My sponge cake is always dry! Help!

[musicalmama]

I want to be able to make a tasty birthday cake- nothing fancy. Just a sponge with jam, buttercream and fondant icing rolled over.

My sponge is always dry with a bit of a greasy bottom?! Where am I going wrong? Does anyone have a good recipe or tips?

Thank you!

I grease the sides and line the bottom. Use butter and cream like mad. And add a little milk to slacken. I cook at 160 not 180 as I have a fan oven and they'd be scorched at 180. I use a skewer to test the middle after about 25 mins for a standard 8 inch cake.

I've never gone wrong with this recipe. Always light and moist

https://www.bbc.com/food/recipes/maryberryssperfect34317/amp

I find taking it out 5 minutes before you think you should does the trick#

My sponges are always moist, I have a gas oven too.

Weigh the eggs in shells, add same grams of sugar, butter and SR flour, add a tblsp milk per egg. Simples ☺️

I would go back to weigh the eggs then use that measure to measure flour butter and sugar and add that splash of milk if its still dry. For chocolate I allways add Milk as the cocoa is very drying

ALso if you ar using a fan assisted oven make sure the temp is set correctly as it wants to be slightly lower in a fan oven

Line your tins really well with greaseproof paper, base and sides. I weigh eggs in their shell, then use the same weight for fat/flour/sugar Cook on a low heat with a large bowl of water in the oven. My cakes rarely fail if I do this :-)

It's one of the reasons I specifically wanted a gas oven Sophisticated

I make this once or twice a week and it's never dry. I let the eggs and butter get to room temp. before I start.

Not sure if link works. Search for BBC Good Food Victoria Sponge and you'll find it.

I read an article recently about adding a half cup of whipped cream to cake batter for moist cakes, don’t know where as it was a similar I was down an internet black hole but it might be worth googling.

When I make chocolate sponge I replace some of the flour with cocoa instead of adding cocoa to the flour.

Eggs, flour and sugar, no butter here and sponge is always fine.

Never use anything but butter for baking.

Wow so many tips to try! I also have a fan oven so maybe that's it. Will try the water tray that was suggested and also going to try the weighing of the eggs too. I think usually I use large eggs but maybe I should be using medium (or just weigh my large eggs and do the flour and butter from those measurements as suggested).

There seems to be a strong debate about stork or butter!

I will try and make a cake this weekend I think after reading all these replies.

@HereBeFuckery glycerine not heard that one before but I have some from giant bubble mixture ingredients I may try it out!