Discover the secret to making the perfect light and fluffy chocolate sponge cake, which melts in your mouth without being overly sweet or rich. It has a great flavor and is relatively easy to make. This cake is a chocolate-lovers dream. Combining chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, what else can you ask for?
This chocolate sponge cake is light and airy, moist and tender, rich and chocolatey. These chocolate cake sponges are also known as chocolate Biskvit. It is very similar to the traditional white vanilla Biskvit except for the addition of cocoa powder and a little less flour to make those perfect chocolate sponge cakes, that serve as a base for many different chocolate cake recipes or desserts.
Table of Contents
What are Chocolate Cake Sponges?
A cake sponge is a batter made with eggs, sugar, and flour whipped to the “ribbon-stage” and risen on air bubbles formed during whipping.
Ingredients to Make the Best Chocolate Sponge Cake
- Eggs - fresh eggs especially home eggs will make the difference in how fluffy and airy you can get the batter to whip up. Make sure your eggs are fresh and room temperature before making this recipe.
- Sugar - you may use white or organic sugar for this recipe. Brown sugar will not work.
- Flour - you don't need cake flour for this recipe. Regular high-quality all-purpose flour works well.
- Cocoa powder - I prefer using dark cocoa power or organic cacao. It elevates the taste of chocolate in the cake sponge.
- Baking soda and powder - since this cake is leavening on air, it is unnecessary to add chemical rising agents such as these. Though adding them into the recipe will not ruin your cake sponges.
- Pinch of salt - it is always a good idea to add a little salt to anything, it elevates the taste of the recipe to the next level.
How to Make Soft and Moist Chocolate Cake Sponges
First thing first, gather all the ingredients. Prepare the cake pans by greasing the entire pan with butter and placing parchment paper that is cut out to fit the bottom of the pan. Turn the oven to 350°F (325 F if using a convection oven) to start preheating.
Step-by-step Instructions to Make the Perfect Sponge Cake
- Sift the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, then whisk them together to combine by using a hand whisker. Set aside until ready for use.
- Whisk the eggs and sugar until fluffy and pale in color, for about 15 minutes.
- Tips: This step step is very important. Not whipping the egg mixture long enough will yield dense, hard, and heavy cake sponges. The mixture should flow off the whisker very slowly like a thick ribbon.
- Next, add the flour mixture in 3 separate additions, and using a hand whisker or silicon spatula fold it in very carefully, and try not to deflate air pockets as much as possible.
- Divide the batter into two separate baking pans and bake.
Baking Pans and Baking Time
- This recipe requires using two cake pans. Using smaller baking pans will result in 2 tall cake sponges that you can easily cut into 2 layers each and assemble into a 4-layer cake.
- Two 8-inch cake pans baking time is 35 minutes.
- Two 10-inch cake pans baking time is 25 minutes.
- Bake in a preheated 350°F (325 F if using convection) oven, on the middle rack for the time specified above or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (do not open the oven sooner than 15 minutes into the baking process, this will disturb the cake rising and the cake sponges will not be tall and fluffy).
- After the cake sponges are done baking, remove both cake pans from the oven allowing cake sponges to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before transferring them onto the cooling rack.
- Transfer the cake sponges onto the cooling rack, and peel off the parchment paper from the base of each cake sponge. Allow them to cool completely before using them for any recipe that calls for a chocolate cake.
Recipes To Use Chocolate Cake Sponges
Now that you have mastered how to make a chocolate cake sponge base, you can create some amazing cakes and desserts. Here are a couple of recipes to try:
- Mint Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Cherry Cake
- Honey Chocolate and Strawberry Cake
- Chocolate Meringue Cake Recipe
How to Split the Cake Sponge into two Layers
- Place one hand on top of the cake to steady it and with the other hand use a knife, and begin slicing about half inch of the edge into the cake sponge with a gentle sawing motion following the line you scored into the cake, to form two even layers.
- Then using a piece of floss or a sewing string finish slicing the cake sponge in half. This is my only way of slicing cake in half because it results in perfect and even sponge slices.
- Separate the two layers.
FAQ's
Can I make sponge cake ahead of time?
Yes, of course! You can make these cake sponges ahead of time and store them in the fridge or freeze it for later.
How to freeze chocolate cake sponges?
- Wrap each individual cake sponge into saran wrap and freeze for up to 2 months.
- Individually wrapped cake sponges in saran wrap can be refrigerated for up to a week.
How to thaw frozen cake sponges?
- To defrost frozen sponge cake, place them into the fridge (do not remove saran wrap) allowing them to thaw for 12 hours or overnight.
Why is my sponge cake sticky?
Covering or wrapping the cake in saran wrap before it's completely cooled traps moisture inside, causing that sticky texture. To avoid this just let the cake sit on a wire rack until totally cool and the outer layer dries out.
Why did my sponge cake deflate after baking?
It is usually due to the loss of heat because the structure of the cake hasn't set enough to hold its shape. So, that being said, as mentioned above do not open the oven until 15 minutes into baking time. The cake sponges will not rise again even if the oven regains the correct baking temperature.
Recipe Card
The Best Chocolate Sponge Cake
Ingredients
Soft and Light Chocolate Sponge Cake Ingredients
- 8 large – eggs
- 1 cup – granulated sugar
- 1 cup – all-purpose flour
- ½ cup – cocoa
- ½ tsp. – baking soda
- ½ tsp. – baking powder
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
Step-by-step Instructions to Make the Perfect Sponge Cake
- Sift the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, then whisk them together to combine by using a hand whisker. Set aside until ready for use.
- Whisk the eggs and sugar until fluffy and pale in color, for about 15 minutes.
- Tips: This step is very important. Not whipping the egg mixture long enough will yield dense, hard, and heavy cake sponges. The mixture should flow off the whisker very slowly like a thick ribbon.
- Next, add the flour mixture in 3 separate additions, and using a hand whisker or silicon spatula fold it in very carefully, and try not to deflate air pockets as much as possible.
- Divide the batter into two separate baking pans and bake.
Baking Pans and Baking Time
- This recipe requires using two cake pans. Using smaller baking pans will result in 2 tall cake sponges that you can easily cut into 2 layers each and assemble into a 4-layer cake.
- Two 8-inch cake pans baking time is 35 minutes.
- Two 10-inch cake pans baking time is 25 minutes.
- Bake in a preheated 350°F (325 F if using convection) oven, on the middle rack for the time specified above or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (do not open the oven sooner than 15 minutes into the baking process, this will disturb the cake rising and the cake sponges will not be tall and fluffy).
- After the cake sponges are done baking, remove both cake pans from the oven allowing cake sponges to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before transferring them onto the cooling rack.
- Transfer the cake sponges onto the cooling rack, and peel off the parchment paper from the base of each cake sponge. Allow them to cool completely before using them for any recipe that calls for a chocolate cake.
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This recipe was originally posted on May 31, 2016 (original picture above). I tweaked it a bit, included tips, and tricks on making the best chocolate cake sponges. This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure.
Irina says
Valya, I'm wanting to make a regular biskvit sponge, will leaving out the cocoa work? Or do you have a separate recipe you use ? Thank you in advance!
Valya's Taste of Home says
You would add an additional amount of flour to substitute the cocoa or cacao. Otherwise, the batter will be too thin.
Violetta says
Hello there! If I’m baking two 12in cakes, what would the ingredients be?
Valya of Valya's Taste of Home says
I would increase by another half of the original recipe. For example, the recipe asks for 8 large eggs and you will need 12 large eggs instead. I hope that makes sense. Thanks for asking!
Violetta says
Yes thank you so much!
Valya of Valya's Taste of Home says
You're most certainly welcome!
Rhonda says
Can you bake this in a bundt pan l am would l still bake it for 25 min
Valya of Valya's Taste of Home says
You sure can. Grease the pan well though. I would bake it for 20 min and then check if baked through using a toothpick. Prevent shacking the cake while checking in case it’s not baked through all the way. Hope this helps.
Anna says
Thank you so much for an amazing recipe. This is my go to recipe now. I love that you put everything in grams it helps me a lot 🙂
Valya of Valya's Taste of Home says
You are very certainly welcome Anna! I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for an awesome review! 🙂
Vicki B. says
Hello! If I'm making 10" cakes, how long do I bake for? Thank you!
Valya of Valya's Taste of Home says
You need to bake 2 - 10” cake sponges for about the same time about 20 - 25 minutes.
Lucy says
Greetings! Very helpful advice on this article! It is the little changes that make the largest changes.
Thanks a lot for sharing!
valya'stasteofhome.com says
True that Lucy! You are very welcome! I'm glad it was helpful to you. Thank you for stopping by!
Viktoriya says
Hi! What kind of frosting would go best with this type of cake?
valya'stasteofhome.com says
Hi Viktoriya. You can use any cream of your choice. If the cream doesn't have sour cream or Greek yogurt in it, than soak the sponges a little with any kind of syrup, the cake will be moist. Thanks for stopping by and commenting 🙂