Classic Vegan Victoria Sponge Cake

Welcome to our recipe blog, where we celebrate the art of baking with a plant-based twist! Today, we're delighted to present you with a mouthwatering delight that captures the essence of British baking heritage-the Classic Vegan Victoria Sponge Cake.

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• Ingredients
• Instructions
• 📖 Recipe
• Substitutions and variations
• FAQ's
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• 💬 Comments

When it comes to traditional tea-time treats, few cakes can rival the timeless appeal of a Victoria Sponge. Named after Queen Victoria, who famously enjoyed a slice with her afternoon tea, this cake has become a beloved symbol of British culinary tradition. Now, we've taken this iconic recipe and given it a delightful vegan makeover, ensuring that everyone can indulge in its heavenly flavours.

Our vegan take on the Classic Victoria Sponge Cake promises to deliver the same light, fluffy, and moist layers, paired with a luscious fruity jam filling and delicious sweet cream on top. Whether you're a seasoned vegan baker or simply curious about exploring plant-based alternatives, this recipe will guide you through every step, helping you achieve baking perfection.

Sometimes all you need is a classic victoria sponge cake. They are so versatile, perfect for afternoon tea, cake sales and birthday cakes. You definitely need a decent victoria sponge cake recipe in your repertoire and this one fits the bill. I've made it with vegan cream and strawberry jam and topped it with fresh strawberries. My daughter absolutely loves this cake so much so that we make it as her birthday cake every year! Read on for the full vegan sponge cake recipe. 

Ingredients

For the sponge

• plain flour (all purpose flour)
• bicarbonate of soda
• baking powder
• caster sugar
• sunflower oil / vegetable oil
• dairy-free milk
• vanilla extract
• golden syrup

For the filling

• good quality strawberry jam
• fresh strawberries (to decorate (optional))
• plant based cream
• icing sugar (sifted)
• vanilla extract

For the exact quantities see the recipe card below.

The base of this vegan victoria sponge isn't too different from your normal victoria sponge recipe. It uses oil instead of butter and non dairy milk instead of milk. Almond or soya milk work well, I used a mixture of coconut milk (from a carton) and oat milk.

This cake makes use of vegan cream which luckily is readily available now. I use Elmlea Plant Based double cream. It whips up nicely but is not quite as firm as regular cream. 

Make sure that you use vanilla extract and not vanilla essence as it has a much deeper and authentic flavour. 

Instructions

To make the sponge

1. Pre-heat the oven to 160 °C (fan oven), 180 °C normal oven
2. Line two 21cm round cake tins and set out a wire rack
3. Sieve and mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon
4. Mix together the wet ingredients
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until well combined. For best results don't over mix.
6. Split the mixture between the two cake tins and put into the oven. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
7. Cool in the tins before removing to a wire cooling rack.

To make the filling

1. Once the cakes are cool you can make the filling.
2. Whip the cream using an electric whisk in a large mixing bowl until it is thick and holds it's shape. You can do this by hand with a whisk but it will take longer.
3. Whisk through the vanilla extract and sieved icing sugar.
4. Spread the jam onto the top of one of the cakes using a palette knife and top with a layer of the whipped cream mixture so that there is cream and jam in the centre of the cake.
5. Place the other half of the cake on top and spread the rest of the cream over the top of the cake. You can use a piping bag if you want to create a more polished design.
6. Decorate with sliced fresh strawberries.

This is a really easy recipe to follow and you will find it easy to make a perfect cake. You just need to sieve the dry ingredients together, mix together the wet ingredients and combine. It's important to keep an eye on it while it is cooking as if you overcook it the sponge will be dry. An electric whisk comes in useful to whisk up the cream but otherwise you don't need any fancy equipment. 

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📖 Recipe

Substitutions and variations

You can change sunflower oil to another flavourless oil. 

You can also change the whipped cream for buttercream. Here is a good vegan buttercream recipe. 

You can of course mix up which type of jam you use in the filling. Try raspberry, cherry or blackcurrant. 

You can use any type of plant based milk, generally soy milk is considered best for baking, although I prefer to use a mixture of coconut milk and oat milk.

You can mix up this recipe by adding a touch of lemon - replace some of the milk with lemon juice and add lemon zest to the mix.

The vegan sponges also make a great base recipe for other types of vegan recipes you might want to bake and decorate yourself at home.

FAQ's

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20cm springform cake tin

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Cake stand /dome

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Glass food storage containers

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KitchenAid Mixer

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plain flour

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wooden spoons

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sieve

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