World Vegan Day 2017 and a Fabulous Sponge Cake

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After a rather busy start to the week I spent Tuesday lamenting the demise of the garden after our first frost of the year. But today I am celebrating…

Why? Well, the first day of November is not normally a reason for celebration in our part of the world. In Germany, for example, it is a national holiday where people commemorate those who have died and visit their family graves. And for gardeners here November is a dreary month too, with the dreaded onset of frosty weather and the approach of winter.

And yet for me today stands out in the calendar as it is World Vegan Day! According to figures from the German Nutrition Society (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung)  there are now over 800,000 vegans in Germany, and research in Britain claims almost 550,000 people in the UK are vegan too. Now that is a very good excuse to celebrate so I have baked a fabulous vegan cake to share with you!

After trying so many recipes for a basic sponge cake, I was over the moon when I finally found the perfect one on the Vegan Recipe Club website, which is the recipe reservoir put together by Viva!, the British group promoting animal rights and a vegan diet.

Here is the link to the original lemony recipe: Our Favourite Sponge Cake

And here is my vanilla version…

The Best Vegan Sponge Cake Ever

For the sponge you will need:

  • 175g (1 and 1/2 sticks) vegan butter (I use ‘Alsan bio’. Find a UK or US brand here)
  • 175g (3/4 cup) sugar
  • 330g (generous 2 and 1/2 cups) SR flour
  • 2 tsps baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • A pinch of salt
  • 330ml (1and 1/3 cups) plain soya yoghurt (I use the zero sugar sort)
  • 1 flax egg (1 tbsp flax meal mixed with 3 tbsp warm water)
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 1 vanilla beanpod

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F, grease and flour two 20cm/8 inch cake tins.

2. Melt the butter then add the sugar. Mix in well till the sugar has partially dissolved. Set aside.

3. Sieve the flour, baking powder, soda and salt into a bowl. Rub in the vanilla bean with your finger tips. Add the butter/sugar mixture, yoghurt, flax egg and vanilla essence. Gently fold in until you get a soft dropping consistency and the flour is incorporated. If it isn’t soft enough, add a splash of non-dairy milk.

4. Spoon the cake mix into the tins and bake for 25-30 minutes or until risen and golden. Test by inserting a sharp knife or toothpick into the centre of each cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is cooked. If not, return to the oven for another 5-7 minutes. Let the cakes cool completely before removing them from their tins. Carefully place them upside down on a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely.

5. For the filling, spread jam of your choice on one of the cakes. (You can also spread buttercream on the other cake – see recipe below*) Put the cakes together like a sandwich. Sprinkle a little icing sugar on the top and decorate as you like.

* For the buttercream filling: Mix 125g sieved icing sugar, 75g vegan butter, 1/2 tsp vanilla essence and a tiny splash of non-dairy milk until creamy.

I do hope you will try this vegan recipe. If you would like more inspiration, there are others on my recipe page (see above), all vegetarian and many vegan!

Happy Baking! 😉

 

 

 

 

 

58 thoughts on “World Vegan Day 2017 and a Fabulous Sponge Cake”

    • The flax egg acts as a binding agent more than anything. It is completely flavourless and works wonderfully for making pancakes too! I think it must be the yoghurt that helps this cake rise more than most vegan recipes, but I am not sure of the chemistry. In any case, it gets the thumbs up from all who have tasted it – mostly non-vegans! 🙂

      Reply

      • Ah yes, looking at the ingredients again the baking soda will release carbon dioxide when heated and that will create the rise, with the yoghurt neutralising the acidity of it.

        Reply

  6. Cathy Congratulations on Vegan Day! The cake looks delicious and the recipe is not difficult. I feel your garden has frozen. It’s what he plays at this time of year. Have a happy week. Greetings from Margarita.

    Reply

  7. I will definitely make this cake and I have enjoyed many of your other recipes, Cathy. I ate at a vegan ramen establishment the other day and the added “egg” was different than I’d ever had before. It honestly was so much like an egg I was suspicious! It was very delicious. 🙂

    Reply

    • Mmm, I love ramen but haven’t had any for many years. We don’t have a Japanese restaurant anywhere nearby out in the countryside here! I wonder how they made that egg… a well-kept secret recipe perhaps! 😉

      Reply

    • I have only bought ground flax so far, although it may be cheaper to buy the seed and grind it myself. It’s great for helping to bind veggie burgers and for vegan pancakes too. 🙂

      Reply

  11. Impressed to know that there are so many people turning vegan and wondering why there are more in Germany than the UK! Your cake looks delicious and we can’t wait to try it out! We have some great ideas for vegan and food lovers on our blog 🙂

    Reply

    • Hi there. Well, in percentage terms there might not be such a difference, but veganism is a ‘lifestyle’ trend here at the moment. Thanks for the tip – I will visit your blog soon! We also have a simple vegan blog where we just post a photo of what we eat daily… no recipes, but many of the dishes have been posted on my recipes page here in the past. Here’s a link: https://vegandailysite.wordpress.com
      Thanks for visiting, and happy baking! 🙂

      Reply

  12. Okay I see! Hopefully it will become more prominent around the world.
    Thank you! We hope you like some of our recipes, we will be sure to check out your vegan blog😋

    Reply

    • I found it hard to give up lots of my favourite baking goodies when I became vegan, but I am slowly building up a repertoire of vegan cakes and desserts and this is an absolute classic that can be adapted to a lemon cake too! Glad you like it. Happy baking! 🙂

      Reply

  20. This looks soo yummy!! And pretty simple too! I am always looking for new vegan recipes and this one looks delicious 😍 Cant wait to try it 😊 Also,happy belated Vegan day!!

    Reply

  27. Pingback: Lemon Drizzle Cake (Vegan) | Words and Herbs

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