Name: Vanilla Cream Sponge Cake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1 cup granulated sugar; 1 cup butter (softened); 4 eggs; 1 cup all-purpose flour (Plain flour); 2 teaspoon baking powder; 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract; 3 tablespoons milk; 1¼ cups heavy whipping cream (UK-Double Cream); 6 tablespoons powdered sugar; 1 teaspoons vanilla extract; 1 tablespoon skimmed milk powder; 2 cups mixed berries of your choice.

This easy recipe for Vanilla Cream Sponge Cake is perfect for any celebration. This vibrant cake made with whipped cream icing and fresh berries looks impressive but is super simple to make.

Serve this beautiful cake with Stabilized Whipped Cream that won’t lose its shape or flatten out for days.

This Vanilla Cream Sponge Cake is the perfect dessert to welcome summer! It’s an English inspired, made from scratch, super simple cake that trust me, people won’t soon forget!

If you’re a lover of yellow cake, this recipe is definitely for you! Like a traditional yellow cake, sponge cake should be light, fluffy, and taste of butter and eggs. This cake fits the bill perfectly.

Why This Recipe Works:

The buttery vanilla flavor of the sponge cake lends a delicious richness.
The fresh berries and whipped cream icing adds a welcome freshness.
It’s an easy cake recipe that even the newest bakers can master.

This is my son’s favorite cake. I make it every year for the 4th of July. He calls it ‘Twinkie Cake’. He says that this cake tastes like the best Twinkie you’ll ever have.

He’s right – This cake is what a Twinkie should taste like because it’s made with fresh ingredients and no preservatives.

The cake is my go-to cake recipe. It’s a simple vanilla sponge cake that is absolutely delicious. I also use it for my Victoria Sponge Recipe. It’s a quick and easy recipe that is a real crowd-pleaser and it always comes out perfect!

Here’s How to make it:

Start with creaming the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

the butter and sugar creamed together

Add all of the remaining ingredients. The rest of the ingredients added to the creamed butter and sugar

Beat until just combined. The mixed cake batter

Split the batter between 2 greased 8 inch round pans. The batter in the pans ready to bake

Bake for 25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. The baked cakes cooling in the pan on a cooling rack

Cool on cooling rack for at least 15 minutes then remove cake from pan. Meanwhile, prepare the whipped cream by placing all of the ingredients in a food processor (or mixer).

The whipped cream ingredients in a food processor ready to mix

Beat until smooth and thick.

The whipped cream mixed in a bowl

You’ll know it’s ready to use when you run a spoon through it and it doesn’t collapse into the crevice.

a spoon running through the thick whipped cream

It’s that simple! Once the cake is cooled. Place the first layer on a cake plate and top with half the cream.

The bottom layer topped with whipped cream

Place the top layer and top with the remaining cream and arrange the fresh berries however you wish.

The top layer topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit

You can top it with any fruit you’d like or serve it without. I think it’s perfect for any Patriotic holiday because it’s so simple to arrange and decorate.

Vanilla Cream Sponge Cake on a cake plate topped with fresh berries

Baker’s Tips For Perfect Sponge Cake:

For best results, line the pans with baking paper and grease well. This is a moist cake that may stick to the pan if not prepared correctly.
Have your ingredients measured and ready before you begin any mixing. Measure out all the ingredients so that when you start mixing you can work quickly. This prevents over-mixing the cake or leaving the cake mixture sitting too long. If the cake batter stands too long, the cake will start to lose air and result in a flatter cake.

Always preheat the oven before you start so you don’t leave the batter sitting too long (see above) and arrange the shelves in advance – sponge cake bake best when in the middle of the oven.
Ensure your ingredients are at room temperature. Cold eggs do not mix as easily and will not hold the same volume of air as room temperature eggs. If the butter is too cold, it won’t mix as well into the sugar and may cause over-mixing, which may result in a heavy cake.

Tips for the perfect whipped cream icing:

Don’t over-whip – Whip the mixture only until thick. Over whipped cream may flatten faster.

Tips for using fresh fruit on cakes:

Before using fresh fruit on a cake, be sure to wash the fruit well. Then dry the fruit thoroughly before placing on the cake. Wet fruit can bleed into the frosting and become mushy quicker.
Arranging the fruit: Add larger fruit first then fill in the decoration by size and finish with smaller berries to fill in gaps.

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Update Notes: This post was originally published in June of 2015, but was republished with step by step instructions, new photos, and tips in June of 2018.