Sponge Cake | Basic Vanilla Cake | Classic Vanilla Sponge Cake | Easy Sponge Cake Recipe | Sponge Cake Recipe Using Oven

Special days do need a cake right? They always brighten up the celebs and uplift your party mood. I have made a lot of cakes but this one that I'm posting today stays close to my heart. It was a cake I made recently for my parents anniversary, believe it or not it was their first anniversary cake in 35 years!! I really wanted to celebrate it this time, though not very posh, I atleast wanted a cake to be there for them this year to make the day special. They are two wonderful people and a lovely couple who have made it so long in-spite of loads of ups and downs, I have never seen them give up at any instance and I always admire them for who they are together; and how could the special day they got united be not celebrated? Without them I would not even be here blogging! So this time I was determined to bake a cake for them. I had a very little time at hand to bake and decorate the cake and I wanted it to be a surprise, so I chose to work after 1 am, coz that's when I can work alone and that's when my baby allows me to work!  I didn't want to make a fondant cake as mom hates it! and so does everyone at home, guess they are not used to it. But she loves a sponge with cream and so I decided to go for the basic sponge cake. So the cake was a moist, soft and tasty sponge frosted with rose flavored buttercream, just like the way she loves it. The next day both of them were equally excited about the cake, we had a very simple yet memorable cake cutting event. Mom and dad were in love with the cake and took large bites of it to express their happiness and also acknowledge the effort I put in. A happy day it was!! So here, I will be sharing the recipe of a basic vanilla cake, commonly called the sponge cake that has been working right for me always. If you need an eggless and butterless version click here. I have earlier posted a sponge cake recipe using oven you can check it out here.

P.S. The holes on the cake piece in the pictures is the part of the cake where I inserted the candles ;) 

INGREDIENTS

Makes a 1.5 kg cake 
Preparation Time - 20 minutes
Baking time - 45 to 60 minutes (depends on the size of you pans)

1. Maida / All purpose flour - 300 grams 
2. Sugar - 300 grams (granulated)
3. Eggs - 3 (At room temperature)
4. Milk - 200 ml 
5. Butter - 75 grams 
6. Oil - 40 ml (optional)
7. Baking powder - 1 teaspoon 
8. Baking soda - 1/2 teaspoon 

For Buttercream frosting 

1. Unsalted butter - 200 grams (At room temperature)
2. Icing Sugar - 300 to 450 grams 
3. Rose essence / Vanilla essence - 1.5 teaspoon

PREPARATION METHOD

Baking the cake

• Preheat an oven to 160 degree Celsius for 10 minutes. Grease a pan (10 inch or 8 inch pan) with butter on the inside and line with butter paper or parchment paper (i.e. place a piece of butter at the pan's bottom)
• To a pan add milk and butter and place on flame, wait until butter melts set this aside until it cools down. Then add oil and mix well. (You can skip addition of oil, but it makes the cake moist)
• Sieve or mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and set aside. (you can add a small pinch of salt it will enhance the sweetness)
• Break open eggs and beat really well in a bowl until light fluffy and pale. Incorporating more air will give you the spongy and airy texture, so beat well. Then add sugar little by little into and beat until nice and frothy. 
• Then add in vanilla or rose essence and beat the eggs for a minute more and set aside.
• Now add the flour mix to the beaten eggs little by little and fold in or stir with a whisk or spatula, if you dump it all at the same time it will form lumps. Be careful not to over stir. 
• Then add the 'milk+butter+oil' mixture and stir gently. 
• Now pour the batter into the greased &lined cake pan and bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 60 minutes. (After 40 minutes insert a wet knife or a toothpick in the center of the cake, if it comes out clean it means your cake is done. If not bake for a few more minutes) 
• Remove the pan from oven and set aside until the cools down to a bearable temperature. Then slide a knife around the cake and invert the pan slowly and cautiously to remove the cake. Place on a wire rack and let the cake cool down well before frosting. 

Frosting the cake with buttercream

• Take room temperature butter and beat well until it turns a little fluffy. Add icing sugar little by little and continue beating until you get thick buttercream that has piping consistency. Sometimes just 300 grams icing sugar will be enough, and sometimes you will need even more. See that your butter has not softened too much, it should not be cold but has to be soft at the same time. If your butter is too soft you will have to add too much of icing sugar. Add rose essence and colors and beat again until well incorporated. Put them into piping bags fitted with nozzle. Frost and pipe designs as you wish. 
• To learn how to crumb coat a cake and completely frost it with buttercream click here. 

TIP 1: Adding oil makes the cake moist and keeps it soft and moist for long, but you can skip oil and use butter alone. 

TIP 2: Reduce sugar to 250 grams if you do not want the cake to be very sweet. 

TIP 3: You can also make it more airy and fluffier by beating egg whites separately until it multiplies in quantity and forms stiff peaks and add it to the batter finally. But while adding be very cautious not to pop all the air bubbles that you have got on beating the egg whites. 

TIP 4: While adding four to the beaten egg mixture be careful not to over mix as it will not let the cake rise well. 

TIP 5: Use any of the following essence to make a basic sponge cake; Vanilla essence, pineapple essence or rose essence. In most bakeries of South India Pineapple essence is most commonly used and rose essence is the next frequently used flavoring in most sponge cakes and bakes. 

For an eggless and butterless sponge cake recipe click here!!