Classic Pancho Cake Recipe. Chocolate Sponge with Cream & Bananas

Discover the ultimate Pancho Cake, a classic Eastern European sour cream sponge cake that’s incredibly moist, airy, and easy to make! This no-fuss recipe guides you through creating a rich chocolate sponge, a luscious and tangy sour cream frosting, and a sweet banana filling.
This cake is assembled, not layered, making it a fun and forgiving dessert perfect for any occasion, from family dinners to special celebrations. The combination of deep chocolate flavor, creamy frosting, and fresh fruit is simply irresistible. Follow my step-by-step guide to bake the best homemade Pancho Cake every time!
🥮 Ingredients:

For the sponge cake:

– 4 large eggs
– A pinch of salt
– 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar
– 2/3 cup (85 g) all-purpose flour
– 1/4 cup (30 g) cocoa powder
– 1/2 tsp baking powder

For the cream filling:
– 17.5 oz (500 g) sour cream (20% fat) or crème fraîche (32%)
– 7 oz (200 g) cream cheese (like Philadelphia)
– 1/3 cup (40 g) powdered sugar
– 1–3 bananas (sliced)
– (Optional) a handful of walnuts or hazelnuts

For decoration:

– Remaining cream filling
– Melted chocolate (for drizzling or piping)

Hi everyone! Today, we’re going to make the legendary “Pancho” cake with a chocolate sponge, delicate cream, and bananas. This cake turns out incredibly delicious, airy, and is much easier to make than it seems. Let’s get started! First things first, let’s make the sponge cake. In a deep bowl, we’ll crack 4 eggs. Add a pinch of salt. Pour in 1/3 cup (70 g) of sugar. Beat with a mixer on high speed until you have a thick, stiff foam. This will take about 7-10 minutes. The mixture should hold its shape well. Now, let’s combine 2/3 cup (85 g) of all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup (30 grams) of cocoa powder, and ½ teaspoon of baking powder. Be sure to sift the dry ingredients directly into the egg foam. This will add oxygen to the batter and make the sponge cake light and airy. Fold everything together very gently so you don’t deflate the whipped eggs. Don’t overmix; as soon as the dry ingredients are combined, that’s enough. Pour the batter onto a baking sheet and spread it out evenly. Place it in a preheated oven at 350°F (180°C) for 20-30 minutes. You can check for doneness with a wooden skewer – it should come out clean. While our sponge cake is cooling, let’s prepare the delicious cream. Take a deep bowl and add about 17.5 oz (500 g) of sour cream. You can use either full-fat sour cream (20%) or crème fraîche (32%). Next, add 1/3 cup (40 g) of powdered sugar for sweetness. And to finish, add 7 oz (200 g) of cream cheese. Philadelphia or any other plain cream cheese without additives works best. Beat with a mixer until you get a smooth, uniform consistency. The cream is ready! Now, let’s make the base for our cake. Take the bowl you’ll be using for assembly, flip it upside down, place it on the cooled sponge cake, and cut out a perfect circle. Let’s set this base aside for now. Cut the remaining sponge cake into small cubes, about 1X1 inch (3X3 centimeters). Let’s prepare the filling: slice the bananas. Use as many as you like! You can also add nuts, but I won’t be doing that today, as I have someone with an allergy in my family. Now for the most interesting part – assembly! Take a deep bowl and line it with plastic wrap. Spread some cream on the bottom of the bowl. Add a layer of bananas. Then, add a layer of the sponge cake cubes. Alternate the layers: cream, sponge cake, filling, until you’ve filled the entire bowl. The final layer should be cream. Place our sponge cake circle on top and press down gently. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator to soak and set, ideally overnight. Our cake has cooled and soaked up all the flavors. It’s time to take it out! Look how beautiful that is! Decorate the cake with the remaining cream. For the final touch, pipe a design using a pastry bag with melted chocolate. You could also just drizzle it randomly, which would look very impressive. Let’s see what we have inside! It’s tender, moist, with a rich chocolate and cream flavor and hints of banana. This is simply delightful! You should definitely try making this cake; you won’t regret it! Subscribe to the channel, give this video a thumbs-up, and share your results in the comments. Enjoy, and see you next time!