This is my recipe for a classic vanilla sponge cake, made without eggs or dairy. It is light and fluffy and delicious and no one will realise it’s vegan, I promise!
I have included the full method including creaming the vegan ‘butter’ and sugar together, but if you are short on time, you can also use the ‘all in one’ method and just put all the ingredients together in a large bowl, then blend until smooth with a hand whisk – so simple!
The main things to remember are to sieve the flour and sugar to get rid of any lumps and add air, and to get the cakes into the oven quickly once you have added the liquid to the dry ingredients, as the baking powder will start to rise then.
You can decorate this with fondant icing for a perfect birthday cake, or just dust with icing sugar for a simple afternoon tea cake.
Simple Vegan Vanilla Sponge Cake
A delicious, classic sponge cake with no eggs or dairy!
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Ingredients
- The Cake
300ml plant based milk soya or oat milk work well
1 tbsp cider vinegar
200g caster sugar
150g dairy free margarine or 'butter' we use Flora plant based butter, but you can use any dairy free spread
300g self raising flour sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
- Buttercream Icing
200g icing sugar
100g dairy free margarine or 'butter' we use Flora plant based butter, but you can use any dairy free spread
1 tsp vanilla extract
a little plant based milk to loosen
- Other Ingredients
1 tbsp strawberry jam
Directions
- Add the vinegar to the milk and set aside to slightly curdle (about 5 mins).
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan).
- Grease and line two 20cm sandwich tins with a circle of baking paper on the bottom.
- Sieve the baking powder and the flour together into a bowl.
- Put the sugar (200g) and vegan butter (150g) in a separate bowl and 'cream' them together until they are completely combined and smooth.
- Add the vanilla essence (1 tsp) to the milk. Then gradually add the milk to the sugar and butter mixture, just a little at a time, mixing each time to completely combine everything. If the mixture starts to curdle, add a little flour, then continue, adding a bit less milk each time.
- Finally add the flour mixture to the sugar and butter mixture, and stir with a spoon or an electric whisk until you have a completely smooth batter.
- Divide the mixture between the two tins and bake in the centre of the oven for 25-30 mins. Don't open the door to check until at least 25 mins. Once done they should spring back when lightly touched on top and a skewer inserted in the middle should come out clean.
- Leave the cakes in the tins for a minute to cool, then turn out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Meanwhile make the buttercream icing by mixing all the ingredients together in a bowl.
- Once the cakes are completely cool, spread one of the cakes with the strawberry jam, then spread some of the icing on the top of one layer to completely cover it. Sandwich the other cake on top, then use the rest of the icing to cover the top and sides. Dust with icing sugar or decorate as you wish.
- Enjoy!
Equipment
- 2 x 20cm (8 inch) round sandwich tins
- Baking paper
- Electric whisk (optional but useful)
Is apple cider vinegar ok to use?
Yes absolutely!
Can you freeze this cake?
Yes you can freeze the sponge before adding any buttercream or icing, for up to three months. Allow it to cool completely before freezing and wrap it well.
Thanks for the prompt reply. I’ve baked the cake & popped it in the freezer so will report back as to how it turns out once defrosted & iced.
Thank you! I would love to hear how you got on.
It’s SO GOOD we’re Speechless!!
Having tried making many vegan cakes in the past, this is by far the best. We’ve made it five times already, and we still can’t get over it 🙂 You would never know it’s vegan. Thank you!
Oh thank you! That’s so good to hear!
What a lovely recipe, it tasted amazing! Will be making another attempt again in the future.
Sadly my cake came out quite flat, my fault rather than the recipe’s. Any tips on making it rise more?
Hi Kirsty, thank you, so glad you enjoyed it! It can be difficult getting vegan cakes to rise, but there are a few things that you can check / try. Check your baking powder is in date – sounds silly, but if it is old, the raising agent work work properly and it is an easy thing to miss as baking powder just sits in the cupboard unless you do a lot of baking.
Make sure you pre heat your oven and don’t open the door to check the cake until it’s almost done, five minutes before is fine, but otherwise it can make it sink if the oven isn’t up to temperature, or you open it too early.
Beat the mixture really well – a electric hand mixer (or a stand mixer if you have one) really helps with this, as that gets the air in, and sieve the flour too – it all helps get air into the mixture to make it lift.
Lastly, get the cake in the oven as soon as possible after you have added the wet ingredients to the dry ones – the baking powder starts to work as soon as you add liquid, so the sooner you get it in the oven, the better.
Apologies if this is all stuff you know already, but if not, hope they are some helpful tips!
Lovely cake, even the non vegans loved it and wanted more
Thank you, I’m so glad you all enjoyed it.