14 sponge cake recipes

Black chocolate sponge cake: deep dark chocolate sheet cake with boiling-water batter trick, topped with creamy peanut butter frosting. Old-fashioned chocolate-peanut butter combo.

A flourless-style cocoa sponge cake made with cake meal, potato starch, and ground almonds. Split into three layers with strawberry preserves and topped with whipped cocoa cream. Passover-friendly.

A four-layer sponge cake with three different pudding fillings: cherry-almond, crushed pineapple, and chocolate-pecan, all wrapped in fresh whipped cream. A showstopping no-bake dessert that chills overnight.

Florida Keys bread pudding made with homemade coconut milk, day-old sponge cake, crushed pineapple, and a silky dark rum sauce. Tropical Caribbean comfort dessert.

Bolognese sponge cake layered with vanilla custard and rum, frosted in coffee zabaglione buttercream, then crowned with chocolate-dipped almonds and walnut sides. From Il Cantoncino restaurant in Bologna.

Mango mousse cake with a sponge cake base, fresh mango puree mousse set with gelatin, toasted almonds, raspberry jam, and whipped cream. An impressive layered French-style dessert.

Elegant layered chocolate mousse cake with praline rocher, rum syrup, and a glossy chocolate glaze. A showstopper French dessert.

Lake Highlands rock cake: layers of genoise-style chocolate sponge, crisp cocoa meringue, rum syrup, and rich chocolate mousse topped with whipped cream. A showstopper dessert.

Hungarian chocolate cream bars stack a cocoa sponge cake, rum-spiked mocha cream filling, and glossy chocolate glaze into decadent cafe-style squares. Dobos cake inspired and freezer-friendly.

Frankfurter Kranz: a traditional German ring cake with three rum-soaked sponge layers, a rich egg-yolk buttercream filling, and a crunchy almond praline crown. The classic Frankfurt coffee-table cake.

Favourite walnut cake: a flourless, ground-walnut sponge held together with whipped eggs and a whisper of breadcrumbs. Tall, tender, and naturally gluten-free.

Rigo Jancsi, the classic Hungarian chocolate cake with two layers of rich sponge filled with rum-spiked chocolate cream and topped with a glossy chocolate glaze. An elegant European pastry.

Cocoa sponge cake hearts cut from a sheet pan, dusted with powdered sugar, and plated with pools of raspberry sauce and chocolate syrup. A stunning Valentine's Day or special occasion dessert for 8.

Chocolate raspberry layer cake: a moist buttermilk-cocoa sponge cut into three layers and filled with an airy raspberry cream of Italian meringue folded into raspberry whipped cream. A showstopping, lighter-than-it-looks dessert.