Bánh Bông Lan (Vietnamese Sponge Cake)

One of the things I miss most when I moved to the U.S. is the different dessert shops in Vietnam. They are restaurants that only serve desserts. All kinds of Vietnamese desserts. I have not been able to find such establishments here. The closest to it are bakeries and it doesn’t even compare. So I find myself making homemade Vietnamese desserts and exposing my picky eater son to it 🤣. Lucky for him, it is similar to an American vanilla cake, except it will be much more delicious. I’m going to show you how I make my bánh bông lan (Vietnamese sponge cake).

What is Vietnamese sponge cake?

Bánh bông lan (a.k.a. Vietnamese sponge cake) is a plain vanilla cake. However, it is so much more fluffy and light compared to the American version of vanilla cake. The best part of it is it is not too sweet. But then most Asian desserts are not overly sweet, which is a plus for me.

So what makes it fluffy and light? Well, the answer is in the egg whites. When you make a plain vanilla cake, the batter calls for whole eggs. However, with the Vietnamese sponge cake, the egg yolks are used to create the batter then the egg whites are gently folded into the batter…similar to making an angel food cake from scratch.

What is in Vietnamese sponge cake?

The ingredients for Vietnamese sponge cake is not so different than that of a plain vanilla cake. You will need eggs, cake flour, sugar, baking powder, water or milk, oil, vanilla, salt and cream of tartar (to stabilize the egg whites).

How to make the cake?

The first thing I did was bring the eggs to room temperature by letting them sit on the counter for 60 minutes. This helps to create a smoother batter.

To separate the egg yolks from the eggs, I just cracked the shells in half and gently pour the egg back and forth using the cracked shells. As you do this, the egg whites will begin to separate from the yolks. So no fancy equipment is needed.

After the yolks are separated from the whites, set the whites aside. Mix the yolks with the powdered sugar until they are well combined…until the color turns a light yellow.

Add in the water, oil and vanilla and mix until they are well combined. Slowly mix in the sifted flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and mix well. Then set it aside and start on the egg whites.

In a different bowl, add the egg whites and mix it on medium speed until the egg whites starts to form bubbles. Then add in the cream of tartar. This will act as a stabilizing agent for the egg whites by preventing the proteins in the egg whites from sticking together. So how much cream of tartar do you need? The general rule is 1/8 teaspoon for every egg white. Since I’ll be using 4 egg whites today, that will be 1/2 tsp of cream of tartar. Whip the egg whites and cream of tartar together until stiff peaks form. This means that when you remove the whisk from the bowl, the egg white peaks should be able to hold its shape.

After the egg whites and cake batter are made, using a spatula, add 1/3 of the egg whites to the batter. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.

How to fold egg whites into batter

I always use a silicone spatula to fold. Two things to keep in mind as you fold the egg whites. First, make sure the flat side of the spatula is facing you as you place it into the center of the batter each time. This helps to keep as much of the air in the egg whites as possible. After all, that’s what makes the cake nice and fluffy. Second, make sure to rotate the bowl everytime after the spatula comes out of the batter. This makes sure that you “work your way around” the batter causing as little deflation as possible.

So…what is my process? Well, I gently push the spatula down in the center of the batter with the flat side of the spatula facing me. As I scrape the bottom of the bowl and up the side, I slowly turn the spatula so the flat side is now facing up as the spatula emerges from the batter. When the spatula comes out of the batter, I turn the spatula so the flat side is now facing me again as I gently push it down into the center of the batter again, but this time I rotate the bowl.

This process is repeated until all the egg whites are incorporated into the batter. Be patient and gentle with this process, it will pay off.

Tips & tricks I learned

The first few times I made this cake, it was an epic fail. It didn’t rise properly, was too dense or it would rise then fall as it cooled. But they were all good learning opportunities.

First is to use cake flour. I like to use the King Arthur Unbleached Cake Flour (not sponsored). This is important. I tried to make it using all purpose flour several times and each time the cake came out delicious but dense. Using cake flour will give the cake a soft, finer texture due to the lower amount of gluten in the flour. Don’t have cake flour? No problem, you can add cornstarch to all purpose flour and make your own cake flour. I have not tried this method but will definitely give it a shot the next time I run out of cake flour.

Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature and don’t forget to sift the flour to remove any clumps.

Before baking, I gently tap the filled cake pan on the counter. This removes any bubbles left in the batter. Why you may ask? Although it is good to have bubbles in the batter because that’s what makes it rise, but it can also cause the cake to deflate as it cools outside the oven. By removing the bubbles, it will help the baked cake maintain its shape as it cools.

I bake this cake in a hot water bath. I find it’s easiest to heat up some water, place the filled cake pan inside a slightly larger pan. Place both pans on the oven rack then pour hot water into the larger pan. This avoids you having to move them filled with cake batter and hot water. Baking it in a water bath will keep the cake moist and help it bake evenly throughout.

Lastly, after the cake is baked, I turn the oven off, leave the cake in the oven with the oven door propped open to let the cake slowly cool down. This also helps it to not deflate and it lets the cake maintain a nice, smooth surface.

How to serve bánh bông lan (Vietnamese sponge cake)

I’m a purist so I like to just serve bánh bông lan (Vietnamese sponge cake) as is. Even my son said it tastes good plain and he’s a really picky eater…especially when it comes to trying different ethnic foods.

However, you can definitely put some toppings (whipped cream and berries)on top or even make a buttercream icing or chocolate ganache to pour over it.

The next time you want to bake a plain old vanilla cake, give this recipe a try. No matter how you serve it, your guests won’t feel guilty after eating it…because it is light and fluffy. This has become my family’s new cake recipe. Looking for more Vietnamese desserts, check out these different desserts I’ve made. If you like this post, feel free to share it on Facebook by using the button below.