How to make a sponge cake taste delicious

[LemonChiffon]

I have to make a vanilla sponge cake this evening. I use a basic sponge recipe and buttercream icing, and it always tastes kind of 'meh'. But I went to a wedding a while ago and they served sponge cake, and it was absolutely delicious! What is the secret to great tasting sponge cake?

Thanks in advance!

(also I've now written 'sponge' so many times the word looks weird! 😂)

Marg gives a lighter cake, butter gives a better flavour hence my reasoning that half and half works best 😀

Good quality free range eggs
Vanilla bean paste if you're using vanilla
Season your flour with a good pinch of sea salt
Golden caster sugar to add depth of flavour
I come down on the side of baking spread to give a better rise, softer sponge & more consistent texture but if you go for butter, use the creaming method & beat until all the sugar is dissolved (rub a bit between your fingers to test)
Yy to using swiss meringue buttercream - it's faffier to make but tastes amazing!

Passionfruit Sponge Cake is awesome and pretty easy. I made this for a meeting of the Country Women's Association (an Australian group of fearsomely good bakers) and it went down a treat

Feather sponge cake with passionfruit icing | Women's Weekly Food (womensweeklyfood.com.au)

I was taught the same recipe but different method! We add 1/2tsp of baking powder (for 3 eggs) and bung it all a bowl and simply beat together. It's perfect everytime. I made it with DH once and I honestly took more time greasing and lining the tins than he did making the batter!

I like a simple vanilla butter cream (follow instructions on the side of icing sugar box and add a splash of milk if needed for right texture) and fresh raspberries or strawberries. Freshly whipped cream it the ultimate choice I think, but has a much shorter shelf life and has to be kept in the fridge.

Not a sponge and not designed for children, but plain and simple (like a sponge) with a great flavour and texture and not sickly sweet:

www.nigella.com/recipes/lemon-polenta-cake

Are we veering into Genoise territory here?

I'm just

Equal weights method for a Vicki Sponge.. good amounts of vanilla. Simple Chantilly cream and jam filling. The cake is the star.

Milk cake if it is going to be plastered in frosting. Either mascapone frosting or Ermine Frosting.... Depending on how structural the frosting needs to be.

Do a fat free sponge instead, use some nice juice to moisten it and fill with whipped cream and jam or fruit. Much better.

@mathanxiety weellll…. agreed it could be with the melted butter and whisking the eggs and sugar together. But amounts and ingredients the same , just a variation on method, the sponge he showed looked like a Vicky sponge! He said it just gave a softer better rise! I am going to try myself as I have never seen this before..

I agree with @Unescorted mascarpone filling always gives a better flavour, less sickly. Also, at the beginning, beat sugar and butter until they are white.

This is all what I'd say.

I use the 6, 6, 6, 3 method mentioned above. Free range eggs, stork, baking powder, good quality vanilla paste and a splash of butter-milk. Mix ( with paddle attachment)it all together in my Kitchenaid for few minutes , pour into tins and then oven. I use the same recipe for cupcakes.....it never fails me and is super quick and most of all is delicious!

My foolproof recipe is 66663 or 8884 depending on size requirement
plus generous amount good quality vanilla, slightly more baking powder than recipes usually state (I do a heaped tsp or two) and some milk to loosen. I find that the milk and not overcooking is the key to avoiding dryness.
i sometimes use stork, sometimes butter

Stork or any kind of baking butter is far superior to proper butter for baking a sponge in my opinion. It’s much lighter.

Real proper butter for buttercream everytime but not in the sponge itself.

Other than that, best quality vanilla extract, beating the sugar and marge together thoroughly and not over baking.

Thank you so much everyone!

I made the cake and it was delicious, the best I can remember making!

I whisked the butter and sugar together with an electric hand whisk. I whisked the eggs separately, added vanilla to the eggs, then whisked them into the batter. I then folded in the sifted flour with a spoon. I also whisked the butter cream together which gave it a fluffier texture than usual.

I'm definitely going to always make cakes like this from now on, and will investigate the other suggestions too!

Thanks again 😊