My Easy Vanilla Sponge Cake Recipe – For a 6 inch Tin

If you only master one cake recipe for your stacked cakes, make sure it’s this recipe, my easy vanilla sponge cake for a 6 inch tin. This recipe is easy, reliable and goes with pretty much any fillings and icing Flavors, there is nothing not to love about this Easy Vanilla cake.

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Vanilla sponge cake is totally underestimated as it’s so easy to make (well this recipe is anyway) and so versatile to use too. This vanilla sponge cake recipe is my go-to recipe when baking stacked cakes as it only has a few ingredients and its quick and easy to make!

My easy vanilla sponge cake recipe freezes well so you can make it in advance and pop it in the freezer to save yourself some time in the future or you even bulk bake several to freeze just in case you might need to make a cake at the last minute …. Nothing like being organised!  This is an easy, fluffy and moist cake that’s full of flavour, it’s the cake that just keeps on giving.

This recipe bakes one layer for your 6 inch cake, I always bake at least 3 layers and sometimes four layers for my cakes as I like them tall. There is no right or wrong it just comes down to your preference and also how many people it needs to feed.

What makes this vanilla sponge cake is so great?

Well first off you can’t beat a homemade cake, packet mixes and store bought cakes just don’t taste as good, well in my opinion anyway. Don’t get me wrong packet mixes are great for making cupcakes with little ones, but if you are going to make a stacked cake I think it’s important to make sure the cake inside all the icing must taste as good as it looks on the outside.

My easy vanilla sponge cake recipe is a lovely stable cake which is what makes it perfect for stacking.

This only has a few simple ingredients to create this easy, moist and fluffy vanilla sponge cake which is sure to be loved by all.

This cake goes with pretty much any filling so you can easily customise it to suit any taste buds. You could fill with Jam and buttercream, caramel and chocolate buttercream, Oreo buttercream, you get the idea I don’t need to keep listing options. Why not share on Instagram, Facebook or in the below comments what filling you went with, I would love to know. 

The tools I used

Parchment

Stand Mixer

6 inch cake tin

Spatula

Testing skewer

Ingredients For My Easy Vanilla Sponge Cake Recipe for a 6 inch tin

Single Layer

• 80 grams unsalted butter, softened
• 80 grams castor sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract or any other flavour you fancy – make it a good one!
• 80 grams self-raising flour

Double Layer

If you want a deeper cake layer you just need to double the mixture and bake this for 45 – 50 minutes, or until the skewer comes out clean.

• 150 grams unsalted butter, softened
• 150 grams castor sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tbsp pure vanilla extract or any other flavour you fancy – make it a good one!
• 150 grams self-raising flour

How to Make My Easy Vanilla Sponge Cake Recipe for a 6 inch Tin

Preheat the oven and prepare the cake pans

Preheat your oven to 160°C (320°F), fan oven setting. line your 6 inch round tin with parchment paper to prevent any sticking.

Mix your butter and vanilla extract together

In the bowl of your stand mixer, with your paddle attachment, mix your softened butter and vanilla together until combined as I find adding the flavour to your butter this enhances the flavouring.

Cream the butter, vanilla and sugar

Now add the castor sugar to the bowl and cream the softened butter, vanilla and castor sugar together using a medium speed until its light and fluffy. This process usually takes a couple of minutes, be careful not to over mix.

Add the eggs

Crack your eggs into a separate bowl before adding to make sure you catch any bits of shell that might accidently fall in. Add your eggs, gradually to the butter-sugar mixture. Beat well after each addition to make sure everything is combined well, make sure you scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so all gets mixed in.

Combine the dry ingredients

In a separate bowl sift your flour to remove any lumps and then gradually add this into your wet mixture and when this has been combined add a bit more until all has been fully combined to form a lovely smooth vanilla cake batter.

Place the batter into the 6 inch cake tin

Place the batter into your prepared cake tin. Give your cake tin a tap on the side to level the batter and then smooth over the top of your batter with a spatula. And next of course I am going to say make sure you add your baking band to make sure your cake bakes nice and level!

Time to bake your cake

Now it’s time to Bake your cake, place your batter into the preheated oven for approximately 20-25 minutes or until you can insert a skewer into the centre of the cake and this comes out clean.

Properly cool the cake

Once the cake is baked, remove it from the oven and allow this to sit in the cake tin for about 10 minutes, as your vanilla cake will still continue to cook during this time too. next, transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store or decorate

Once your cake has fully cooled it’s time to either double wrap in cling wrap and pop in the freezer or decorate for all to enjoy! If you are going to go straight into decorating, I do recommend chilling your cake first as I find it makes it easier to ice with your favourite vanilla buttercream or fondant icing, the choice is all yours.

Tips

If your cake starts to brown on the top just place a sheet of parchment over the top of your tin as this will help to reduce further browning while your cake continues to cook.

Also don’t be fooled by the fact this is called vanilla cake you can use any flavour you want to use in this cake.

Another tweak you could make, if you would prefer a slightly more caramelised taste to your cake swap the castor sugar for light brown sugar.

Storage and Shelf Life

Uniced Vanilla sponge cakes will last about 2-3 day’s depending on the climate.

Iced vanilla cakes will last about 4-5 days as the icing helps to preserve the cake.

When you freeze your cakes make sure you double cling wrap the cake.

Final Word

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do and that this now becomes your easy to make vanilla sponge cake recipe too! If you want this recipe for an 8 inch cake tin, be sure to check out my post for that too.

Happy baking, creating and making, I look forward to seeing some of your designs. If you post these on social media, please tag Party, Party, Disco as I love to see what you have created.

Don’t forget if you share your post on social media to tag Party, Party, Disco and add the #partypartydisco #PPD #imadethiswithppd.

Here Are Some Other Posts You Might Like

My Easy Vanilla Sponge Cake Recipe – For an 8 inch tin

How to make your own baking bands

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Happy baking!

😊