Bánh Bông Lan: Tall, Soft Vietnamese Butter Sponge Cake (Full Recipe)

Name: Butter Sponge Cake in 30 Seconds! Tall & Soft Bánh Bông Lan — Recipe 31 of 34
Uploaded: 2026-10-31
Description: The complete Bánh Bông Lan recipe from Pai's Kitchen: whipped-egg ribbon method, 170°C, no sunk centre. Ingredients in grams, doneness signs, mistakes to avoid.

By Pai Digital · 2026-10-31 · 3 min read · From our Pai's Kitchen channel · Watch on YouTube

Butter Sponge Cake in 30 Seconds! Tall & Soft Bánh Bông Lan — Recipe 31 of 34

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🎧 Hear this guide read aloud — natural voices, including Lina's own offline voice.

Bánh Bông Lan is Vietnam's everyday celebration cake — a tall, feather-soft butter sponge for tea or with fruit. Recipe 31 of 34 in the Pai's Kitchen Banh Mi Collection, this is a foam cake, not a layered cream cake: whipped eggs do all the lifting. Here is the complete recipe, exactly as it appears in the Pai Recipes app.

Key takeaways

Whip 200 g eggs with 120 g sugar for a full 5 minutes — the ribbon must hold on the surface for 3 seconds.
Melted butter goes in cooled to warm, never hot, and flour is folded, never beaten — both rules protect the foam.
Bake at 170°C / 338°F for 28–32 minutes and do not open the oven door before minute 22.
A sunk centre means one of three things: under-whipped eggs, hot butter, or an early-opened door.

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Recipe Unit Converter — Convert grams ↔ cups ↔ ounces for any ingredient in this recipe.

Ingredients (8 slices)

Eggs, room temperature 200 g (4 eggs) · granulated sugar 120 g · all-purpose flour 120 g · unsalted butter, melted and cooled 40 g · fresh milk 30 g (2 tbsp) · vanilla extract 4 g (1 tsp). Per slice (estimated): 188 kcal, protein 4.9 g, carbs 26.9 g, fat 6.7 g. Total time about 1 hour 10 minutes; difficulty medium.

Method, step by step

1) Preheat to 170°C / 338°F and line a 20 cm / 8-inch pan. Melt the butter and let it cool until just warm. 2) Whip eggs and sugar 5 minutes until pale and thick — a ribbon of batter should sit on the surface for 3 seconds. 3) Sift the flour over the foam and fold only until no flour shows; fold in the milk, vanilla and cooled butter. Stirring hard here is what makes sponges stay low. 4) Bake 28–32 minutes without opening the door before minute 22. 5) Rest 10 minutes in the pan, then cool on a rack before slicing.

Doneness and the sunk-centre problem

The cake is done when the top springs back and a skewer comes out with a few dry crumbs — not wet batter. If your sponge sank, audit the three usual causes in order: the eggs were not whipped to a true ribbon; the butter went in hot and melted the foam; or the door opened early and the temperature crashed. Fix those and this recipe is reliably tall — watch the 30-second video above to see the ribbon test done right.

Put it into practice

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Frequently asked questions

Why room-temperature eggs?

They whip faster and hold more air than cold eggs. Take them out of the fridge 30 minutes before baking, or warm them briefly in a bowl of lukewarm water.

Can I make Bánh Bông Lan without butter?

Butter gives this version its flavour and tender crumb. A neutral oil version exists (chiffon-style), but the texture and taste change — this recipe is the butter classic.

How long does the sponge keep?

Two to three days in an airtight container at room temperature, or a week refrigerated. It also freezes well, sliced, for up to a month.

Watch next

Steamed Pork Buns in 30 Seconds! Fluffy Bánh Bao — Recipe 29 of 34

Prefer reading? Read the guide: Bánh Bao: Fluffy Vietnamese Steamed Pork & Egg Buns (Full Recipe)

This recipe video is AI-generated for education and entertainment. Follow food safety practices, cook meats to safe internal temperatures, and verify doneness with visual cues and a thermometer. Nutrition values are estimates.

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