This is a moist and tender cake with plenty of orange flavor.

Egg-Yolk Sponge Cake

all-purpose flour

baking powder

salt

egg yolks

white sugar

orange zest

orange juice, strained

lemon extract

water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).


Sift together twice: flour, baking powder, and salt. Pour back into sifter.


In a large mixing bowl beat egg yolks and whole eggs with an electric mixer until thick and lemon colored (about 5 minutes). Gradually add sugar,  beating after each addition. This should take about 10 minutes.


Fold in orange rind, orange juice, and lemon extract. Sift dry ingredients into egg and sugar mixture and fold in. Do not stir or beat. Add boiling water and fold in quickly, just until liquid is blended. Pour batter into one ungreased 10 inch tube pan.


Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 60 to 65 minutes. Turn cake over in pan on a wire rack and let cake hang for 1 hour or until cool. Loosen cake sides from pan with a spatula and shake from pan. Dust top lightly with confectioner's sugar or frost with Orange Butter Frosting.


This cake was a huge hit.  It was gone in a flash.  I topped it off with a glaze made with fresh squeezed orange juice, powdered sugar and butter.

Moist and great on its own. It really requires no frosting. Also, it's a good way to use up egg-yolks.

Very nice recipe. Easy to make and turned out great, the citrus flavours are easily substituted to adapt it to your taste. I've made a pina colada flavour (substituting coconut, rum and pineapple flavours) and a mocha flavour (substituting chocolate and coffee flavours) and they both tasted great.

Very tasty!! I wouldn't call it moist, but it certainly is good.
I have left over yolk from making angel food and this is the perfect way to use it, it even tasted better than the angel food, haha..
FYI, I use 11yolks, may varied depend on the size of your eggs, but i think you'll need around 10-12.

When I was a kid sponge cake was my favorite.  My mom always made one when she made the angel food cake using only yolks.  I have looked for this recipe since forever and am so glad I found it.  For the one lady in England that does not have a tube pan, if you need one, take a large pan, place a heat proof glass in the center and viola, a tube pan.  For those who do not like the texture of the cake, remember it is called a "sponge" cake.   I am making one today using only lemon juice and rind.  Yum!  Thanks so much for this recipe.  From the other reviews I am sure I will give this recipe a five star rating.  To avoid having problems getting the cake out of the pan, line the bottom of pan with ungreased parchment paper.  The paper will slide out with the cake and can then be peeled off easily.  Just tear off a piece of parchment paper the width of the bottom of the pan, take a pencil or pen and draw around the bottom of the pan onto the paper, then cut the paper a little smaller than you have drawn and it should fit nicely into the tube pan.

I made quite a few changes to this recipe, based on the reviews here+ a sponge cake recipe in a baking book (that explains their rigorous testing methods) + my own tastes - but I kept the egg ingredients the same since I wanted to use up a whole lot of yolks! Sorry I'm not posting it as a custom version but I don't want to buy that membership! My cake turned out very well (I'd rate 5*) &amp; got many positive comments from the eaters. Texture was just right - a bit spongy, yet light enough - not too dense. Flavor nice. I think the egg whipping is important, see below.
Here goes:
Total of 1 2/3 c flour, but make it up of about 2 parts cake flour and one part all-purpose flour.
Same baking powder and salt as recipe, same sifting together instructions.
Same quantity of eggs, but:
Separate the whole egg, add its yolk to the others.
Whip up the egg white to soft peaks, set aside.
Now, spend a LOT of time whipping the yolks, like 10 minutes, til they're REALLY lovely, light, and pale colored.
Fold in the whipped egg white.
Same amount of sugar. 
Recipe makes it sound like you have to beat yolks and sugar together for 10 minutes - not sure about that need!
Same amount of zest, orange juice.
Gentle but thorough folding is probably important.
I substituted orange extract for the lemon extract.
I added 2 T Grand Marnier (orange liqueur) and removed 2T from the water quantity.
I used room temperature water, not boiling water. 
Tube pan. Check for done-ness at 45 mins.
Good luck - Enjoy!

I'm really sorry to leave a negative review but everything about this recipe fails. I went against my better judgement in following a recipe that calls for adding boiling water to beaten egg yolks, which "cooked" them and killed the leavening agent before it even went into the oven. I followed the recipe exactly (I understand the importance of careful beating and folding.) However, the cake didn't rise, was beyond spongy (rubbery)  had so-so flavor (could have benefited from vanilla or almond in addition to the orange zest and lemon extract.) and was over baked at 60 minutes.  I come from a long line of bakers and will stick with the trusted sponge cake recipes handed down from my grandmothers in the future, none of which is any more difficult than this.  I'm annoyed with myself for wasting all the ingredients on this one. My husband took one bite and said it wasn't worth eating. I ate a small piece and saved a slice for my mom (a professional baker) who guessed just what was wrong without my telling her about the recipe instructions. We both agree this is an inferior sponge cake. The biggest problem is the boiling water dumped into the egg yolks and leavening.

Delicious!!!  Very good. I didn't add the orange flavorings though, and it still came out excellent.  Make sure to whip the egg-yolks and sugar until the mixture is very light and rises, or the result will be not as well.

I baked this in a 9 by 13 inch pan, and the texture of the resulting cake was incredible. I didn't even add any orange flavoring.  An excellent way to use up extra egg yolks.

I worry about the amount of cholesterol in this (it took 14 yolks!), but it is very good, delicate and light-tasting.  Instead of lemon flavoring, I used vanilla and a pinch of chocolate powder.

Thanks for the recipe, Carol.  Very good cake.  Mine unfortunately stuck to my pan a bit, so next time I will grease the pan although the recipe says to use an ungreased pan.  Other than a little sticking, the cake turned out well and is tasty.

This is the perfect match to it's egg white counter-part angel food cake. I have a lot of chickens, who produce a lot of eggs. When my egg sales are slow, I make several angel food cakes to put in the freezer. I absolutely hated throwing out the yolks. I am tickled now that I don't have to!! Thanks so much. Oh, by the way, the cake is awesome, and really easy to make.

This came out great. The perfect sponge cake for fruit and cream or whatever!!

Excellent Cake! I just used a little over 1 cup of sugar and that was sweet enough.  I substituted vanilla extract for the lemon and didn't have orange zest.  Oh, my cake was done after about 30 minutes on 325 F.  If I let it cook for another 30 minutes, it would have burned!  So, keep an eye on your cake and toothpick test it after about 25 minutes.  It is really good and a great way to use the egg yolks!  I made a lemon glaze and drizzled on top once cooled. 


Lemon glaze: 1 cup of powdered sugar and 3 Tbl lemon juice.  Mix well and drizzle on top.

Hi! I treid this recipe after making mirangues yesterday and being left with egg yolks.It turned out lovely! It took longer to cook than recipe said but in UK we don't have a 'tube' tin so I used a loaf tin thinking this would be similar.I would suggest that anyone who gave a bad review didn't follow the recipe to the letter as I could tell how important all the beating of the eggs and sugar is. Needs Patience!!!!

Very good way to use up the egg-yolks that you don't use when you make angel-food cake. I did not make this orange flavored, I used vanilla, butter, and almond flavoring.

I was so uncertain about this cake but it turned out really great. I am amazed. truly good cake and a great way to use up left over egg yolks from your angel food cake.

This was a great cake!! The only thing I would do is reduce the amount sugar...its a little too sweet!

This is the perfect recipe to accompany angel food cake making.  It is excellent.  If you don't over bake, it makes a great roulade type cake.  Perfect just the way the recipe is or leave out the citrus and just add extra vanilla.

excellent way to use up egg yolks. slightly sweet but moist enough for a cake that doesn't use butter. I would recommend you follow the instructions for beating the eggs thoroughly and fold the batter as lightly as possible.. otherwise the cake can be a bit rubbery as some reviews were complaining about. I had mine with citrus cream cheese frosting!

I decided to try a different egg-yolk recipe than my mother uses, and I think I'll stick with Mom's.
I found the crumb to be too course. The taste was OK, but the texture left much to be disired.

This cake is amazing! Even my husband who's not a fan of sponge cake loved this.  The recipe is perfect as written and so easy to make.  I had to substitute the lemon extract with almond because that was all I had and it was delicious.  The almond combined with the orange was wonderful.  I will be making this again.

baked this in a loaf pan instead of tube pan, turn out ok. very mediocre recipe, not worth the time or effort. have better ways of using my egg yolks. disappointed

I have been using tons of egg whites on a new diet so I had a lot of egg yolks left over.  This cake turned out great - or at least that is what everyone tells me because I didn't taste it - everyone else can get fat!  LOL  I glazed it with an orange glaze.  Eat up piggies !  I hear it's a good one.

very flavorful, made it to use egg yolks left from making an angel food cake

I did not care for this recipe.  I followed the directions exactly and the batter looked and tasted wonderful, but what a disappointment. It was like rubber. It fell in the middle and was a waste of time and ingredients.

Light, sweet and delicious, I found this when I was looking for a dairy-free recipe and was blown away. Every bit as good as a normal cake I was able to enjoy this dessert depite a restricted diet. It also went really well with the meringue frosting I used.

I liked this recipe, especially for its simplicity and low calories count!  I love the orange flavor of it--not too much to overpower the cake, but enough to taste.  We ate the cake last night without adding anything to it, and it was delicious.  I was surprised by the texture of the cake though; but I'm wondering if I did something to it.  It was  slightly dense and a little chewy.  I guess I expected more airiness to it.  But the flavor is right on.  I will definitely make again and add whipped cream and berries.

Just ok....needed to do something with my egg yolks after making an angel food cake.....

Ugh, I made this cake to use up the egg yolks left over from my Martha Stewart Coconut Cake (terrific by the way!) but my end result was inedible. I folded in the ingredients as gently as I could, but my two cakes were nothing close to light, fluffy or spongey. Cakes were like rubbery overcooked eggs and did not rise much. Taste is so-so, nothing to rave about. Don't waste your yolks on this recipe!

I made it exactly how it called for, really I had a bunch of egg yolks leftover from making angel food cake and I didn't want to waste them so I gave this a try.  All of my guests agreed that this was just "OK" and no one went back for seconds.

Turned out BEAUTIFULLY - with some changes.  Photo posted.  

I used a KitchenAid stand mixer for the mixing process which can make all the difference.

I used almost boiling water that I TRICKLED down the inside of the bowl as the mixer is on low.  

I used CAKE flour.  I skipped the OJ and lemon and instead used 1 tsp of orange zest - although 1 tablespoon would have been good, too.  I also used 1/2 tsp of orange extract.

Oh, and I didn't "fold" anything.  I just changed the KitchenAid speed (paddle attachment) to fit my needs.

I baked at 325 for 45 minutes and turned cake, still in bundt pan, upside down on a wire rack to cool until skin temperature.  This cake rises to fill a 10x4 inch (real) bundt pan in the oven. 

It has been about six hours since taking the cake out of the oven and the "eggy taste" has diminished quite a bit.

I used the leftover yolks from the eggs I used for an angle food cake. This cake has a good flavor and a nice texture.

The recipe is a good one! I didn't use any citrus flavorings, but only flavored the cake with a teaspoon or so of vanilla. And YES, this truly does come out being nearly the same texture as a usual sponge cake!

This is very yummy. Made it for a birthday party along side another cake and they had another one there as well. Long story short, all cakes turned out weapons in a food fight that got out of control. This one however, was picked up from the floor by anyone who found a big piece because everyone who got a piece in their mouth and tasted it started saying it was very good. I was asked to make another one for our next get together and was promised it would be tucked away until all the games were done and over with.

It had the most awful smell ever.  I don't know what I did wrong, but I followed the recipe, it was spongey, but it smelled like a dirty sock and tasted even worse.

I made this tonight for my ladies Bible Study tomorrow.  Just had to have a taste.  Wonderful!  I used Splenda that also has part sugar for baking.  I know the ladies will enjoy it!!

I've made this cake multiple times (every time I make the Heavenly Angel Food Cake)and my husband, friends, and myself really like it.  Tastes like a really good fortune cookie, a little eggy taste too. Top with strawberries or raspberries.  Note:  I make the cake using organic sugar, which is not a fine grain sugar. The top of the cake always falls off when inverted upside down for cooling.  I'm guessing this is the sugar,but cake is great any way.

This cake was pretty good.  I didn't have any lemon extract, so I used vanilla instead and it really brought out the orange flavor.  We didn't use any frosting, just a little powdered sugar sprinkled on top.  I used a spring-form pan.  The crust was a little chewy so I will bake it for less time next time.  Great way to use egg yolks!

I'm glad I found this recipe. It's good recipe to use up left over egg yolks from making angel food cake. Mine got a little dry, I must have left it longer that it should. Next time I will keep an eye on it. I used it as a base for a charlotte. Will make it again.

I really enjoyed this cake. I always have egg yolks left over since i bake a lot and wanted a way to use of my leftover egg yolks and not let them go away. I served this just with some powder sugar sifted over it. My entire family loved it! This cake is great with a cup of coffee, tea, or milk.   The only difference i had was that my cake finished baking in 50 minutes! Will definitely use this recipe whenever i have leftover yolks!

I had a lot of egg yolks leftover after making a white cake and Swiss meringue buttercream. I made cupcakes and frosted them with the extra buttercream. Huge Hit! The citrus flavor was prefect and I shared the recipe with at least 3 mothers who attended the party.

Great way to use up the egg yolks from angel food cake. This cake is delicious served with whipped cream and peaches.

Making this cake was hilarious. But let me start by saying it was a really nice cake and my family has enjoyed it. However, next time I would bake it for 45 mins, not 60 mins. The funny side is, it had been a very long day, I was tired and even considered not making the cake until the next day. But I went ahead anyway. The steps were simple enough, or so I thought, and I followed them through to pouring the mix into the bundt pan. I then began to clean up the kitchen only to discover, wait for it...I had omitted all the sifted dry ingredients! Yep. They were still sitting with the sifter. I quickly pulled out the pan from the oven, returned the batter to the bowl, folded in the dry ingredients and threw it back into the bowl and into the oven. MIRACULOUSLY this cake still turned out yum! I hope you laugh at this as much as I did!

The cake was pretty simple to make, two stars for that. However, the  taste is another story, it was horrible. The texture of the cake was rubbery like a previous reviewer said. The cake was hard and very dry. I tried to add some liquid down into the cake, and it didnt help much. A big disappointment and waste of supplies. Wouldnt make this cake again.

Great recipe... I followed most of the directions/ingredients, but didn't use orange zest, and just doubled lemon extract.  I topped it with a glaze made of 2 cups powdered sugar and 1/4 cup orange juice.  A perfect way to use the yolks left from making an Angel Food Cake...

I had about ten egg yolks leftover from a Father's Day Angel food cake, so I looked up a recipe to use them. This recipe was not only an egg-cellent way to use up extra yolks, it was fairly easy to make and very delicious.
I modified the recipe a tad because I also had a surplus of lemons in the house:
I added a tablespoon of lemon zest
I subbed a quarter cup of lemon juice for the same amount of water (I then boiled it with the water).
I eliminated the orange juice and zest.
I made a glaze out of a tablespoon of melted butter, a cup of powdered sugar (approx.) and about three tablespoons of lemon juice, and poured it over the cooled, unmolded cake.
Other than that I followed the recipe exactly. My oven runs hot (it's a commercial convection oven), so mine was done baking in 45 minutes
It is fluffy, spongy, and very moist. No discernible egginess, and a beautiful pale yellow color. I will
Definitely keep this in mind for the next time I have a bunch of yolks on hand!

Quite a different recipe - I'm not a huge cake-maker and was intrigued by the use of egg yolks (which I had leftover from making French macarons) and boiling water. I was also worried by the low ratings stating that the boiling water cooked the eggs during mixing, but I didn't have that problem at all - I'm wondering if reviewers experiencing this perhaps didn't beat the eggs long enough.

The final texture is a little chewy but very tasty, with good crumb on the inside, a bit like a dense angel food cake. I didn't have orange juice so subbed lemon juice and added a 1/2 tsp of fiori di sicilia (orange/vanilla extract) instead of the lemon extract. The flavour of this combination is gorgeous.

I don't have a tube pan so used an ungreased non-stick bundt pan, and it turned out fine (just like my angel food cake does in the same pan).

Like others have said, rubbery is the best I can say for this cake. I have made many, many cakes in my lifetime but never had one fail like this one did.

Excellent!  Was not as orangy as I anticipated but of course adjustments can be made for that!  However, with the orange glaze (which my friend garnished with orange slices and orange zest) added a bit more orange taste to the whole ensemble and the cake was wonderful.  

susan and talia!

This may be our new favorite cake...and we're not really cake eaters! It was so moist, but completely baked through. The best sponge cake I've ever had. I followed the directions exactly, using my stand mixer. The flavor was delicate, not too sweet, with just a hint of citrus. All I did was dust it with powdered sugar to finish it off. I'll definitely make this again!

I just made this as cupcakes. They came out great. I used all cake flour and used lemon instead of orange. They taste great.

My cake was half the height of the cake in the picture. It was just ok

This cake was heaven.Just perfect for any occasion. Never feels heavy or too sweet. I will be making this again. I added 2 tablespoons of melted butter to my orange glaze to cut the chalkiness from the confectioners sugar.

I have made this cake quite a few times and it always has come out great! Few changes I did with the flavoring  to vanilla and did not put the orange juice in it or orange zest. thank you for sharing your recipe!

I liked it !  I decorated it like a pumpkin . I put orange icing on it and put a cone in the middle for a stem .   On the stem I put green icing on it .  The cake was exquisite .

Absolutely best recipe for use of leftover yolks after making a pavlova. Cake came out super spongy and delicious. Will definitely make it again and again. Thank you and God bless.

Great recipe! I used a Bundt pan so I did grease the pan. Was delish! Will add oil or pudding next time to make it a little more moist.

I used this recipe to make a chocolate cake and it turned out to be really airy, soft and moist. Gave me super tasty chocolate cake that doesn’t require any frosting. Tip - the cake tastes even better if you let batter rest for 30 minutes after pouring in cake mould. Bake it and keep checking for doneness after 40 minutes. Happy baking!

I thought it was great! Glad to be able to use 12 egg yolks!   Per recommendations, image sue to whip eggs for 10 minutes, at least. I also added only 1 14 cups sugar. It was light and just as a sponge cake should be.  I used very hot water and drizzled it as I folded batter with spatula. It was half eaten after I put it on the plate, and by 3 of us!  Might use lemon zest and lemon extract next time.

wasn't sure of the hot water but followed the recipe exactly, and wow! my family devoured it. Now I know what to do when we make Angel food cake, make sponge cake to go with it. #nowaste ????

I make this all the time now because I also love to make Angel Cake which uses all egg whites. Now I can use the egg yolks for this.  I spead warmed raspberry jam on this cake and when the jam is cool, I sprinkle with coconut. Delicious

This recipe turned out perfect. It’s was my first attempt and I’m so glad i picked this one. Absolutely delicious and fluffy. I used vanilla extract instead of lemon.

I don't have a flour sifter so just fluffed flour and that worked just fine. Cake was a hit. Nice light dessert.

Made with Jules gluten free all purpose flour.  Came out great, very tasty.   Cake is sweet and probably could do without frosting next time.

Delicious.  Would make again in a heartbeat.

It was delicious. So soft and light! Will definitely make it again.

I did not have 3/4 C of egg yolks, so added two extra eggs.  Also, it is really important to beat the sugar and eggs for 10 minutes in order to get the right consistency.  It still turned out well and freezes beautifully.

Judy

I followed the recipe according to directions.   It turned out great.  Friends enjoyed the cake.   It was very moist and light.

Amazing cake! The orange and lemon blend well together making a lovely tasting cake. Going to make this again!

I have made this cake twice, first as recipe states, then the second a chocolate mocha.  I loved the orange citrus, it was wonderful! My husband doesn't like citrus so I made the second one subbing cocoa for some of the flour, and adding instant coffee to the boiling water when added.  This is the best for using up extra yolks, I have used 12 yolks before and it's just spot on! Great for when you make homemade angel food cake- using the leftover yolks from that gives you two cakes!

Does anyone know how to substitute gluten free flour for regular cake flower?   Same proportions?

I was worried about one remark about the boiling water. I used nearly boiling water from my “ever hot” tap. And I whisked it into the batter quickly. There was no issue with the raw egg because it was already incorporated into the batter. The cake is AMAZING. I may add a chocolate orange glaze to it but it is delicious on its own.

As another reviewer said "make sure to whip the egg-yolk and sugar until the mixture is very light and rises" to have good results and not be rubbery.

I used vanilla extract instead of lemon (I had a hunch that the lemon on top of orange juice and orange zest would be citrus overkill. To each his own, right?). Despite all the alarm bells going off at adding hot water to an egg yolk mixture, I followed the directions to a T (y'know, except that extract bit... and I used a spring-form instead of a tube pan), and the results were a fluffy tower of cakey goodness that made my apartment smell like a confection wonderland. It tasted very light, not eggy at all. My only complaint is that it will be gone too soon!

I made a gluten free version of this recipe and it worked out well.   I cut the sugar back to 1 cup as some of the other reviewers suggested and only baked it 50 minutes, which was just about right. Served with strawberry rhubarb sauce and whipped cream, it got rave reviews!

egg-yolk sponge cake

Servings: 5.5

Author : Allrecipes Member

Ingredients

Instructions

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