Eggless Vanilla Sponge Cake

This Eggless Vanilla Sponge cake with condensed milk and butter is the best eggless sponge cake recipe you will ever need. It is moist, soft, spongy, and not overly sweet making it an excellent base for decorating and frosting. It tastes amazing just on it's own or serve it frosted for your next celebration. Easy, Simple, and Delicious!!

I’m sharing how to make the best eggless vanilla sponge cake recipe at home with step-by-step instructions, photos, video, and tips so you can make the perfect vanilla cake the very first time!!

This Eggless Vanilla sponge cake is my go-to recipe for any celebrations or simply when we crave it! Its a very easy to make and comes out perfect every single time.

I've used it as a base to frost so many birthday cakes, like this Vanilla Sponge Cake with Whipped Cream and Fruits.

It is also versatile to make delicious desserts like this Mixed Berry Icecream Parfait.

This simple eggless cake recipe is perfect for beginners to start their baking experience. Fun fact: I started my baking journey with this one too so it's a special one!!

If you love eggless recipes, try these other classics eggless chocolate cake and eggless vanilla cupcakes

This Vanilla sponge cake is

• eggless and fluffy
• soft, spongy, and moist
• easy to make
• can be made ahead of time
• ideal base for decorating and frosting
• perfect for all occasions and celebrations 

Sponge cakes are light and fluffy cakes made with three main ingredients, flour, sugar, and eggs. They are sometimes leavened with baking powder but mainly the eggs are whipped to incorporate air into the batter.

There are many varieties of sponge cake based on the ingredients used few of which also involve creaming of fat and sugar before eggs like the Victoria sponge cake.

My recipe is an eggless version of the sponge cake. To be honest I like it much more than the traditional vanilla cake with eggs. 

There are many versions of eggless vanilla cake too but for this post, I am sharing one with butter and condensed milk, my all-time favorite!!

In this vanilla sponge cake recipe, the eggs are replaced with condensed milk and vinegar.

The vinegar helps react with the baking soda to create gas to help with the rise during baking while condensed milk also helps sweeten the cake and lend a lovely rich flavor.

This eggless vanilla sponge cake is not too moist not too dense with just the right amount of sweetness making it the perfect base for decorating and frosting.

Let's see how to make this easy and best eggless recipe of vanilla sponge cake.

Recipe Ingredients

Like most cakes, we will need dry and wet ingredients to make this eggless vanilla sponge cake. Please make sure all ingredients are at room temperature and follow the exact proportions as mentioned for best results.

Dry Ingredients 

Flour -  Use all-purpose flour or maida for this cake. Cake flour can also be used for a lighter, fluffier cake. 

Leavening agents: Baking powder and baking soda. For the best results, use the exact proportions mentioned in the recipe. Also, make sure both are fresh and not expired. 

Sugar - I’ve used white granulated sugar (fine in texture). You need just a little since we are also using condensed milk. You can also skip it if you plan to frost your cakes or soak them in simple syrup.

Salt - a pinch of salt, helps bring out the sweet flavors and balance the recipe. You can also skip it.

Wet Ingredient

Butter: Use unsalted butter. Salted butter will also work, but skip that pinch of salt in the recipe. 

Condensed milk - Use sweetened condensed milk (milkmaid). This works as the egg replacement as well as a sweetener for this recipe giving it that rich flavor!! 

Vinegar: Use white or apple cider vinegar. This is another key ingredient that is a must since it reacts with leavening agents to produce gas and helps the cake rise. 

Milk - Use milk of choice, at room temperature. I’ve used whole milk.

Yogurt/Sour cream - This is the secret ingredient that helps keep this cake moist and tender. Little goes a long way.

Flavor - Since this is a vanilla cake, use a good quality vanilla extract for the best flavor.

Please refer to the recipe card for exact measurements of ingredients.

Step by Step Method

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 7 or 8-inch round baking pan or a square 8X8 pan with parchment paper.

Spray oil (lightly) on the pan, stick the parchment paper, and spray some more oil on top of the parchment. Keep aside. This helps the cake to come out clean & prevents the cake from sticking to the baking dish.

 1 - In a large mixing bowl (or stand mixer) beat butter until it is soft.

2 - Add condensed milk and beat for 1-2 mins until combined.  

3 - Stir in the sugar and sour cream (or yogurt) and beat again for 2 mins until this mixture is light and fluffy,

5 and 6 - Mix in the vanilla extract & vinegar. The wet mixture is ready!!

7- Sift the dry ingredients, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, into the wet mixture.

8 - Add milk and gently fold the dry mixture into the wet until everything is well combined (do not over-mix). Some lumps are ok.

9 - Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Spread to make it even using a spatula. Tap the pan on the surface 2-3 times to remove any air bubbles.

10 and 11 - Bake the vanilla cake for 20-30 mins at 350°F or until a toothpick inserted at the center of the cake comes out clean (i.e. no batter stuck to it). This indicates the cake is done. I checked mine at 25 mins and it was done.

Remove from oven and let it stand in the pan for 5-10 mins after which transfer it onto a wire rack or plate to cool further.

12- To transfer, keep the plate or wire rack on top of the baking dish & just flip, your cake should come out easily.

Wait for it to cool completely before slicing or frosting. Enjoy this moist, soft spongy delicious eggless vanilla cake.

Serving Suggestion

You can serve this eggless vanilla cake as is or sprinkled with some confectioner (powdered) sugar like a tea cake with your tea or coffee.

It also makes an excellent base for decorating and frosting. For easy frosting, melt some chocolate and spread it on top of the cake or you can also use chocolate ganache or Nutella.

You can also make it a layered cake like this vanilla sponge cake with whipped cream frosting. Either way, it is delicious!!

Storage

This eggless vanilla cake stays good for 2 to 3 days at room temperature. Keep it covered so it doesn’t dry up and lose moisture. 

You can also make this cake ahead of time and store it refrigerated, covered for up to 6 to 7 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months. Allow the cake to cool completely before storing. 

The refrigerated cake tends to get dense since the butter solidifies so before serving just warm it for 10 seconds or more until it's slightly warm. 

For storing the cake in the freezer, cool the cake completely, wrap them individually in plastic wraps, then wrap in a large aluminum foil (you can label the foil with date and name), and then store in a freezer-safe storage box or bag. This level of packing helps keep the cake fresh and prevents freezer burn. 

To thaw frozen cakes, transfer wrapped cakes from the freezer to the fridge. It might take about 8-10 hours. 

Recipe Tips

Pan size - My recommendation is either a 7 or 8-inch round baking pan or square 8X8 pan or two 6-inch round pans (divide the batter equally). Right pan size is important so the cake bakes flat especially if you are planning to frost it. Smaller pans will cause a dome shape rise in the center of the cake. It is still good to eat though. 

Ingredients quantity and ratio - Stick to the quantity and ratio mentioned for this cake to get the best results. 

Measuring your flour -  do not scoop it out of the container directly using the measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour around, spoon it into your measuring cup, and level it off with the back of a knife.

Sweetness - this cake on its own is mildly sweet (we prefer it that way) but when assembled in combination  with frosting it tastes just right.  You can increase the sugar to ¼ cup to ⅓ cup for the cake if you prefer it sweeter.

Mixing - Do not overmix the batter once you add the dry ingredients to wet. That will result in a dense and hard cake.

Bake your cake immediately - You can prep the ingredients in advance but once you mix the batter it needs to be baked immediately to get the best reaction and rise from baking powder and soda since they act fast and only for short time. 

Baking time and temperature - Over baking or high heat will dry out the cake and make it hard. For this cake bake at 350°F for 20-30 mins. Having said that, if your cake is still uncooked after the mentioned time and the top is browning, cover I with a foil and bake in 5-10mins increments until done. 

To make a layered cake - either double the recipe to make 2 8 inch cakes or divide this batter equally in two 6 inch pans.

Frequently asked questions 

More Eggless Cake Recipes

Hope you enjoy this Eggless Vanilla Sponge cake recipe !! If you give this recipe a try, please rate by clicking stars ⭐️ on the recipe card. Thank you ❤️ ! You can also follow me on Facebook | Instagram to see what’s cooking in my kitchen!!

Recipe Card

Update Notes: This post was originally published on Jun 13, 2012, but was republished with, step by step instructions, new photos, tips, and a video in June of 2021.