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Lazy Cat Kitchen

A food blog with plant-based recipes from all over the world

Vegan sponge with berries and cream

July 20, 2018 by Ania - 10

coconut, easy, gluten-freego to recipe

go to recipe

vegan sponge cream berries slice

Another weekend has rolled along at last! It’s been a bit frantic in our household since my last post as we finally stumbled across a house that ticks almost all of our boxes and is within our price range. Despite ourselves, we got quietly (and internally) really excited upon seeing its potential, but what unfortunately often happens with good properties, we weren’t alone.

When we opened the negotiation with an acceptably lower-than-the-asking-price amount, we were told that there were already two full asking price offers on the table and that the owner would not accept anything lower than that. While we could possibly stretch to it, it’s above the upper limit we have set ourselves. Plus, we felt that the fact that we were the only chain-free buyers keen to move as quickly as possible had to be worth something, right?

So we said we cannot afford it at the full price and walked away. In reality, we already have another (much closer to the asking price) offer in mind, but I am holding out for at least a day so that the seller doesn’t think we are too keen and pushes us further. Buying a house comes with a whole host of extra costs and I don’t feel comfortable without leaving any buffer. Playing it cool is soooooo damn hard though, especially that I am like a dog – you can totally read all my emotions as they sweep through my face. Good job it’s a phone negotiation.

To stop myself from to-ing and fro-ing on how to play this, I decided to make a cake for the blog. A simple vegan sponge with a touch of my beloved almonds, topped with whipped coconut cream and all shades of berries, some of which (blackberries) are currently growing in our backyard. It’s a simple enough cake, yet makes an entrance due to all the pretty berry colours and textures contrasting with snow-white coconut cream and golden cake underneath.

PS: If you make my vegan sponge with berries and cream, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram as @lazycatkitchen and use the #lazycatkitchen hashtag. I love seeing your takes on my recipes!

vegan sponge cream berries whole

vegan sponge side

vegan sponge top

vegan sponge cut

vegan sponge portion

5.00 from 1 vote
Print
  • makes: 20 cm / 8 " dia round pan
  • prep: 20 min
  • cooking: 40 min

Ingredients

WET INGREDIENTS

  • 50 g / 60 ml / ¼ cup softened* mild coconut oil (or other mild tasting oil)
  • 125 g / ½ cup + 2 tbsp caster sugar or coconut sugar**
  • 30 ml / 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice
  • 240 ml / 1 cup plant milk (I used almond) at room temperature
  • 1 tsp bitter almond essence

DRY INGREDIENTS

  • 220 g / 2 cups all purpose white flour or all purpose GF flour mix (this is the one I use)
  • ¾ tsp baking soda
  • ¾ tsp baking powder
  • 80 g / ¾ cup finely ground almonds (or almond meal)

OTHER INGREDIENTS

  • 400 g / 14 oz full fat coconut milk*** chilled for at least 48 hrs or 200 g / 7 oz thick coconut yogurt like Coyo
  • 1 tsp tapioca starch
  • 2-3 tsp icing sugar (optional)
  • summer berries

Method

  1. Heat up the oven to 170° C (or 150° C fan forced) / 340° F (300° F fan forced). Grease your baking tin (I used a 20 cm / 8″ round pan) with a very small amount of oil.
  2. Cream the oil and sugar with an electric whisk in a tall bowl.
  3. Stir the lemon / lime juice, room temperature (but not warm) plant milk and almond essence into the oil and sugar.
  4. Place a sieve over the bowl and sift through all the dry ingredients, except for the ground almonds. Fold the flour in gently. If you are using wheat flour, be careful not to over mix the batter as the cake will be tough.
  5. Fold in the finely ground almonds.
  6. Transfer the batter to the baking tin. If your tin doesn’t have a removable bottom, it may be a good idea to place 2 long and wide strips of baking paper down first so that you can use them as handy tabs to make cake removal easier.
  7. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the top is nicely browned. I found that coconut sugar makes the cake brown way quicker so I covered the top with a piece of kitchen foil for the last 10 minutes of baking. I also found that the cake made with GF flour mix only needed 35 minutes in the oven, while the one with the all purpose wheat flour required more like 40 minutes. Please stay vigilant and use your own judgement depending on what sugar / flour you used and on the knowledge of your particular oven, but do not open the oven door until the cake has fully risen and has browned on top.
  8. Allow the cake to cool down completely (that’s very important).
  9. Top the cooled down cake with cream (or thick coconut yoghurt) and berries and serve. The cream will stay stable for several hours at room temperature provided its not exposed to excessive heat or direct sunlight. Store leftovers in an airtight box, in the fridge.

COCONUT WHIPPED CREAM

  1. Place a metal whipping bowl in the fridge for at least 1 hour prior to whipping the cream.
  2. Just before you are ready to whip, open a tin of coconut milk gently and scoop the cream portion out (it should have risen to the top of the can while sitting in the fridge).
  3. Whip the coconut cream with an electric whisk for 5 minutes, until soft peaks form.
  4. Add 1 tsp of tapioca starch and whip some more to stabilise. If you wish to sweeten the cream a little, add 2-3 tsp icing sugar.
  5. Keep the cream chilled until ready to top the cake, do not expose to direct sunlight and make sure the cake is completely cold before applying.

Notes

*During a heatwave, when the ambient temperature in my house was a lot higher, I realised that softened (as opposed to melted) coconut oil whipped with sugar give cakes a nicer texture. If that’s not possible, however, feel free to use liquid oil, just make sure it’s cool to the touch as otherwise it will melt the sugar in the cake batter.

**This cake is not very sweet. I like it like that but if you have a sweet tooth, increase the sugar to 150 g or ¾ cup.

***Not all coconut milk is whippable. Look for brands that do not contain any stabilisers, just water and coconut. This is the brand I personally like.

If you want more info on some of the ingredients that we use in our recipes, check out our glossary.
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This recipe has been written by Ania. She is the cook, stylist and photographer behind Lazy Cat Kitchen. You can read about her journey into food blogging here. You can also check her out on Pinterest and Instagram.

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    Comments

    Leave a comment

  1. Chris says

    July 21, 2018 at 8:04 am

    So what’s the yogurt for?

    Reply
    • Ania says

      July 21, 2018 at 11:53 am

      You can use it instead of whipped coconut cream to top the cake with. It has to be a thick yoghurt though (I like Coyo brand).

      Reply
  2. Catalina says

    July 21, 2018 at 11:35 pm

    Looks delish! Can I use whole wheat flour instead of the white flour? I rather not use refined ingredients.
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Ania says

      July 22, 2018 at 1:30 am

      Hi Catalina,

      If you enjoy cakes with whole wheat flour, sure, it will work, but please be aware that it will change the texture of this cake considerably. I suspect it will make it coarser and more ‘bread-like’. Hope that helps! Ania

      Reply
  3. Natalie says

    July 22, 2018 at 6:53 am

    This cake is stunning! I love the rich and moist texture! Looks delicious!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      July 23, 2018 at 12:39 am

      Thanks, Natalie! That’s lovely to hear! Ania

      Reply
  4. Tori Cooper says

    July 30, 2018 at 8:56 pm

    This cake looks so delicious and your photos are stunning!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      July 30, 2018 at 9:05 pm

      Thank you, Tori!

      Reply
  5. Jane says

    June 21, 2019 at 4:55 am

    Hi Ania,
    What is the lemon juice used here for – to get the tender crumb or flavouring?
    Will it work if I replace lemon juice with orange and a bit of zest for a orange flavoured cake.

    Reply
    • Ania says

      June 21, 2019 at 11:51 am

      Hi Jane,

      Lemon juice (acid in general) reacts with baking soda and helps vegan cakes rise. You can use white wine vinegar or lime juice instead. And of course you can add orange zest and replace some of the liquid with orange juice for an orange flavoured cake. Hope that helps! Ania

      Reply

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Ania Marcinowska
Hi, I'm Ania. I love good food but I love animals more! Adopting a plant-based diet has been the best decision I've made and that's how this blog was born. It's a space where I want to show you that creating delicious plant-based food isn't actually hard at all.
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