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.
Equipment
- 2 x 20cm (8 inch) round sandwich tins
- Baking paper
- Electric whisk (optional but useful)
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
Instructions
- 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!