Here’s a classic, light, fluffy recipe for Mini Chinese Sponge Cakes (鸡蛋糕 / 小蛋糕) — the kind often seen in dim sum restaurants and Chinese bakeries. They’re tender, airy, mildly sweet, and wonderfully nostalgic.

🧁 Mini Chinese Sponge Cakes

Ingredients (makes about 12 mini cakes)

Dry

1 cup (120 g) cake flour (or AP flour sifted 2–3 times)
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt

Wet

3 large eggs, room temperature
½ cup (100 g) sugar
¼ cup (60 ml) whole milk
2 tbsp neutral oil (or melted butter)
½ tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Instructions

1. Prep

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
Line a muffin pan with parchment cups or use silicone molds.

2. Sift Dry Ingredients

In a bowl, whisk together:

cake flour
baking powder
salt

Set aside.

3. Beat Eggs + Sugar (the secret to fluffiness!)

Using a hand mixer or stand mixer:

Beat eggs and sugar on high for 6–8 minutes
until thick, pale, and tripled in volume (ribbon stage).

This is what gives the cakes their classic airy structure.

4. Add Milk + Oil

Gently mix in the milk, oil, and vanilla (if using) on low speed.

5. Fold in Dry Ingredients

Sift the dry ingredients again directly over the bowl.
Fold gently with a spatula in an “around and through” motion.
Stop as soon as no flour streaks remain — overfolding deflates the batter.

6. Fill Molds

Fill each cup about 80–90% full.
(These rise high, doming beautifully.)

7. Bake

Bake 12–15 minutes until:

tops are lightly golden
a toothpick comes out clean
the cakes spring back when touched

8. Cool

Let cool in the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack.

Tips for Perfect Chinese Sponge Cakes

Room-temp eggs whip much better.
Sift flour twice for maximum lightness.
Do not open the oven early — they can collapse.
If you want the classic bakery crack on top, bake at 360°F (182°C) for the first 5 minutes, then drop to 350°F.

Optional Flavor Variations

Honey sponge: replace 1 tbsp sugar with honey.
Panda Milk cake: add 1 tbsp milk powder.
Matcha: add 1 tsp matcha powder to dry ingredients.
Coconut: use coconut milk instead of regular milk.

If you want, I can also give you a steamed version (also traditional!), or a Hong Kong paper-wrapped sponge cake recipe.