Valentine’s day is on it’s way, so what better time to share my fresh, fruity and easy Vegan Raspberry Cake.
This cake has 2 delicious vanilla and raspberry sponge cakes, raspberry compote with a fresh raspberry buttercream, topped with fresh raspberries (and raspberry compote hearts).
Make sure to ‘PIN’ this photo below to your favourite Pinterest Board!
I am extremely excited to share a BRAND NEW cake to the blog! Raspberry is one of my favourite berries. I love how it bursts with flavour, whilst also being a little bit on the tart side.
My Small Batch Strawberry Cake and my Mini Lemon Cake were my main inspirations for this bake. I loved the gorgeous pink colour on my strawberry cake and I adore how I decorated the lemon cake with the lemon slices! I made my pink raspberry buttercream using real raspberries, and decorated the cake with raspberry compote. It’s such a simple design yet fun and effective.
Originally I decided for this cake to be a three layer, but for ease (as I know you guys love an easier recipe), I decided to make it 2 layer. I am actually really happy I chose to go for a 2 layer cake. It look’s adorable, and takes less time to bake & less time to decorate. Yippee- haha!
How to make the BEST Vegan Raspberry Cake?
Firstly, You’ll want to make two scrumptious raspberry sponge cakes. I am pretty biased but I have to say, my vegan sponge cakes are some of the best cakes I’ve ever tried! I have worked so hard to perfect the perfect sponge.
To jam pack (pun intended) the cake with raspberry flavour, I made a homemade compote. A compote is kind of like a jam, buts it’s a more concentrated version, plus it’s super easy to make! You have to try it!
I swirled the compote into the batter before baking. I originally was going to press whole / fresh raspberries into the sponge, but when I did this on my recipe testings, the raspberries made the sponge too moist. The compote allows you to add it into the sponge, and doesn’t effect the texture. If that, it makes the sponge perfectly moist!
Instead of a raspberry jam, make a homemade raspberry compote. don’t get me wrong, use raspberry jam if you fancy, but to elevate the berry flavour, making and using your own homemade raspberry compote is divine! The flavours really burst leaving you with an irresistible berry cake.
It doesn’t even bother me if the compote makes the cakes a little sticky… the flavour is heavenly! It reminds me of raspberry ripple with the swirls of compote mixed throughout the sponge, into the filling and the silky smooth buttercream.
Make my vegan Swiss meringue buttercream! This (along with my Vegan Italian Meringue Buttercream) are my current favourites to bake with! They are not only silky smooth, but are so easy to make. For this recipe I used Swiss meringue buttercream, with some compote in for added fruity flavour. Does having fruit in a cake count as healthy? – haha!
Looking for more fruity recipes? Look no further:
Baked Vegan Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
Vegan White Chocolate and Cherry Cheesecake
Why I LOVE this Vegan Raspberry Cake!
- The main thing I LOVE about this cake, is that its easily adaptable! If you wanted more layers, it’s super simple to adapt, just double up the recipe! This recipe makes for a delicious 3 tier, 8 inch cake!
- No pink food colour needed! The pink is completely natural. Add tablespoons of compote into the plain buttercream and watch the magic happen.
- Adding compote into the sponge before baking makes for a extremely berry packed cake! It makes the cakes perfectly moist also. You’ll love it!
- Its the perfect size for a small gathering or party.
- I decorated this cake with compote hearts, but by all means, decorate it as you fancy! Go all out with freeze dried berries, sprinkles or nuts!
I hope you LOVE this cake! You’ll be going back for a second slice, trust me!
Happy baking!
If you make, and love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below. It would mean so much. Thank you & happy baking!
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Vegan Raspberry Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
The most beautiful, 2 layer vegan raspberry cake, with fresh raspberry compote and fresh raspberry buttercream. Perfect for Valentines day!
Ingredients
Ingredients for the compote
- 150g of fresh / frozen raspberries
- 80g of caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon of cornflour / cornstarch
- 10ml of water
Ingredients fo the sponge
- 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 sunflower oil
- 2 tablespoons of freeze dried raspberries
Ingredients for the buttercream
- 160g of dairy-free block butter
- 200g of icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons of raspberry compote
- 40ml of aquafaba (see notes)
- 1 tablespoon of freeze dried raspberries
Instructions
Method (compote)
- Place the raspberries into a medium-sized saucepan and sprinkle over the sugar, cornflour / cornstarch and water.
- Place on top onto 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. It will start to turn thick. Once thick, remove from the heat and allow to cool before using. As it cools, it will thicken up even more and turn into a jellified sauce.
- Store in a sealed container in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
Method (cake)
- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees c fan and line two, 6 inch loose base / push up cake tins with grease-proof paper.
- 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’.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
- Mix well to combine.
- Add the oil into the ‘buttermilk’ and whisk to combine.
- Fold in the freeze dried raspberries.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix.
- Pour equal amounts of batter into the lined cake tins. Make sure to tap the tins on the worktop to remove any air bubbles.
- Swirl a tablespoon of raspberry compote on top of the batter and swirl around.
- 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. As the cakes have the compote, they might be sticker than usual when first out of the oven.
- 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 (buttercream)
- In a large mixing bowl, add in the dairy-free butter, whip until creamy. I use a stand mixer with a balloon whisk attachment, a hand mixer will work great too.
- Sift in the icing sugar and add in 3 tablespoons of raspberry compote, whip on high speed for a couple of minutes to incorporate it.
- Pour in the aquafaba 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. Tip- If the buttercream ever looks like its splitting, add chunks more butter at a time while its still whipping on medium / high speed. It’ll come back together within a minute or two.
- Optional: Fold in the freeze dried raspberries.
Assemble
- Place one of the cakes on a serving plate or cake stand. Dollop some of the buttercream on top and spread out until even using an off set spatula or pallet knife.
- Make a well in the middle of the buttercream and fill with 2 heaped tablespoons of raspberry compote.
- Optional: Add on some fresh raspberries.
- Place the second cake layer on top. Press it down gently so it sticks.
- Coat the whole cake with the buttercream, swirling it around to create texture with the spatula.
- Transfer any left over buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a star tip nozzle (I use a Wilton 2D), and pipe swirls around the top edge of the cake.
- Top with a fresh / whole raspberries.
- Add left over compote into a piping bag, snip off the tip and pipe hearts all around the edge of the cake (watch the tutorial here). Alternatively, you can spread the compote all around the edges of the cake making for an ombre effect.
Notes
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.
The raspberry compote can be kept in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to a week. Just give it a stir before using.
My favourite vegan block butter to use is Flora Plant Based Block and Natuli Block.
What is aquafaba? Aquafaba is the water from a can/tin of chickpeas. The chickpea water or brine as it’s called, acts as an amazing egg substitute for cakes, cupcakes and delicious meringue buttercream. You can also get aquafaba in a carton for easy use. Check it out here.
- Prep Time: Overnight
- Cook Time: 25-30 minutes
- Category: Valentines
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Valentines Recipes
Is there a gluten free flour blend that you might recommend?
Author
Hello, Do you mean for the flour? If so, i highly recommend Doves Farm! They have a great range of gluten-free flour for baking! xx
I tried this cake and it was sooo fruity. Perfection! Thank you Holly for your lovely bakes. I cant wait for your book.
Author
Aw thank you so much! I am SO happy you enjoyed! x
Hi Holly, this recipe looks AMAZING and I want to try it this weekend. My daughter has a rare dental condition and cannot consume refined sugars. What replacement would you recommend for Caster Sugar and Icing sugar?
Author
Hello Vanessa! Aw thank you so much , I hope you can all enjoy! Cant wait to hear your feedback!!! x
Is there a replacement for the freeze dried raspberries? If so what, and what quantity for the amounts needed in the recipe
You can use stevia or eritrol. Just reduce 20% of the quantity in the recipe. I tried this way and it worked perfectly.
I have to start by saying I’m not vegan! A picture of this cake was the first thing I saw when I opened my Instagram app. I quickly clicked the link to check the ingredients and went out to purchase the things I didn’t have. I was quite apprehensive because I’d previously made vegan biscoff cupcakes and the texture was rubbery. Well, this recipe was a pleasant surprise – great texture and taste wise it didn’t scream vegan (although the cake itself wasn’t bursting with flavour, but perhaps I should have added more compote in the cake mix). I didn’t make the buttercream, but instead made a cream cheese frosting (not plant based however) which paired beautifully!
I’d make this cake again with a few tweaks (vanilla in the cake mix, more raspberry compote in the cake mix and between the layers). Thank you Holly – I now have a vegan cake recipe that won’t fail me 🙂
You can use stevia or eritrol. Just reduce 20% of the quantity in the recipe. I tried this way and it worked perfectly.
Author
Aw thank you so much x
Raspberry cake is one of my favourites and this didnt disappoint. The cake stayed moist and I made a raspberry compote which worked perfectly. I would certainly make this cake again. Thank you Holly for all your amazing recipes. I havent had one disappoint yet.
Hi Holly,
All your fruits infused cake look amazing!
What’s the formula for a simple sponge cake as a base for different kinds of cakes with no infusion of fruits or cocoa powder? Do you simply omit freeze dried fruits?
Thank you in advance for your help!
How can I substitute the self-raising flour?
Author
Hello, As this is a vegan cake, you’ll need a flour. Self raising works best as it makes the cakes rise and makes them super fluffy. If you wanted to use plain flour, you can do, but add an extra 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Happy baking x
Thank you!!!
Love this recipe, really easy to follow recipe and the best vegan cake I’ve had!!
I’m not vegan, but my son’s preschool director is, so I’ve been down the rabbit hole of treats we can bring to school. The flavor on this cake is amazing, but like Holly said it is much stickier than other cakes. If you are thinking of making cupcakes, don’t do it. I have 36 amazingly delicious cupcakes that won’t separate from the liners. I will be trying again as a cake to take to school next week.
Author
Hello, Definitely keep this recipe as a whole cake, not cupcakes as they will stick to the smaller cases! If you wanted to make raspberry cupcakes, you can make them in cupcakes cases minus the jam, and then core and fill the cupcakes with the raspberry jam and top with buttercream! xx
Follow up… I couldn’t just throw them out, so I pulled all the cake that I could & used the remaining compote as a binder nor cake pops. They were amazing! Now I have to find a vegan shell for cake pops because I want yo make them for my son’s school.
Can I use JUST egg instead or aquafaba? Because I have the vegan egg substitute JUST egg.
Very simple straightforward recipe which gives great results! The sponge is so light and moist not at all dense and dry like alot of vegan cakes!
I did add vanilla paste and Lot of the raspberry sauce to the buttercream as it seemed a bit bland but that could have been the choice of vegan butter I had used.
Great cake! Will definitely make again!
Author
Thank you x
Hello
Amazing recipe – can I check the oven temperature – 180c fan (equivalent to 200c non fan) seems high? I’m looking forward to trying it!!!
Very tasty and excellent instructions, really easy to follow. It was my first attempt at vegan Swiss meringue buttercream so I was really worried but it worked 😊