National Sponge Cake Day
Light, fluffy, sweet and decadent, the sponge cake is a versatile kind of cake sure to satisfy. Visit a bakery or try making your own sponge cake at home.
Drive bakery foot traffic and home-baking ingredient sales by celebrating the heritage and versatility of sponge cake with recipe content and in-store promotions.
- Share the Italian origins of sponge cake (Pâte Génoise) to add prestige to bakery offerings
- Post easy sponge cake recipes and baking tips to encourage home bakers to stock up on flour, eggs, and baking supplies
- Feature customer sponge cake creations and bakery bestsellers on social media
- Offer limited-time sponge cake flavors or bundle deals in August
While it’s soft and delicate texture has often been attributed to the Victorians thanks to the Victorian Sponge Cake, in fact, the sponge cake finds its roots in Italy. Sometime in the early 18th century, a respected and wealthy member of the Pallavicini family in Genoa commissioned a cake that was as light and delicate as sea foam. The result was an airy and delectable confection that was known as the Pâte Génoise. This creation would soon come to be known as a ‘sponge cake’.
What set it apart was that it was created without any yeast or leavening agent, instead, taking advantage of the properties of whipped egg whites to add air to the texture of the cake. Its popularity exploded throughout the world, and endless varieties came to pass that were used for every purpose. It would accompany soups and savory dishes, filled with every kind of sweet imaginable.
Today the sponge cake has found itself a staple of English tea, and a welcome addition to any event. You can find sponge cake topped with rich chocolate icing, stuffed with fruit jam, and covered with light lemon icing dusted with confectioners sugar. National Sponge Cake Day celebrates its endless variety and the delicious flavors the creative can impart to it.