Chinese Sponge Cake Recipe: Airy and Fluffy Cake with No Oil!
Who doesn’t love a fluffy bite of cake? If you are inclined to healthy eating, making cakes at home is a much better option compared to store-bought cakes. This Chinese sponge cake recipe will help you make fluffy cakes at home with a few ingredients.
Make sure you have some time at hand as raising the batter will take some time. Other than that, there is almost no hard work or tricky part in this recipe. Let me share the whole recipe with the ingredients list and the nutritional value of the recipe. I will also answer some relevant questions at the end.
Table of Contents
Chinese Sponge Cake Recipe Overview
Check the overview chart to get the essential information about the recipe. It will make your preparation easier.
| Course: Snacks | Cuisine: Chinese | Difficulty: Medium | ||
| Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes | ||||
| Serving | Preparation Time | Baking Time | Calories | |
| 4 persons | 1 hour 5 minutes | 40 minutes | 199 kcal | |
Ingredients Needed for the Recipe
You will need egg, flour, sugar, yeast, and warm water to make this sponge cake. Find the required amount of these ingredients below.
- Egg: 2 pcs
- Flour: 300g of all-purpose flour
- Sugar: 50g of white sugar
- Yeast: 3g of dry yeast
- Oil: 1 tsp
That’s it! Let’s start making the cake batter.
Chinese Sponge Cake Recipe: Step-By-Step Instructions
Bake this spongy cake in the following simple steps.
Step 1: Mix the Yeast and Sugar with the Eggs
Take two eggs in a bowl. Add 3g of yeast and 50g of white sugar to the bowl. Whisk the ingredients until the sugar and the yeast are melted.
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Step 2: Add the Flour and Water
Add 300g of flour and 200g of warm water to the bowl. Mix the ingredients well until you get a thick batter. Cover the batter with a plastic wrap and let it rise for about one hour.
Step 3: Remove Bubbles and Prepare the Mold
Once the batter rises, you will see bubbles on the surface. Stir the batter with chopsticks to remove the bubbles. Then, brush oil inside a cake mold.
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Step 4: Pour the Batter and Steam It
Pour the batter into the cake mold and tap the mold on the table a few times to level up the batter. Then, place the mold in a steamer. Cover it with the lid and steam for about 35 minutes. After 35 minutes, open the lid and simmer for 5 more minutes. Delicious and healthy sponge cake is now ready.
Nutrition Facts of the Recipe
As no oil is used in the batter, this cake is healthier. Each serving of this recipe contains about 199 calories. Other essential nutrients are present in this cake in the following amounts.
- Total Carbohydrates: 39g
- Protein: 5g
- Total Fat: 2.7g
- Saturated Fat: 0.8g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 1g
- Total Dietary Fiber: 0.5g
- Total Sugar: 26.4g
- Cholesterol: 107.7mg
- Sodium: 103.2mg
- Potassium: 79.5mg
- Calcium: 36.4mg
- Iron: 1.15mg
- Vitamin A: 28.8IU
- Vitamin C: 0.66mcg
Do’s and Don’ts of the Recipe
Following these tips will help you make better sponge cakes.
Do’s
- In summer, you can let the batter rest for a shorter period. In winter, keep the batter in a hot place and it will rise faster.
- Make sure the sugar is melted properly before adding the flour.
Don’ts
- Don’t use any oil or butter for this recipe. Just brush the mold with oil or butter.
- Don’t open the lid before 35 minutes. After that time, poke the cake with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, the cake is cooked properly.

Chinese Sponge Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Take two eggs in a bowl. Add 3g of yeast and 50g of white sugar to the bowl. Whisk the ingredients until the sugar and the yeast are melted.
- Add 300g of flour and 200g of warm water to the bowl. Mix the ingredients well until you get a thick batter. Cover the batter with a plastic wrap and let it rise for about one hour.
- Once the batter rises, you will see bubbles on the surface. Stir the batter with chopsticks to remove the bubbles. Then, brush oil inside a cake mold.
- Pour the batter into the cake mold and tap the mold on the table a few times to level up the batter. Then, place the mold in a steamer. Cover it with the lid and steam for about 35 minutes. After 35 minutes, open the lid and simmer for 5 more minutes. Delicious and healthy sponge cake is now ready.
FAQs
Find answers to the questions that have come to your mind while reading the recipe.
How can I achieve the fluffy and light texture of this cake?
You can make fluffy and light sponge cakes by foaming the egg a bit. To do this, keep whisking the eggs with sugar and yeast until you get a foamy consistency. The more air you incorporate in the mixture, the fluffier the cake will be.
Are there any specific techniques for mixing the batter?
Yes. After beating the egg, you need to add the flour and gently fold it. Whisking the flour too much can degrade the batter. Use a silicone spatula to fold the flour into the mixture.
Is there a particular type of flour recommended?
I recommend using all-purpose flour for making sponge cakes. As this flour has a balanced amount of gluten, the cake will be light and spongy. If you use high-gluten flour, the cake will become chewy.
Can I use gluten-free flour to make sponge cakes?
Yes, you can. In that case, you have to add baking soda or baking powder to the batter so that the batter rises properly. Otherwise, the cake will be hard and dense.
Conclusion
Many people think of making cakes as a tricky endeavor. But I promise you this recipe is far from difficult. You just need to mix some ingredients in a bowl and wait for some time. Then, you can steam the batter into a light and fluffy cake.
Try this Chinese sponge cake recipe and feed something healthy to your family. Once made, you can store this cake in the refrigerator for a few days. But I don’t think kids will let you store this lovely cake for such a long time.