Easy Italian Sponge Cake (Pan Di Spagna Ricetta)

5 from 2 votes

Easy Italian Sponge Cake (Pan Di Spagna Ricetta)

Easy Italian Sponge Cake (Pan Di Spagna Ricetta) is a simple cake recipe that can be used as a neutral base to create all kinds of fantastic layer cakes filled with delicious fillings such as chocolate or vanilla pastry cream, mascarpone cream, Nutella, or even soaked in a bit of rum to make a rum cake.

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: cake, sponge cake

Servings: servings

Calories: 134kcal

Author: Lora

Equipment

1 Electric Mixer
2 9-inch baking pans

Ingredients

For the cake:

5 eggs room temperature
¾ cup sugar
1 cup flour spooned and leveled
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the filling:

1 cup of apricot jam or your favorite jam

For the topping:

Confectioner's sugar to dust the top

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour (or spray with baking spray) two 9-inch round cake pans.
Whip eggs: In the bowl of a stand mixer, start to beat the eggs with the sugar and add in the vanilla extract. I beat it on the highest speed. You could do with a handheld electric mixer, but will take double the time. The eggs need to beaten with sugar until TRIPLED in volume. It will reach a ribbon stage where it is pale yellow. It should take 10-15 minutes with a stand mixer.
Sift flour and baking powder: Sift flour and baking powder together. My mother-in-law sifts it over a large plate.
Add in flour: Start to add the flour into the egg mixture in 3 parts. You will be gently folding it in and combining it with the beaten eggs. Slowly do this part and carefully combine it all, scraping the sides and bottom of the mixer. Your goal is to not completely deflate the beaten and fluffy eggs. I use a spatula. You could use a wooden spoon. DO NOT do this part with a mixer or a whisk.
Pour the batter evenly into your prepped baking pans about 10 ounces each. I use my spatula to help get it into the pans.
Bake: Set a timer and bake for 18-20 minutes. Check on it at 18 minutes. Every oven is different and it may be ready sooner. The tops will be golden brown, no longer wet and spring back when you press on them gently.
Serve: Let the cakes cool down in the pan for 5 minutes. Gently loosen the cake from sides of the pan and then carefully flip onto a baking rack or right onto your serving dish. If you're layering with jam, spread some on in the middle with a spoon or spatula. You could also layer with pastry cream or pudding. Add the second layer of cake on top. Dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Notes

Baking powder: This is my mother-in-law's recipe. Teresa uses baking powder, so I do too.
Sift: I do not sift the flour and baking powder, but Teresa does. I whisk it together in a bowl.
Fold: I gently fold the flour into the batter. You have to be sure to get the sides and the bottom and gently combine it so you don't see any flour. It does deflate a bit as your combining it, but don't worry, it will bake up fluffy.
Line or not to line: I used to line the cake pans with parchment paper circles like Teresa does. She doesn't even butter or grease the paper. She bakes the cake and pulls the parchment paper right off when it's cooled down. I like to spray my baking pan with baking spray.
Before putting in oven: After she adds the cake batter to the pan, Teresa taps in on the counter and then puts the pan in the oven. I know some recipes do not recommend that. I do what she does.
Yield: This does yield two round cakes. You could use both like do, or you could freeze the second one. OR another idea is to half this recipe and make just one cake.
Ready: The tops will be lightly golden brown, no longer wet and spring back when you press on them gently. I can tell that it's ready just by the aroma. Keep an eye on the cake at the end because if it bakes a few minutes too long, it will get dark golden brown and the cake will be more dry.

Nutrition