Pão de Ló (Portuguese Whisked Sponge Cake)
A light, home-style Portuguese sponge cake with a tender crumb and bright lemon notes. It’s simple to make — just whisk eggs and sugar, fold in flour, and bake until puffed and golden.
45 min
start to finish
15 min
hands on
Some skill
difficulty
8
servings
Ingredients
Contains gluten, egg. Cooking for an allergy? Check the label on every packet you use — brands differ, and we can only tell you what the recipe calls for.
Roughly, per serving
220 kcal6g protein38g carbs5g fat
An estimate, not a lab analysis.
Method
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C).
Brush a 9-inch (23 cm) round cake pan or springform with the oil and line the bottom with parchment.
Put the room-temperature eggs and granulated sugar into a large, wide mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk).
Whisk the eggs and sugar at high speed until the mixture is very pale, thick, and has tripled in volume — ribbons should fall from the whisk and hold briefly on the surface.
If whisking by hand, use a large balloon whisk and be prepared for 12–15 minutes of steady whisking.
Sift the flour (and baking powder, if using) over the whipped eggs in two additions.
Using a large rubber spatula, gently fold the flour into the egg mixture with wide strokes: cut down through the center, scrape along the bowl, and fold over — avoid deflating the foam.
Work quickly but gently. Stop folding as soon as the streaks of flour disappear.
Fold in the lemon zest and the pinch of salt until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top gently, and tap the pan once on the counter to settle the batter.
Bake until the cake is puffed and the top is golden — a toothpick inserted into the cake should come out with a few moist crumbs (for a more traditional slightly moist center) or clean if you prefer fully set; about 25–35 minutes depending on your oven.
Start checking at 25 minutes; ovens vary and overbaking dries the cake.
Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and unmold onto the rack to cool completely.
When cool, dust the top with powdered sugar if you like and slice into wedges to serve.
Worth knowing
- Room-temperature eggs whip to a higher volume than cold ones — if you forgot to warm them, place eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.
- To make a gluten-free version, substitute a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum; the texture will be a little different.
- Store leftovers wrapped at room temperature for up to 2 days, or freeze slices wrapped tightly for up to 1 month.
- For a loaf-shaped Pão de Ló, use a greased 9x5-inch loaf pan and reduce bake time slightly; start checking at 20 minutes.
Make it yours
Cooking without dairy, without an oven, for someone who won't touch chilli, or for six instead of four? Have the recipe rewritten around it — quantities, steps and all.
VegetarianBudgetKid friendlyQuick
More Portuguese cooking
An original Restaurant Pro recipe — our own composition in the idiom of Portuguese cooking, not any restaurant's recipe. Written to be vegetarian as listed.