Hawaiian Sponge Cake
This cake is another version of my favorite designed sponge cake. This recipe is so versatile, customizable, eye-catching, and of course – delicious! I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as I do and as always please share your creations with me by tagging me on social media. I love seeing how your baked goods come out! Let’s dive right into this recipe!
How To Make a Hawaiian Sponge Cake
1. Prepare and Color the Sponge Cake Batter:
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until creamy.
- Add vegetable oil, whole milk, and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.
- Sift in all-purpose flour and cornstarch. Mix until smooth.
2. Whip Egg Whites to Stiff Peaks:
- In a clean bowl, beat egg whites and vinegar until foamy.
- Gradually add sugar while beating until stiff peaks form. This will provide structure and airiness to your cake.
3. Fold Egg Whites into Batter:
- Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the colored batter using a spatula. Be careful not to deflate the egg whites, as they contribute to the cake’s light texture.
- Divide the batter into portions and color each with vibrant food dye gel to represent the beauty of Hawaiian flowers.
4. Bake and Decorate:
- Pour the batter into prepared cake pans and bake according to instructions until golden and springy to the touch.
- Once cooled, whip heavy cream with confectioner’s sugar and vanilla extract to create a luscious whipped cream.
- Fill and layer the cakes with whipped cream and fresh fruit.
- Serve and enjoy!
How to Store Hawaiian-Themed Sponge Cake
To keep your Hawaiian-themed sponge cake fresh:
- Store in an airtight container or sealed with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to several days.
- If using fresh fruit or jam, add them just before serving to maintain freshness.
- Enjoy a taste of paradise with each delicious slice of this Hawaiian-themed sponge cake!
More Recipes You Might Be Interested In
- Strawberry Sponge Cake
- Mother’s Day Cake
- Spongebob Cake
- Easter Bunny Sponge Cake
- Snoopy St. Patrick’s Day Cake
- Easter Peeps Swiss Roll
- Lemon Swiss Roll
What Brand Of Food Dye I Use
This is one of my most commonly asked questions. The colors of my baked goods are so vibrant and beautiful and the best part is that the flavor is not compromised by the food dye. This is because I use Americolor Food Gel and such a small amount of dye goes a long way to achieve a beautiful hue. Find the link on Amazon, here!
I’ve also received a lot of questions asking how I dye my batter white. And the answer is simple! I use white food dye. I know it seems obvious but to be honest, I didn’t even know that white food dye existed like two years ago. You can find the link to the white food dye on Amazon, here!
Designed Cake Master Guide
I created a Master Guide to help take you through every step of this recipe process so that you can create works of art on your own! I want all of you to have as much fun and success with my recipes as I do! After all, YOU are the reason why I get to do what I love every day. In this Master Guide, I give you links to all of the products I use, and talk about all of the important details and various tips and tricks that will help you take this recipe head-on and be left with a beautiful end result.
Designed Sheet Cake – Master Guide
Hawaiian Sponge Cake
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8-12
servings30
minutes8
minutesKeep the screen of your device on.
Ingredients
6 egg yolks
4 Tbsp. sugar
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
4 Tbsp. whole milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
6 egg whites
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. vinegar
4 Tbsp. sugar
food dye gel (not liquid)
- Whipped Cream Filling
2 cups heavy whipping cream
5 Tbsp. confectioners sugar
dash salt
2 tsp. vanilla
fresh fruit or jam (optional)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, then grease an 8″ circular pan with cooking spray. Cut out parchment paper to fit inside the pan perfectly. Using an edible marker, trace your design onto the piece of parchment paper to your liking. This is the design we will be tracing with our batter later on.
- Separate the egg yolks and egg whites. Place the egg yolks in a large bowl and the egg whites in a medium-sized bowl. Set the egg whites aside for now.
- Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, vegetable oil, milk, and vanilla.
- Sift in the flour and cornstarch to the wet ingredients. Then whisk until the batter is nice and smooth.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a whisk attachment, whisk the 6 egg whites until frothy. Slowly add in the vinegar and sugar while whipping up the egg whites.
- Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form. This is very important! Make sure the egg whites have formed stiff peaks before adding them to the batter in the next step.
- Fold the egg whites into the egg yolk batter until everything is fully combined. Be careful not to over-mix at this step. If you over-mix, the egg whites will deflate and cause a runny, thin batter. Mix just until the egg whites are evenly distributed throughout.
- Remove a few teaspoons of batter at a time and use food gel to dye each color one at a time depending on the colors needed for your design. You only need to remove a small amount of each color but pay close attention to the design you’re tracing.
- Place your colored batter into piping bags.
- Pipe black outlines around your traced designs then go ahead and fill in these piped traced lines with color.
- Once you’ve added all of your designs to your cake, let it sit in the fridge for 5-8 minutes then pipe the uncolored batter on top to cover your design. Bake for 8-9 minutes.
- Once the designed cake has finished baking flip the cake out of the pan and peel the parchment paper off of the design as soon as it comes out of the pan. Use the remaining batter to bake one or two more layers of cake. Allow the cakes to cool completely. While the cakes cool, prepare the whipped cream.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the whisk attachment, and whisk the cream, sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks have formed and you have reached a whipped cream consistency.
- Assemble the cake by placing a layer of cake (the undesigned cake) on the bottom, then pipe a layer of whipped cream. Top the entire cake off with the designed cake. Feel free to add the filling of your choice as well as any additional decorations that you want.
- Store in the fridge until serving, enjoy!
- This cake can be made ahead of time but is best enjoyed fresh. If you plan to make this ahead of time, be sure to seal the cake tightly in plastic wrap to keep it fresh.
Did you make this recipe?
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hi, is it normal for the top of the cake( side with no design) to be sticky?
Hi can I use cake flour.Where I live we don’t have all purpose flour.
Hi there! Unfortunately these two flours are not easily interchangeable due to the difference in protein content. I have never tried this recipe with cake flour so I cannot guarantee the same outcome. Maybe you could order all-purpose flour online and have it delivered to you!!
Love the recipe! My cake turned out delicious but the parchment paper got really stuck on there and pulled off the design. I oiled the pan but do you have tips for preventing it from sticking to the cake?
Hi there! Thank you so much! Unfortunately I have not had this problem before but I do see many people having the same issue. What I’ve noticed is that when people are having this issue the recurring pattern I see is that the cake is either under-baked or over-baked. This is what’s causing the paper to peel up too much of your design. Also, if you did not already use the brand of food gel I recommend, Americolor Food Gel which I will link below – try it! The brand of food gel you’re using may also be effecting the end result! I hope this helps!!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KCUXRLC?ref=vse_pfo_vwis&tag=onamzthesquea-20&linkCode=ssc&creativeASIN=B096MGFNXG&asc_contentid=amzn1.vse.video.042184739ccf4603aa7d833e434eb346
Hi there,
Loving these types of designs and recipes. Just wondering if it is a necessity to make these types of sponge cake or can I use a normal batter cake with butter and eggs and flour. Mixing butter with sugar and then proceeding with the other ingredients
Thank you
Hi there! Since all cake batters consistencies vary, I cannot guarantee which ones will work with this technique or not. I use this sponge cake batter because it it fluffy enough to be able to pipe designs nicely. You can certainly try this technique with another batter that you think will work!!
Do you use a 2 inch or 3 inch deep pan?
I use an 8″ pan that is 3″ high. You could use a 2″ or 3″ high pan and the results will be the same :)