Fluffy Lemon & Vanilla Sponge Cake
Fluffy Lemon & Vanilla Sponge Cake
Serves 8
Vegan/ Dairy Free/ Nut Free
This is our go to sponge cake recipe with very good reason! We have experimented in detail in order to create this fantastic recipe and it always turns out magnificent. Incredibly easy and quick to prepare, yet so fluffy, moist and delicious. Utterly versatile, you can turn this into a layered birthday cake, change the flavour by adding cocoa, frosting, fruit, jam, nuts, the possibilities are endless! You don’t even need any fancy ingredients, or equipment. If you are after a simple, yet marvellous plant based sponge cake recipe, look no further!
Ingredients
- Wet Ingredients -
360ml unsweetened soy milk
80ml fresh lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
The zest of one lemon
125ml rapeseed oil (or sunflower oil)
1 vanilla pod, split lengthwise and seeds scraped (or 1tsp vanilla extract)
- Dry Ingredients -
360g plain flour
240g golden caster sugar
1tbsp baking powder
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
1tsp salt
1tsp of icing sugar for sprinkling
Method
Preheat the oven at 180C. Grease and line your preferred tin or mould.
Measure the milk in a jug and stir in the lemon juice. Set it aside to curdle, while you prepare the other ingredients. Measure the oil, grate the zest and scrape the vanilla pod seeds.
In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt).
Once the milk has curdled into a thicker consistency, pour in the oil and add the lemon zest and vanilla seeds (or vanilla extract). Mix well with a whisk.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir the batter with your whisk, until just combined. Do not over-stir, even if the mixture appears a little lumpy, do not worry, it will come out perfect in the end.
Pour the batter in your prepared tin and bake in the middle of the oven for 45-50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool before taking it out of its tin. Dust with a sprinkle of icing sugar and serve with a nice cup of tea. Enjoy!
Notes
If you would like to use this sponge cake for a layered birthday cake, divide the batter evenly between your chosen prepared tins, then bake for 25-30 minutes. Check with a skewer to be sure.
The two most important things to bear in mind in order to get this recipe perfect every time, are to choose high quality organic ingredients and to not over-mix the batter.
For a vanilla or a chocolate sponge, omit the lemon zest and reduce the lemon juice to 40-50ml (juice of two lemons instead of four). Some lemon juice is required, as the acid reacts with the bicarbonate of soda to produce a light and airy cake.
For a chocolate sponge, replace 4tbsp of the flour with raw cacao powder.
This cake will keep at room temperature, covered, for two or three days (but we promise you, it will never last this long!)
