A sponge cake is a delicious, light and airy cake whose simple preparation style has made it popular with cake buffs throughout the world. Sponge cakes are sweet without being overly sweet.

Ingredients required in a Sponge Cake Recipe:

• Two cups of powdered sugar.
• Two cups cake flour (Plain flour one and half teaspoons baking powder added).
  
• Two cups of butter (softened).
• Three eggs.
• Half a cup of milk.
• Vanilla essence.

How do we make a Sponge Cake?

• Sift the flour and mix the butter and sugar until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy.
• Pre-heat an oven to 170 degrees C.
• Gently add the eggs, one at a time, beating it thoroughly, each time an egg is added.
• Add the flour slowly and keep stirring the mixture. Continue this process till all the flour has been added.
• Add milk till the batter reaches a drooping consistency.
• Add the vanilla essence.
• Grease a baking container. Pour the mixture into this tin and bake it in the pre-heated oven for half an hour.
• Let it cool and garnish the sponge cake with icing sugar.

Your sponge cake is ready for the dining table.

Sponge Cake Recipe:

Ingredients:

• One cup of sugar.
• One cup of butter. (Unsalted)
• Four eggs.
• Two tablespoons warm water.
• Half teaspoon of vanilla.
• Two cups cake flour.
• Two teaspoons of baking powder.
• Quarter teaspoon salt.

How to Prepare?

• Mix the sugar and softened butter well for about five minutes.
• Add eggs to the mixture of sugar and butter one at a time. Beat well after adding each one of the eggs.
• Add the water and vanilla to the above mixture.
• In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt.
• Add half of the flour mixture to the rest of the other bowl consisting of sugar, butter, water and vanilla.
• Mix the above and then add the rest of the flour mixture.
• Beat the mixture until the cake batter becomes shiny.
• The mixture should also turn white in colour. The longer you mix the batter, the more bubbles in the cake will be created making it lighter. This step in the sponge cake recipe should take approximately 15 minutes.
• Pour this sponge cake batter into two round cake pans which have been previously greased flour.
• Bake the sponge cake in a preheated 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven for about half an hour. The sponge cake should pull out gently from its sides.
• It will be golden in colour and spongy in its texture. It must also spring back when ever it is touched.
• To be sure that the sponge cake is prepared, put a toothpick through its center and make sure it comes out clean.
• Do not open the oven while the sponge cake is baking.
• Remove the sponge cake from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for about 10-15 minutes. This must be done before removing the cake from the cake pans.
• The cake must cool completely before frosting it.
• Though frosting on a sponge cake is optional, plain sponge cake recipes are delicious by themselves.

Once the frosting is done, your sponge cake is ready for the table.

- Shishir Rao

A lemon sponge cake is an easy to prepare flavored sponge cake which gives a hint of lemon flavour to the delicious sponge cake.

Ingredients required in a lemon sponge cake recipe:

• Half a tin condensed milk.
• One-fifty grams of self raising flour.
• One level tea spoon of baking powder.
  
• Half tea spoon of soda-bi-carbonate.
• 60 grams of melted butter.
• Half a cup of lemon juice.
• Half tea spoon of vanilla essence.
• Half tea spoon of lemon essence.
• Four tea spoons of powdered sugar.

How do we go about making our lemon sponge cake?

1. In a large bowl, sieve the flour, baking powder and soda-bi-carbonate.
2. Vigorously mix the butter, condensed milk, sugar and flour.
3. To the above mix also add vanilla and lemon essence.
4. Grease the cake tin and put a lining of butter paper in it.
5. After that, pour the flavoured cake batter into the tin.
6. The oven must be preheated to 180 degrees C.
7. Bake the prepared mixture for about half an hour.
8. To check if the lemon sponge cake has baked properly, insert a toothpick through its center.
9. It the toothpick comes out clean, the sponge cake has baked properly.
10. Place the cake on wire racks and leave it to cool there.

Your lemon flavoured sponge cake is now ready to serve.

Lemon Sponge Cake Recipe:

Ingredients:

• Zest from half a lemon.
• One cup of sugar.
• One cup of butter. (Salted)
• Four eggs.
• Two tablespoons warm water.
• Half teaspoon of vanilla.
• Two cups cake flour.
• Two teaspoons of lemon juice.
• Two teaspoons of baking powder.

How to make:

• Blend the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer and continue blending until the lemon zest is fine.
• Mix the above in butter well for about five minutes.
• Add eggs to it, one at a time. Beat well after adding each egg.
• Add the water, lemon juice and vanilla to the above mixture.
• In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt.
• Add half of the flour mixture to the rest of the other bowl consisting of sugar, butter, water and vanilla.
• Mix the above and then add the rest of the flour mixture.
• Beat the mixture until the flavoured cake batter becomes shiny.
• The mixture should also turn white in colour. This step in the flavoured sponge cake recipe should take approximately 15 minutes.
• Pour this sponge cake batter into two round cake pans which have been previously greased flour.
• Bake the lemon sponge cake in a preheated 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven for about half an hour. The sponge cake should pull out gently from its sides.
• The flavoured cake will be golden in colour and spongy in its texture.
• To be sure that the sponge cake is prepared, put a toothpick through its center and make sure it comes out clean.
• Remove the sponge cake from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for about 10-15 minutes. This must be done before removing the cake from the cake pans.
• The cake must cool completely before frosting it.
• Frost the lemon sponge cake by lemon glaze.

Your lemon sponge cake is now ready to serve.

- Shishir Rao