What are the fewest ingredients that will still make a cake?

This easy cake is made with just 3 simple ingredients. It doesn’t contain any butter, oil or milk and doesn’t even need baking powder or baking soda. The cake is light and fluffy, with a delicate sweet crackly top. It’s excellent for dessert or afternoon tea.

Yep, there are just three ingredients in this cake. And none of those ingredients are cake mix or an ingredient that contains several ingredients. The cake is simple, delicate, and delectable.

Ingredients

Eggs
Sugar
All-Purpose Flour

Eggs: With this recipe, there is no replacement for eggs. The eggs are the key to creating the cake structure and letting the cake rise since there is no leavening agent. You do not need to separate the eggs for this recipe, nor do you need to make a meringue. Instead, the eggs are beaten vigorously with the sugar until the mixture becomes very thick.

Sugar: This recipe is made with granulated white sugar though you may be able to substitute with other granular sugars. I’ve prepared a similar cake with brown sugar before.

All-Purpose Flour: This recipe uses regular all-purpose flour.

Making 3 Ingredient Cake

Making this easy cake requires just two basic processes.

First, the eggs and sugar are mixed together for roughly eight minutes using an electric mixer. The mixture will transition from frothy to thick and creamy throughout this time. The color of the egg mixture will likewise shift from yellow to a very light (nearly white) yellow.

The flour is then gently folded in. To add the flour, I suggest using a mesh strainer. Although the recipe does not call for sifted flour, you do not want to overmix your batter. Flour clumps, and if you simply put it in as is, you may wind up mixing too hard to integrate all of the flour, causing too much air to escape from the egg mixture. Passing the flour through a mesh strainer or a flour sifter allows the flour to fall in more softly, making it much simpler to integrate the flour fast. If you don’t have a sieve or sifter, you may alternatively use your hands to mix the flour in, breaking up any clumps between your fingers.

Cake Texture

The cake’s inside is light and fluffy. It’s comparable to sponge cake, but not quite as soft and mushy. The surface of the cake is a delicate shell that breaks as you slice open the cake, creating sweet crackly pieces. You do have to cut very carefully to avoid the shell cracking in too many pieces.

The cake can be served with a dusting of powdered sugar. You may also garnish and serve it with fresh fruit, such as strawberries.

More Easy Cake Recipes

2 Ingredient Chocolate Cake
4 Ingredient Apple Cake
3 Ingredient Sponge Cake
3 Ingredient Yogurt Cake
4 Ingredient Strawberry Cake

The recipe has been updated with a video. You can also find all my recipe videos on my youtube channel .

3 large eggs brought to room temperature
1 cup (195 g) granulated white sugar
1 cup (128 g) all purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper and grease the inside. (I used a round parchment paper for the bottom and then cut two strips to line the sides.)
Combine the eggs and sugar in a large mixing dish. Beat on highest speed with wire whisk for about 8 minutes or until mixture becomes very thick and turns a very pale (almost white) yellow. This can be done with a hand mixer or stand mixer. I made use of a stand mixer.
Sift in 1/3 of the flour using a mesh sieve or flour sifter. If you don’t have a mesh strainer or sifter, you may sprinkle the flour in with your hands. The goal is to break up the flour clumps when the flour is added so that it is easy to fold the flour into the egg mixture without deflating too much air from the egg mixture. Fold the flour into the egg mixture using a spatula. Repeat with the remaining flour, followed by the last third.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 25-30 minutes. The cake’s surface should be light brown, with a firm shell/crust covering it. A toothpick inserted should come out clean (be careful when inserting the toothpick as you don’t want to break the shell too much. It is very sensitive and readily cracks).
Let cake cool completely before removing. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and/or fresh fruit, such as strawberries.

This cake is best baked in a springform pan. It not only helps the cake rise, but it also makes it simpler to remove. The cake has a very delicate crust/shell over it and it will break easily so you want a cake pan where the cake will easily come out of.
I don’t recommend using smaller than 8 inch because the cake will take too long to cook if it is too thick. You may use a pan larger than 8 inches, but your cake will be considerably thinner and you will need to shorten the baking time.
If you have any issues about substitutes, please visit the post’s Ingredients section.
The trick to making this recipe work is to whisk the eggs until extremely thick and then carefully fold in the flour without deflating the egg mixture too much.

1 slice per person, Calories: 143kcal, Carbohydrates: 29g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 22mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 20g, NET CARBS: 28g

The nutrition data supplied is simply an estimate based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a registered dietitian. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.