 9x13-inch pan), line the bottoms with parchment, and dust with flour, tapping out the excess.
- Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, then set aside.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating 20 to 30 seconds after each until incorporated, then beat in the vanilla.
- With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk in two additions (dry, wet, dry, wet, dry), mixing just until no dry streaks remain.
- Finish folding the batter gently by hand 3 to 4 times to catch any pockets of flour until the batter looks smooth and silky.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
- Bake 8-inch rounds for 24 to 28 minutes (9x13-inch for 28 to 32 minutes) until the centers spring back lightly and a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges, turn out onto a rack, peel off the parchment, and cool completely.
- For clean layers, chill the cakes for 20 to 30 minutes before frosting, then fill with jam or vanilla buttercream, apply a thin crumb coat, chill briefly, and finish with a smooth final layer.
- Decorate simply with berries, sprinkles, or a dusting of powdered sugar if desired.
Notes
Pan options: two 8-inch rounds or one 9x13-inch pan. Cupcakes bake at 350°F for 17–20 minutes and yield about 24. For cake flour substitute, use 2 1/4 cups (270 g) all-purpose flour plus 1/4 cup (30 g) cornstarch, sifted. If you lack buttermilk, mix 1 Tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar with 1 cup milk and rest 5 minutes. Store unfrosted cake airtight at room temperature up to 2 days; frosted cake keeps 1–2 days at room temp or 3–4 days refrigerated. Freeze unfrosted layers up to 2 months, wrapped well. Avoid cold ingredients, overmixing after flour, and cutting while warm.