Apricot Raspberry Sponge Cake

This sponge cake is light, fluffy, and packed with fresh apricots and raspberries. It’s the perfect summer treat, and best of all, it’s incredibly easy to make. If you love light and fruity cakes, you will love this one!

About the recipe

This recipe is inspired by Polish and German sponge cakes with fruit. I enjoyed this cake every summer at my grandma’s, and now I’ve decided to recreate it at home. It tastes like summer to me!

While this isn’t a strictly traditional sponge cake recipe, I had to add a bit more flour than usual because of the generous amount of fruit. The apricots and raspberries make the cake wonderfully moist and juicy.

What’s so special about sponge cake is how light and airy it is, thanks to beaten egg whites and very little fat. In fact, the whole cake has just 3 tablespoons of oil! But don’t worry—this cake is anything but dry. It’s so spongy and moist, you’ll be amazed!

Ingredients

Here’s what you need to make this easy recipe:

How to make it step-by-step

STEP 1: Butter a 9×13-inch (23×33 cm) baking pan, then coat it with breadcrumbs.

Clean the apricots and raspberries, then pat them dry with paper towels. Tear the apricots in half and remove the stones.

(10 apricots, preferably small/medium, 1 cup raspberries)

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).

STEP 2: Separate the eggs into egg whites and yolks (the safest way is to do this with your hands). Place the egg whites in a medium/large bowl and the yolks in a large bowl.

(5 large eggs)

We need to beat the egg yolks and egg whites separately. If you have two mixers, you can do this at the same time—egg whites in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, and egg yolks with a hand mixer. If you only have one mixer, beat the egg whites first, then use the same whisk to beat the egg yolks. (Remember: the whisk and bowl must be perfectly clean before beating the egg whites, or they won’t whip properly.)

STEP 3: Add about half of the sugar (just eyeball it) to the egg yolks, along with the lemon zest and vanilla.

(1 cup + 2 tablespoons (225g) granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, zest grated from 1 lemon)

STEP 4: Beat with a mixer for about 2-3 minutes, until the mixture becomes pale and creamy, with ribbons forming from the yolk mixture when lifted.

STEP 5+6: In the stand mixer, whip the egg whites until foamy, then gradually add the remaining sugar while continuing to whip until stiff peaks form.

STEP 7: Add the oil to the egg yolk mixture, then mix in the baking powder and salt.

(3 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt)

Gently fold in 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the egg yolk mixture.

STEP 8: Add the flour.

(1 1/2 cups (190g) all-purpose flour)

NOTE: How to correctly measure flour: I’m using the “spoon and level method” so 1 cup of flour in my recipes weighs 125g. Fluff the flour by stirring it in the bag/flour container with a spoon. Spoon the flour and sprinkle it into your measuring cup. Sweep off the excess flour with the back of a knife. Too much flour added to pancake batter will result in dry and dense pancakes. I recommend using a digital scale for perfect and consistent results.

STEP 9+10: Carefully fold in the remaining egg whites until just combined.

STEP 11: Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface.

STEP 12: Prepare a small bowl with a little flour. Dip the bottom of each apricot half in the flour.

STEP 13: Place them on top of the batter—4 halves along the short edge and 5 halves along the long edge. Don’t press the fruit in! If your apricots vary in size, place the larger ones at the edges and the smaller ones in the middle.

Dip the pointed end of each raspberry in the flour, then place them between the apricot halves. Ensure the raspberries don’t touch the walls of the baking pan, as they may burn slightly.

STEP 14: Bake the cake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean, with a few small crumbs attached.

Let the cake cool just slightly – it tastes best when just slightly warm from the pan.

Sprinkle the cake generously with powdered sugar, cut it into squares, and enjoy!

Storage

This cake also tastes amazing the next day—it’s even more moist. It’s still good on the third day, but the fruit can become a bit dry and unappetizing by then.

You can store the cake at room temperature, covered, or wrapped in plastic foil

More delicious summer dessert recipes

Jagodzianki (Polish Blueberry Buns)	Strawberry Crepes	Key Lime Pie Bars