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Traditional Guyanese Sponge Cake Red & Green Swirl Cake

Traditional-Guyanese-Sponge-Cake-Red-&-Green-Swirl-Cake
The traditional Guyanese sponge cake recipe is an exclusive recipe of our chefs designed for Keif’s Catering, not picked from any other source or cookbooks.
  • Preparation Time: 30 Minutes
  • Cooling Time: Approximately 1 Hour
  • Cook Time: 40 - 60 Minutes
  • Serving Size: Approximately 16 Slices

Our traditional Guyanese cake is a soft, light, and spongy dessert loved for its colors and delicious taste. This dessert is also known as red and green sponge cake. The red and green swirls give the cake its traditional Guyanese appearance, while the orange zest, brown rum, and orange cream cheese glaze add a bright and flavorful twist, which makes it popular during Christmas time and other festivals. Want us to cater it for you in the next festive season? Explore our dessert catering menu

Ingredients

For Cake:

  • 4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
  • 2¼ cups granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 10 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 4 sticks (2 cups) softened butter
  • 1 shot brown rum
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
  • Zest of 1 whole orange
  • Red food coloring
  • Green food coloring

For Orange Cream Cheese Glaze:

  • 1 package (8 ounces) softened cream cheese
  • ¼ cup evaporated milk
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon orange extract

Instructions

Pre Preparations:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
  2. Butter a large Bundt pan generously with Muse butter, make sure to coat every corner and crevice so the cake will be nice and buttery.
  3. Lightly flour the pan afterward.
Pre-Preparations

For The Cake:

  1. Add softened butter and granulated sugar to a large mixing bowl.
  2. Mix them together until the mixture becomes light, fluffy, and pale in color.
  3. Add the eggs one at a time, mix well after each addition.
  4. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally to ensure everything is evenly combined.
  5. In a separate bowl, combine the sifted flour and baking powder.
  6. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing gently until it is combined.
  7. Add the orange zest, vanilla extract, and brown rum.
  8. Mix until evenly incorporated, be careful not to overmix the batter.
  9. Divide a small portion of the batter between two separate bowls.
  10. Add red food coloring to one bowl and green food coloring to the other, mix until you achieve your desired shades.
  11. Pour the plain batter into the prepared Bundt pan.
  12. Spoon the red and green batters throughout the plain batter.
  13. Use a toothpick or skewer to gently swirl the colors together, creating the traditional colorful pattern.
For-The-Cake

For Baking:

  1. Bake for 40–60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  2. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for approximately 15 minutes before carefully turning it onto a cooling rack.
  3. Let it cool completely before adding the glaze.
for-baking

For Orange Cream Cheese Glaze

  1. Place the softened cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl. If necessary, microwave it for approximately 20–30 seconds, until it gets soft, not hot.
  2. Add the evaporated milk, powdered sugar, and orange extract.
  3. Whisk until the glaze is completely smooth and creamy.
  4. Once the cake has cooled completely, drizzle the glaze generously over the top.
For-Orange-Cream-Cheese-Glaze

Finish

Slice, serve, and enjoy a delicious Guyanese sponge cake filled with buttery, citrusy flavor! Here is a complete guide on how to make a Guyanese sponge cake. Read and follow these easy steps to make this delicious cake at your next family and friends gathering. Just take one bite of this cake and you will come crawling back. If you love this Guyanese sponge cake, then you’ll definitely love our traditional Guyanese Salara, a soft-coconut filled bread with authentic flavors.

Scaling for Events:

One batch makes approximately 16 slices of cake. For larger events, you should prepare additional batches based on the final guest count. Two batches serve approximately 32 guests, and three batches serve approximately 48 guests. And if you are wondering to include another dessert, try our Guyanese pine tarts – a flaky, buttery, and delicious Caribbean pastry.

Chef’s Tip:

For the fluffiest, moistest cake, keep your butter and eggs out ahead of time so they can reach room temperature. If leaving the eggs out overnight isn’t food-safe in your home, place them in a bowl of warm water for 10–15 minutes instead. I also grease the Bundt pan with Muse butter to give the cake a rich, buttery finish.

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