I have such fond memories of my mother making this sponge cake in Guyana. She made it for all of our birthdays and sometimes for our school Christmas parties. My mom also made sponge cake at Christmas time when baking seem to span over weekends and all of her sisters would come by to bake bread, black cake, fruit cake and sponge cake for the Christmas season. Those are some of the best memories I have of my childhood.
It is so important to me, that my children have similar memories of traditions around food. Whenever I can insert a Guyanese recipe into a moment, I do. This Guyanese style sponge cake is the cake I make when my children ask to bake a cake. Instead of a box cake I let them help me whip this beauty up. On occasion we’ll add food coloring, each child owning a particular color. It is amazing to watch their reaction when the cake is cut open and they see the colors they worked on.
About the Sponge Cake Recipe:
The recipe I am sharing in today’s post is from my Aunty Cheryl who (in my opinion) is one of the best baker, chef, creator, in my family. I almost always turn to her when I am struggling to figure out a recipe. Most often she actually has measurements and don’t give me the, I don’t measure speech!
And let me say that non Guyanese people reading these ingredients, might say this sounds like a pound cake and it really is. Not sure why we call it sponge cake, except that it looks like “old school” sponges. Should really dig into that. I also make a gluten free version of this Guyanese Sponge Cake when I want to indulge in cake. The flavor of the gluten free version is spot on. You could not tell it was gluten free. I’ll share that recipe in another post as I am working on an idea to show you guys how I enjoy Guyanese baked goods while living a gluten free life. So stay tuned and be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss those posts. In the mean time here’s a link to Pumpkin Pone which is a great dessert that is completely gluten free and Cassava Pone that is grain free!
The recipe is in video form and features my little son Andrew as he is helping me with the ingredients. Generally this recipe makes two 8 inch round sponge cakes. But I explained in the video that my son picked the pan out and there was no convincing him to change his mind. It worked out perfectly and the cake was a huge success. The measurements are actually really easy to half and make one cake if you don’t want this much cake all at once. That’s typically what I do when I make it with the kids. See link below for the video and for the recipe. I hope you give it a try and do let me know in the comments below what memories you have of sponge cake from your childhood or even adulthood.
Link to the Video for Guyanese Sponge Cake:
The recipe:
- 1 lb room temperature butter
- 1 lb granulated sugar
- 10 eggs (room temperature)
- 1 lb flour (sifted)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- Zest of one orange
- 1 teaspoon rum (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350 °F
- Cream together the sugar and butter until fluffy and most of the sugar crystals have dissolved
- Add eggs one as a time and mix into the creamed sugar and butter
- Then add baking powder to the flour and sift together
- Next add sifted flour, ½ cup at a time to the creamed butter, sugar and egg mixture and slowly mix together forming a smooth batter.
- Add vanilla essence, orange zest and rum (if using)
- Pour mixture into a greased bundt cake pan or two 8 inch round pans
- Place on the middle rack in the oven and bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until a wooden skewer or tooth pick comes out clean (free of batter) when inserted into the cake
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely before removing from the baking pan
Adding the rum to the batter might be new to most but I promise you it makes the cake fresher longer. Give it a try and tell me what you think!
3.5.3251
This is the best sponge cake recipe I’ve tried. Thank you for suvh an amazing treat!!
You are welcome. So glad you tried and liked it.
This reminds me of my mommy in the kitchen Christmas time….
I try this recipe and my cake was very soft,moist and delicious thank you
This is awesome. Thanks for sharing.
Why does this recipe contain So much eggs…seems a bit excessive…is that many necessary?
This is how my family makes it. If you google sponge cake or pound cake you will see this many eggs in the recipe. You can try reducing the eggs but I can’t guarantee the texture will be the same. Also this recipe makes two cakes. So you can half the ingredients for 1 cake if you like.
The eggs add texture. Some people put 12. I do.
Althea, thank you so much for this recipe. It’s pretty close to my mother-in-love cake and i consider her the best baker. I made it yesterday and it’s divine. I also make your bakes often. you are amazing!!
This is awesome. It’s my Aunt’s recipe and I think she’s the best baker! Thank you so much.
I used this recipe a few weeks ago and my cake came out amazing. I used it again for mothers day to bake a fruit cake but i used a little less flour and i was pleased. I love your recipes.keep up the good work!!!
I used this recipe a few weeks ago and my cake came out wonderful. I used it again for mothers day to bake a fruit cake but i used a little less flour and i was pleased. I love your recipes.keep up the good work!!!
So glad you loved it. I also have a really great fruit cake recipe. Take a look when you can.
How much less flor did you use for fruit cake
OMG!!! I tried this recipe today-my first time ever baking a sponge cake from scratch and it was off the charts PERFECT. Love the touch of rum which is not a noticeable taste in the finished product. GREAT RECIPE! I will continue to use it. Thanks.
Thank you so much for trying the recipe and sharing. It’s a family favorite.
This is my favourite cake! I’m making it for my son’s birthday today. Was my Grandma the only one to put almond essence in hers?
Love your recipes!
You can totally put almond essence. Some people also add mixed essence.
Happy Birthday to your son!
Hi my name is viji and I used your sponge and fruit cake recipe last Christmas and today .
It’s not flattering for myself but I can say your recipe” ROCKS”.
Thank you so much! And for trying them yumm
Hello …I will definitely will try it what kind of run used Eldorado Rum.