A delicious British favourite, the iconic / classic Victoria Sponge is the perfect cake for summer or any occasion in need of delicious cake!
2 vegan vanilla sponge cakes sandwiched with homemade strawberry jam/compote, Swiss meringue vanilla buttercream, topped with fresh fruit, and a dusting of icing sugar.
I’m feeling all the summery vibes with this gorgeous cake! I couldn’t be happier with this recipe. It’ll blow your mind at how easy it is to make, and tasty it is! You wouldn’t be able to tell its vegan at all!
It’s taken me a long time to perfect this cake. Experimenting with ingredients, batters, baking time etc, and I have nailed it! Super excited to be sharing it for this summer, especially during Wimbledon!
Use this easy ‘one bowl’ Victoria sponge recipe for the sponge and it’ll be the only recipe you’ll ever need again for a vanilla cake. It creates a fluffy moist sponge which hands itself beautifully with the creamy and fresh fruity filling.
What is a Victoria sponge?
A Victoria sponge cake is usually a 2 layered sponge cake which is filled with a layer of jam and whipped cream.
How do you make a Vegan Victoria sponge Cake?
- To make this scrumptious cake, you want to make vegan buttermilk with dairy-free milk and apple cider vinegar.
- In a bowl, combine self-raising flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
- Add oil and a good splash of vanilla extract / 1 vanilla bean pod (seeds only) to the buttermilk, whisk to combine then pour into the dry mixture.
- Add wet into the dry and combine.
- Pour into lined cake tins and bake. Voila, the most perfect sponge cakes for your ultimate Vegan Victoria Sponge!!!
You can store the cake un-iced in a sealed container at room temperature ready to ice the following day. I like to do this as it allows the flavours and vanilla to infuse further.
Looking for more vegan cake recipes? Look no further:
Notes*
What is aquafaba?
Aquafaba is the water from a can/tin of Chickpeas.The Chickpea water or brine as its called, acts as an amazing egg substitute for cakes, meringue buttercreams etc. You can also buy it in a carton. Check it out here.
What vegan block butter to use?
As Swiss meringue uses liquid from the aquafaba, having a stiffer butter is key. I like the Naturli Vegan Block or Flora Plant Based Block Butter Alternative.
Preparation: 2 hours (or overnight)
Baking time: 25-30 minutes
Serves: Approximately 6-8
Level: Medium
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Ingredients for the strawberry compote
- 250g of fresh / frozen strawberries
- 100g of caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon of corn starch
Ingredients for the cake
- 240ml of dairy-free milk
- 1 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar
- 210g of self-raising flour
- 200g of caster sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
- 60g of vegetable oil / melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoons of vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean pop (seeds only)
Ingredients for the buttercream
- 120g of dairy-free butter
- 60ml of aquafaba (chickpea brine) see notes*
- 200g of icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Ingredients for the topping
- Handful of fresh strawberries and raspberries
- Icing sugar (for dusting)
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Method (compote)
1. Place the berries into a medium-sized saucepan and sprinkle over the sugar, cornflour and lemon juice.
2. Place ontop of the hob over a medium to high heat and bring to the boil. This will take around 5-8 minutes Keep stirring with a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon to prevent the mixture from sticking and burning. You may need to add in a splash of water. or more lemon juice.
It will start to turn thicken Once thick, remove from the heat and allow too cool before using. As it cools, it will thicken up even more and turn into a jellified sauce perfect for filling the cake.
Store in a sealed container in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
Method (cakes)
1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees c fan and line two, 6 inch cake tins with grease-proof paper.
2. In a bowl, combine the dairy-free milk with the apple cider vinegar and whisk until fully combined.
Set aside for 10 minutes to curdle. This creates a vegan ‘buttermilk’.
3. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
Mix well to combine.
4. Add the oil and vanilla extract / seeds from a vanilla pod into the ‘buttermilk’ and whisk to combine.
5. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix.
6. Pour equal amounts of batter into the lined cake tins.
Make sure to tap the tins on the worktop to remove any air bubbles.
7. Pop the cakes into the centre of the preheated oven and bake for around 25-30 minutes.
You will know they are done when you put a knife or skewer in and it comes out clean and they are springy to the touch.
8. Place the cakes on a cooling rack and allow to cool fully.
Once cool, pop them into a sealed container to keep them fresh before frosting.
Method (swiss buttercream)
1. In a large mixing bowl, add in the dairy-free butter and whip until creamy. I use a stand mixer with a balloon whisk attachment, a hand mixer will work great too.
2. Sift in the icing sugar and whip on high speed for a couple of minutes to incorporate it.
3. Pour in the aquafaba and vanilla extract and whip for 5 minutes until it turns light and creamy. Don’t over whip it or it can become too soft. If it does, just add in more icing sugar until it’s thick and creamy. The buttercream should be airy and light. You might need to add in some more butter to get it to the right consistency.
4. Transfer the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip nozzle. Place one of the cakes on a serving plate or cake stand. Pipe small rounds of buttercream around the outer edge of the cake, then fill in the middle with more buttercream (as seen in the photos above). Spread it out gently with a palette knife.
Dollop a generous amount the compote on top of the buttercream and spread it out.
5. Place the second cake layer ontop. Press it down gently so it sticks.
Add some left over buttercream to the top of the cake in the middle and press on some berries.
Finish with a light dusting of icing sugar.
Ta dah, the perfect Vegan Victoria sponge. Enjoy!
To store:
Keep this cake stored in a sealed container in the fridge. Best eaten within 3 days of making.
Un-iced cakes can be stored in a sealed container at room temperature for 2 days.
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Hi Holly! I'm looking to make this for a friend's birthday! I'd like to make it as an 8" cake – do the think about double the quantities should work, and any idea on oven time? Many thanks for your always incredible work!
Hi. I’m also looking to make this as an 8” and would love some help on quantities and timing if possible please? Thanks
Hi,
I’m wanting to make this in 8 inch tins. Any assistance would be great 🙂
Mariska
I have tried many vegan sponge recipes and this is the only one that actually turns out anything like a sponge, the rest were all ordinary cake texture. You can tell as soon as you mix the ingredients together whether it will be sponge-like, as a sponge mixture should pour into the tin, not need to be spooned in and evened out to the edges of the tin. This recipe pours beautifully and evenly into the tin and spreads out to the edge. It cooks with a nice rounded dome on the top and has a good light texture and nice flavour, it is the only vegan sponge recipe I will use so thanks. I make it in one 8 inch round tin and cook for 35 minutes and it turns out perfectly. It is also an easy cake to mix by hand, very straightforward.