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This is the archived version of the Milk Street website and is no longer up to date.

Please visit 177milkstreet.com to see the current website with all of the latest recipes!

Chinese Sponge Cake

8-10 Servings

1½ hours 35 minutes active, plus cooling

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Similar to chiffon cake, but less sweet and with a slightly bouncier, leaner crumb, this is the type of plain, unadorned sponge cake sold in Chinese bakeries. Often called Hong Kong cupcakes and baked in paper wrappers in individual cone-shaped portions, the cakes are eaten out of hand with coffee or tea as a breakfast or snack. We bake our version in a springform pan with a parchment liner that results in charmingly uneven edges. The top domes during baking, then deflates while cooling, leaving a wrinkled surface. We flavor our cake with vanilla and add extra yolks for richness. It’s best the day of, but leftovers will keep wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator for up to three days; bring to room temperature before serving.

8-10

Servings

Tip

Don’t add the flour mixture all at once to the yolk base. Alternating additions of dry ingredients and egg whites ensures an evenly mixed batter without over-mixing, resulting in a denser, less feathery crumb.

1½ hours

35 minutes active, plus cooling

Ingredients

  • 120

    grams (1 cup) cake flour

  • 2

    tablespoons cornstarch

Directions

Reviews
CATHY B.
August 23, 2026
A bit dry but better than store bought
This has more flavor than a store bought angel food cake. And the structure is excellent - so if you need to cut it up for trifle or anything like that, this would be far neater than the store bought version. The recipe calls for 45 minutes of baking; I pulled it out of the oven at 43 minutes and still think it was maybe 4 minutes over-baked. This is solid, but also a bit bland without the garnish. May make French toast out of it tomorrow.

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