Best Spanish Sponge Cake for Breakfast

Sometimes we get tired of always having the same thing for breakfast. Some plain toast, eggs, yogurt, etc. Eating the same thing ends up exhausting us.

For that reason, it is time for you to give a new life to your breakfasts, or at least to those breakfasts on special days such as birthdays or holidays.

For these moments, the Spanish sponge cake comes to save us, one of the most popular breakfasts in Spain, and a tasty Spanish dessert as well, which will undoubtedly win your heart (and stomach) immediately. 

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Continue reading the article to learn how to make a sponge cake and know everything about this recipe.

Background of the Dish

It is difficult to say the exact date of the invention of this cake, especially since there are hundreds of sponge cake recipes, and the stories keep getting mixed up. 

What is certain is that it arose thanks to the mixture between Latin American cooking and that of southern Spain.

Over time, it ended up becoming a breakfast staple in Spain, and today any cafeteria or place that serves breakfast has the famous Spanish Sponge Cake on its menu.

You do not have to go to a restaurant to eat it, you can make it at home and prepare it 100% to your liking. 

That is why we bring you this article so that you can give it a try, all you have to do is to get to work and follow this recipe.

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Things You’ll Need for Spanish Sponge Cake

This is one of the best Spanish desserts so you should try it. You only need a couple of ingredients, a hand mixer, and an oven-safe tray. 

If you want to try another sweet Andalusian recipe, we recommend the fantastic Spanish milk cake and the Spanish olive oil cake.

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1 ½ cups (300g) sugar
• ½ cup (110ml) canola or vegetable oil
• 3 cups (360g) of flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup (240ml) of milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla essence

How to Make Spanish Sponge Cake – Step by Step Guide

1. To start making this easy sponge cake recipe, you have to separate the whites from the yolks of the eggs. Reserve the whites and add the yolks in a bowl or other large bowl.

2. Then beat the yolks together with the sugar. You can use a whisk or a hand mixer, as you prefer. Beat until you get a whitish mixture. Add the oil, milk, and vanilla essence, and continue beating.

3. On the other hand, whip the egg whites to the point of snow. To make it easier for you, before you start add a pinch of salt to the egg whites. The trick to knowing that the egg whites have risen well is to turn the container upside down and make sure they don’t spill.

4. Sift the flour together with the baking powder. Once sifted, you must add the flour little by little to the liquid mixture that you had prepared and continue beating so that it is integrated and avoids lumps.

5. Then add the egg whites that you had reserved and stir gently to incorporate them into the dough but without letting them go down too much.

6. The next step in this Biscocho recipe is to put butter and flour in the tray you will use for your sponge cake. Pour the mixture into the tray, spread it evenly, and put it in the preheated oven at 200ºC.

7. Cook for 30-45 minutes, checking with a toothpick or other pointed utensil to see if it’s done. When it is ready and reaches room temperature you can remove the sponge cake from the tray.

Substitution of Ingredients

This is probably the best sponge cake recipe you will find, as it allows you to make several changes to it. The base ingredients are eggs, flour, sugar, and oil.

In some cases, people substitute vegetable oil for melted butter, we do not recommend it as it makes the cake very oily.

In case you want to make that substitution, make sure it is 75g of butter (not 150g).

As for the sugar, it can be brown, light brown, or the typical white sugar. Again, we do not recommend liquid sweeteners since the sugar is necessary for the cake to have a fluffy consistency later.

If you don’t like vanilla cake, you can choose to add other flavors like cinnamon, and ginger, or choose to make the classic Spanish almond cake or Spanish Magdalenas which are one of the most popular Spanish breakfast foods.

You can make a chocolate sponge cake by just adding 50g of cocoa powder and instead of 360g of flour add only 300g.

Give a go to your delicious Spanish orange cake, which has a citrusy and delightful flavor you’ll absolutely love.

Tips on Serving Spanish Sponge Cake

This Spanish cake is one of the most popular Spanish breakfast foods, so it is only right that you eat it for breakfast. 

Now being honest, beyond the traditions you can eat it at any time of the day or as a dessert.

If you continue with the traditional breakfast theme, you can serve it together with Spanish hot chocolate which goes very well in the winter. 

You can also spread jam or put a spoonful of cream on the cake for another flavor.

Being a recipe for a sponge cake that has a mild vanilla flavor, any type of spread or accompaniment goes well. 

Nutella or dulce de leche are good options, or a drizzle of condensed milk if you are a sweet lover.

If you want to try another breakfast idea from Spain, try one of the easiest Spanish tomato toast, the soft ensaymada recipe, or the tasty pan de leche recipe.

How to Store Spanish Sponge Cake

This is one of the best simple sponge cake recipes because you can keep it on the counter for up to 4 days without having to make any kind of a mess about it. 

Just put it in a closed Tupperware or cover it with plastic wrap and that’s it.

Being a classic Spanish breakfast, you can easily make it the day before, keep it on the counter and serve it the next day for breakfast. 

The flavor will stay intact, and if for some reason it hardens (it shouldn’t though), you can heat it until it’s soft again.

You can also store this Spanish sponge cake in the freezer and freeze it for up to 3 months. 

Generally, we do not recommend freezing for that long, but this Spanish sponge cake holds up well without any problem. You just have to let it defrost the night before in the fridge.

Recipe Card: Spanish Sponge Cake

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