This Chinese Sponge Cake is extremely soft, fluffy, and easy to make at home. Surprisingly, you only need six ingredients. There's no need for separating eggs or any of that fancy stuff. Just whip everything in a stand mixer, and I promise you it will be one of the softest cakes you will ever eat.
Chinese sponge cake was one of my favorite desserts growing up. My family would go to Chinatown on the weekends, and we would always stop at the Chinese bakery to pick up a few slices. My favorite way to eat them was with whipped cream and some fresh strawberries on the side.
This recipe actually comes from one of Grace Young's cookbooks, but I've modified it slightly. The original recipe was steamed, but I decided to bake it instead. I also added some oil to make the crumb even softer. I love pulling up a chair next to the oven and watching the batter rise slowly. Some might call it a waste of time, but it's like meditation to me.
How long to whip the eggs?
The time in which you whip the eggs is very important. Most of the cake's rise actually comes from this. In my experience, it takes about 4-5 minutes of whipping in a stand mixer to get it to the right state. You know the eggs are ready when they are fluffy, paler in color, and look billowy like a marshmallow. Something like this:
Flipping upside down
After baking the cake and resting it for 5 minutes, you want to flip the cake upside down to prevent it from deflating any further. It's completely normal for a cake to deflate a little bit after baking, but if you flip it upside down, gravity will help the cake hold its shape as the crumb cools down.
Chinese Sponge Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (about 142g)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 5 large eggs
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons oil
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325°F and line the bottom of an 8-inch wide, 2-inch deep cake pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.
- Add the eggs to a stand mixer bowl with the whisk attachment. Whip for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and continue whipping for 2-3 minutes until it has tripled in volume. Stir in the vanilla extract and oil.
- Gently fold in the dry ingredients in three separate additions. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl as you do this to get all the flour incorporated.
- Pour the mixture into the cake pan. Tap the cake pan on the counter 10 times to deflate large air bubbles.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Transfer the cake to a wire rack and let the cake rest in the pan for 5 minutes. Invert the pan onto a wire rack and let it cool completely for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, run a knife along the edge of the pan to release the cake. Enjoy!
Paula
Very easy/ uncomplicated to make. Several other recipes had so many ingredients and steps! This turned out light, fluffy, delicious. Made it for the first time and took it to a get together!
Grumpy
Yay Paula! So glad you enjoyed it.