5 from 116 votes

Prep Time : 15

Cook Time : 35

This light and airy gluten free sponge cake is the perfect vanilla cake for snacking, serving with fruit and cream, and soaking up all your favorite dessert sauces. Make it your own!

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This gluten free sponge cake is light and airy, and so simple to make. Serve it with fresh whipped cream and strawberries on a hot day. It's perfect for Memorial Day, or any day!

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What makes this gluten free sponge cake so special

Gluten free sponge cake is a light and airy treat that I think of almost like a blank gluten free cake canvas.

It has such mild flavor and tender texture you can serve it a million different ways: with or without fruit, with just a big dollop of whipped cream, or with a drizzle of simple syrup like we have done with our gluten free crepes. And it's the perfect end to a big meal on a warm day.

A good gf sponge cake recipe is all about the balance of ingredients, the proper method, and the right gluten free flours. You'll need the simplest blend that doesn't have any xanthan gum so your cake is easy to mix, and easy on the eyes and the palate!

A sponge cake on a white cake with strawberries on top

What does sponge cake taste like?

Sponge cake is very similar to gluten free angel food cake, but it includes the egg yolks instead of just the whites, resulting in a more flavorful, slightly more moist cake.

Sponge cake batter, a sponger cake, a sponge cake with 2 cakes, and a sponge cake with 2 frosted cakes

What's the best pan for baking this gluten free sponge cake?

You can make this cake in a bundt or tube pan, but I don't recommend it. Since sponge cake doesn't have much fat (only that from the egg yolks), it has a tendency to stick a bit. And those pans are like cake prison.

You're much better off baking in a round cake pan. Generally, I bake one 9-inch cake, then slice it through the center and layer in some whipped cream or 7-minute frosting. In these photos, I increased the recipe by 50% and baked it in two 8-inch cake pans, then layered with frosting and berries.

close up of a sponge cake with 2 stacks on a white plate

What's the best gluten free flour blend for making the perfect gf sponge cake?

A word about the gluten free flour blend in this recipe. Please use my basic Gum-Free Basic Gluten Free Flour Blend, or your favorite, comparable blend. But no xanthan gum!

Unlike when we're making a classic gluten free vanilla cake, when making a sponge cake, I learned the hard way that a xanthan gum-containing blend will clump with the egg yolk mixture terribly. No good at all.

So fill it with berries and cream, serve it plain or cut it into cubes and layer it into your favorite trifle. So easy, and so versatile.

Gluten free sponge cake recipe

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Gluten Free Sponge Cake Recipe

This light and airy gluten free sponge cake is the perfect vanilla cake for snacking, serving with fruit and cream, and soaking up all your favorite dessert sauces. Make it your own!

Course: Cake, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 35

Yield: 8 slices single layer cake

Author: Nicole Hunn

Equipment

Stand mixer or handheld mixer

Ingredients

4 (200 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs separated
¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon cream of tartar or 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
⅝ cup (88 g) Basic Gum Free Gluten Free Flour Blend (58 g superfine white rice flour + 19 g potato starch + 11 g tapioca starch/flour)
2 tablespoons (18 g) cornstarch (or try arrowroot)
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan (See Recipe Notes for 2 cakes) well and set it aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl with a hand mixer), place the egg yolks and 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar, and beat on medium-high speed until pale yellow.
Sift the flour blend, cornstarch and salt into the egg yolk mixture, and beat until well-combined.
Transfer the egg yolk mixture to a small bowl and set it aside.
Clean out the mixer bowl very well, and place the egg whites and cream of tartar or lemon juice in the bowl, fitted with the whisk attachment.
Beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar, and beat until glossy, stiff (but not dry) peaks form.
With the mixer on medium speed, slowly pour the egg yolk mixture and the vanilla into the egg white mixture, and beat until just combined. The mixture should be smooth and glossy.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and spread into an even layer.
Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the cake has begun to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick comes out mostly clean, or with a few moist crumbs attached (about 35 minutes).
Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Serving Suggestion

Cool the cake completely, then wrap it tightly and freeze for 30 minutes.
Unwrap and slice the cake in half horizontally, fill with fresh whipped cream or 7-minute frosting and a layer of sliced strawberries.
Top with the other half of the cake, more whipped cream or frosting and another layer of sliced strawberries. Chill for about 2 hours before serving.

Notes

To make 2 cakes.

Multiply all the ingredients in this recipe by 150% or 1.5.

Follow the recipe instructions as written, but divide the batter between two 8-inch cake pans.

Bake the cakes for about 25 minutes or until the cakes have begun to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick comes out mostly clean, or with a few moist crumbs attached.

Recipe originally published on the blog in 2013. In 2016, recipe method and ingredients updated slightly; photos updated.