It’s my birthday! This Vegan Fresh Cream & Fruit Cake is the cake I crave every September. Topped with billowing clouds of whipped cream, raspberry jam and a mountain of fruit, it ticks all the boxes when it comes to making a cake fit for a party.
The highlight of every gathering
I have fabulous memories of digging in to fresh cream cakes at almost every family birthday party I went to. We never had novelty fondant-covered cakes at our gatherings.
My mum would spend all day baking, listening to her favourite songs on the cassette player and letting me lick the spoon. In our family, it’s tradition that when you make something sweet at home, the youngest child must have the first taste. It’s something we do to honour the memory of my great uncle, Velji bapu who died very young. We remember him always.
Can a vegan cake still taste good?
The sponge for this Vegan Fresh Cream & Fruit Cake is entirely vegan and the cake itself can be topped with your favourite vegan whipped cream, too. Nature’s Charm do a fantastic one. It’s light, fluffy, not too sweet and tastes like it came from a bakery. I add a combination of vanilla and almond extracts to give the cake that “just baked” flavour. It’s absolutely delicious and I defy you to notice the lack of eggs or dairy in this cake.
Can I make this Vegan Fresh Cream & Fruit Cake ahead of time?
I’d recommend baking the cake a few days before you want to eat it. Decorate it with jam, whipped cream, fresh fruit and chocolate curls the night before. Keep it covered and refrigerated and remove it from the fridge an hour before serving to let it come to room temperature. Ultimately, this makes ALL the difference. If eaten cold, the sponge may feel too heavy.
FAQ: How to bake a vegan cake
There’s not a one-size-fits-all answer as the techniques and make-up of different bakes all require different approaches and ingredients. E.g. Mashed banana, flax eggs, chia eggs, psyllium husk and applesauce are fine for vegan bakes like banana cake, dense muffins and crumb cake but they don’t work so well in light vanilla cakes. The vegan cake would end up tasting of those ingredients rather than having the light, white, fluffy texture we all want in a good vanilla cake. I also tend to stay away from using these in vanilla cake baking because the results can be a bit too unpredictable.
No. Sugar helps proteins bind and form a good structure in cakes. In the absence of eggs, sugar plays a vital role in binding proteins, forming a good crumb and holding the cake together. Using liquid-based ingredients like honey will change the texture of final cake. Coconut sugar and sweetener have a different make-up to regular sugar too and swapping them in place of sugar will also change the final result of the vegan cake.
Overworked batter can produce a dense, tough cake. This is the case with all cakes, not just the vegan kind. If you overbeat cake batter, the in the flour gluten develops to unwanted levels and this will result in tough, stodgy vegan cakes.
Technically yes, you could. Having said this, your vegan cake will be darker in colour and heavier than if you were to use a refined white flour. I’ve found that extra-fine self-raising sponge flour produces the best results by a country mile if you’re looking for a fluffy vegan cake.
They are overbaked. Ensure you’re baking it for the stated time at the correct temperature. Most domestic ovens tend to be a few degrees out but an internal oven thermometer can help ensure your oven is set at the right temperature. If you don’t have an internal oven thermometer you could also increase or reduce the cooking time depending on whether your cake is over baking or under baking
Yes, simply replace the vegan ingredients with dairy counterparts. I still recommend using oil instead of butter in the sponge instead of butter.
Ingredients you’ll need for this Vegan Fresh Cream & Fruit Cake
- Extra-fine self raising cake flour or sponge flour
- Caster sugar
- Almond milk (or your favourite plant-based milk)
- Cornflour (cornstarch)
- Lemon juice
- Baking powder
- Soy milk powder (NOW is a great option)
- Oil (any unflavoured – I use sunflower)
- Pure vanilla extract
- Almond extract
- Salt
- Vegan whipping cream (I use Nature’s Charm Coconut Whipping Cream)
- Mixed fresh fruit of your choice (I use strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, kiwis, mandarins, peaches and pineapples)
- Chocolate curls (optional)
How to make Vegan Fresh Cream & Fruit Cake
Time needed: 3 hours
How to make a Vegan Fresh Cream & Fruit Cake
- Prep the tin and preheat the oven
Pre-heat the oven to 160°C/320°F. Grease and line a 20cm x 25cm x 10cm-deep (8″ x 10″ x 4″-deep) non-stick baking tin (or 9″ x 4″-deep square) with oil and baking parchment. Leave an overhang at either side to lift the cake out easily later.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients
In a jug, whisk together the plant milk, lemon juice, vanilla extract and almond extract. Allow to stand for 10 minutes. Whisk in the oil.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients
Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry
Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Whisk until smooth, about a minute.
- Pour and bake
Pour the batter into the lined tin and rasp the base of the tin on the worktop a few times to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 40-45 minutes until a wooden skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. This cake will not brown too much.
- Whip the cream and prep the fruit
Whip the coconut cream with some sugar. Refrigerate. Prep the fruit. Wash and dry all the berries, slice the pineapples, kiwis and peaches and drain the mandarins (I used tinned so drained the extra water, but you can also use fresh). Keep the fruit in a large plate in the fridge.
- Cool the cake
Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 15 minutes and then carefully run a knife around the edges. Lift the cake out using the overhanging baking parchment. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Decorate
Once cool, brush the cake with the warm jam and top with whipped cream. Decorate with fresh fruit and chocolate curls.
- To store the cake
Keep the cake covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Remove the cake from the fridge 1 hour before serving to allow it to come to room temperature. Slice and serve.
Equipment
- 20cm x 25cm x 10cm-deep (8" x 10" x 4"-deep) non-stick baking tin or 9" x 4"-deep square
- Wire cooling rack
- Baking parchment
- Whisk
- Large bowl
- Large jug
Ingredients
For the vegan vanilla sponge cake:
- 480 ml almond milk, room-temperature (or any plant-based milk)
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp almond extract (optional, or enhanced flavour)
- 180 ml oil (any unflavoured)
- 340 g extra-fine self-raising cake flour (sponge flour)
- 300 g caster sugar
- 2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 25 g soy milk powder
- 1/4 tsp fine salt
To decorate the cake:
- 300 ml vegan whipping cream, cold (I used Nature's Charm)
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 200 g mixed fresh fruit of your choice (I used strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, kiwi, mandarins, peaches and pineapples)
- Chocolate curls (optional)
Instructions
For the vegan vanilla sponge cake:
- Pre-heat the oven to 160°C/320°F. Grease and line a 20cm x 25cm x 10cm-deep (8" x 10" x 4"-deep) non-stick baking tin (or 9" x 4"-deep square) with oil and baking parchment. Leave an overhang at either side to lift the cake out easily later.
- In a jug, whisk together the plant milk, lemon juice, vanilla extract and almond extract. Allow to stand for 10 minutes and then whisk in the oil.
- Combine the remaining dry ingredients for the sponge in a large bowl.
- Add the milk and oil mixture to the dry ingredients. Whisk until smooth, about a minute. Do not overwork the batter.
- Pour the batter into the lined tin and rasp the base of the tin on the worktop a few times to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 40-45 minutes until a wooden skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. This cake will not brown too much.
To decorate the cake:
- Whip the coconut cream with some sugar. Refrigerate. Prep the fruit. Wash and dry all the berries, slice the pineapples, kiwis and peaches and drain the mandarins (I used tinned so drained the extra water, but you can also use fresh). Keep the fruit covered in a large plate in the fridge.
- Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 15 minutes and then carefully run a knife around the edges. Lift the cake out using the overhanging baking parchment. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Once cool, brush the cake with the warm jam and top with whipped cream. Decorate with fresh fruit and chocolate curls.
Sanjana’s Notes
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Friday 18th of August 2023
[…] Vegan Fresh Cream & Fruit Cake […]
Tina
Saturday 25th of September 2021
Can I use regular milk powder instead of soy milk powder?
Sanjana
Sunday 26th of September 2021
Yes you can.
Angelica L
Saturday 22nd of May 2021
My daughter has an egg, nut and dairy allergy so I made this sponge for her birthday using rice milk. It was so spongy and light! The smile on her face when she saw it was so sweet. Thanks for making her day!
P.S. I decorated with whipped pudding and fruits. She loves berries!
ashok
Wednesday 20th of January 2021
Guys, Thanks For sharing this Great Recipe. My Family Loved it. I am definitely sharing this recipe and this website with my friend. Hope they also love it. Thank you again for sharing such a great recipe.
Veena
Wednesday 20th of November 2019
Best vegan cake on the internet! Thanks for sharing, my family loved it and ate it all on the same day!