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Sponge cake has been my arch-nemesis. Over the years, I have tried many variations, had many failures, and had many delicious successes. I could never decide which version I loved best, which is why I’ve never shared this recipe with you. Even during the testing of this recipe, it was a choice between three recipes.

I knew what I wanted from a sponge cake, but I never knew what the sponge cake wanted from me.

A sponge cake should be:

1. Spongy
2. Delicious

Sponge cake should not be:

3. Eggy and fresh
4. Hollow or sunken in the middle (raw, undercooked or issue with raising agent, opening oven, bake on middle rack)
5. Raw and undercooked (oven temperature too low or oven needs recalibrating)
6. Overcooked, dark (too high temperature)
7. Dry (not enough wet ingredients or too much dry or overcooking)
8. A huge dome on top—don’t mind this but many do (too high temperature and too much raising agent)
9. Cracked on top (too much-raising agent, the oven is too hot—it has risen too quickly, pan too small)
10. Overflowing (pan not large enough or you overfill the baking pan)
11. Too heavy (overmixing or not enough raising agent); add eggs and liquids slowly to prevent curdling.
12. Too flat (overbeat flour, raising agent too old or expired)
13. Cake stuck to the sides—pan not prepared properly

TRINI SPONGE CAKE

Learn to make the perfect sponge cake every time

5 from 48 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Caribbean, Trinidadian

Keyword: Sponge Cake, Trini Sponge Cake

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 1

Servings:

Calories: 240kcal

Equipment

6 or 8 Inch Cake Pan
" class="wprm-recipe-equipment-link" target="_blank">measuring cup
Measuring Spoon
Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer
Cooling Rack

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour 12 oz
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cardamom optional
1 tsp Himalayan salt
4 eggs large, room temp (9oz)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 sticks butter 8 oz, 227g. 1 cup (tested with Kerry gold)
1 cup granulated sugar 8 oz 228g
3/4 cup evaporated milk or whole milk or orange juice

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Pre Heat oven to 177 C/350 F/Gas mark 4. Grease and line bottom of baking pans (6, 8 or 9 inch) with parchment paper or prepare using butter and flour—doing so lightly on the sides.
Place sifter in a bowl, add in flour, baking powder, cinnamon and cardamom. Sift, whisk a couple of times to lighten and set aside.
Crack the eggs into a medium bowl, remove white bits, add rind of a lime and vanilla essence. Set aside.
In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, add butter and whisk on high for 1 minute.
Add sugar and whisk on high speed(level 2) until it is smooth, light in color, fluffy and doubled in size, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom mid-way.
Add eggs one at a time, and beat until combined, each time about 15 seconds. Scrape down sides as well to ensure that it is mixed evenly.
Divide the flour into 3 and add one third at a time mixing only until combined, alternating with the milk. Scrape down sides and mix gently with a spatula to combine one last time. Remove lime rind and discard.
Pour batter into the prepared pan, gently smooth the top with a spatula.
Place immediately in a preheated oven(middle rack), 350 degrees F, and bake 40-50 minutes or until golden, a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. The center should be springy to the touch as well. Do not open the oven for the first 40 minutes.
Remove pan from the oven and let it cool for 10 mins. Invert onto a cooling rack, remove paper and flip again.
Once cool, cut into slices and serve.