Sponge Cake I
A fuss-free vegetarian built around raspberry jam and food coloring — roughly 65 minutes start to finish, and rated medium to make. Scroll down for the ingredient checklist, a serving scaler and unit converter, and the method broken into 7 steps.
You'll mainly reach for oven and whisk. At medium difficulty across 7 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, it's meat-free.
What you'll need
Shopping list (2)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
🔁 Unit converter
How to make it
- Heat the oven to 180 C (350 F) and grease two 20 cm round sandwich tins, then line the bases with circles of baking parchment.
- Beat the softened butter and superfine sugar together with an electric whisk for 3 to 4 minutes until the mixture is pale, light and fluffy.
- Crack in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and adding a spoonful of the flour if the batter looks like it is curdling, then beat in the vanilla extract and a drop or two of food coloring if using.
- Sift the self raising flour and baking powder over the bowl and gently fold them in with a large metal spoon, loosening with the milk to a soft dropping consistency that falls easily off the spoon.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two tins, level the tops with a spatula, and bake for 22 to 25 minutes until well risen, golden and springy when pressed lightly in the centre.
- Cool the cakes in their tins for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack, peel off the parchment and leave until completely cold.
- Spread the raspberry jam over one cake, sit the second cake on top, and finish with a light dusting of icing sugar through a fine sieve.
You'll use: Oven · Whisk
Ingredient substitutions
- Butter
- olive oil (¾ the amount) · coconut oil · margarine
- Eggs
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce (baking) · 1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water per egg
- Milk
- any unsweetened plant milk · ½ cup evaporated milk + ½ cup water
Tips & common questions
How long does Sponge Cake I take to make?
About 65 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 7 steps and 10 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of butter?
Try olive oil (¾ the amount). See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
Is Sponge Cake I vegetarian?
Its ingredients contain no meat or fish, so it's suitable for vegetarians. Check any cheeses for animal rennet if that matters to you.
Related recipes
Sponge Cake I is an original recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Chocolate cake and Victoria sponge.jpg by Acabashi, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top — how we source recipes.