Basic Vanilla Sponge Cake {Vegan + Eggless}

Craving a tasty, simple, and fluffy vegan sponge cake recipe? Well, lucky you, we’ve got an incredible recipe for a vanilla, eggless, buttery sponge cake that will knock your socks off! Serve it alongside some delicious vegan ice cream or nice cream and thank us later.

If you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at baking a cake but weren’t sure where to start, this dairy-free sponge cake recipe is just for you. Traditionally made with eggs, this version instead calls for aquafaba and takes just over an hour to come together. Perfect for enjoying throughout the week or serving on a special occasion, you’ll love how light, fluffy, and satisfying this vegan cake comes out to be.

This delicious dairy-free sponge cake recipe comes from Sarah Kidd’s book, The Vegan Cake Bible. Made using simple ingredients such as flour, aquafaba, baking soda, and vanilla bean paste, this cake is a must-try!

Awesome Ingredients in This Vegan Vanilla Cake

What does it take to make such an amazing cake, you ask? Well, just a few simple and straightforward ingredients, some patience, and an oven! All of these ingredients are simple to obtain and should be available at most grocery stores. You could even have kids or teenagers help out with the cake-making magic!

Aquafaba: How do we make this an egg-free sponge cake? We use aquafaba as the egg substitute! Essential for binding and creating a fantastically fluffy cake, aquafaba (which is simply chickpea brine), makes a magical egg substitute. Not sure what to do with your chickpeas? Check some of our recipes here!

All-Purpose Flour: Great for making a variety of baked goods, all-purpose flour is versatile and comes from a blend of different wheats which keeps it from getting too dense. Gluten-free? You’re welcome to use your preferred flour at your discretion!

Tapioca Flour: Versatile and excellent for gluten-free baking, tapioca flour is essential for making this sponge cake nice and thick.

Plain Soy Milk and White Vinegar: When mixed with white vinegar, soy milk becomes curdled which helps vegan baked goods to become lighter, acting as a vegan buttermilk!

Vanilla Bean Paste: using vanilla bean paste may sound unusual, but it adds a vital element of flavor to the cake! If you don’t have vanilla bean paste, you can substitute vanilla extract.

How Can I Make a Vegan Victoria Cake With This Recipe?

A Victoria Sponge Cake is British two-layer cake that is traditionally filled with a layer of jam and whipped cream. The cake is named after Queen Victoria, who apparently enjoyed a slice of the sweet, sandwich-like cake every day with her afternoon tea around 4 pm.

If you want to make your a vegan version of a Victoria cake, you have a few options! The first is to make two cake rounds with this recipe, the bottom of which you would then slather with vegan whipped cream and strawberry jam before topping with the top round and adding some powdered sugar.

The second option is to slice your fluffy vegan sponge cake in half horizontally so that you have a top and bottom round. You would then add the vegan whipped cream and jam onto the bottom piece and add the top layer back on!

What to Serve With Your Sponge Cake

Curious about how you could throw the ultimate vegan dessert party or add a simple complement to your sweet and fluffy vegan sponge cake? Here are a few great recipes for satisfying that sweet tooth of yours.

• Homemade Almond Milk – Wash down your cake with a cool and refreshing glass of homemade almond milk!
• Vegan Matcha Chip Ice Cream – Want to add a burst of color and distinct matcha flavor to go with your cake? This vegan matcha chip ice cream was made for that.
• Fresh Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream – Like your ice cream on the fruitier side? This vegan strawberry ice cream is creamy, fruity, and will go with your fluffy vegan cake like a dream.
• Spiced Maple Cream Sauce – This spiced maple cream sauce is good for many things and bringing your cake to the next level is certainly one of them.
• Vegan Rocky Road Ice Cream – Add some exciting texture alongside your fluffy vegan cake with this vegan rocky road ice cream!
• Vegan Hazelnut Nutella – Put some of this vegan hazelnut spread on your cake and you’ll soon be in vegan treat heaven.
• Silken Tofu Chocolate Pudding – This creamy, super easy-to-make pudding is perfect for enjoying alongside your vegan vanilla cake!

If you want to try all of these desserts at the same time, we’d suggest throwing a vegan dessert potluck! Yum!

Basic Vanilla Sponge Cake {Vegan + Eggless}

Author: Sara Kidd | The Vegan Cake Bible

4.93 from 13 votes

From the author of The Vegan Cake Bible cookbook comes this divine vegan sponge cake! Made with aquafaba in place of egg whites, this tasty vanilla cake is easy enough for kids to help out with and delicious enough for a homemade birthday treat. Enjoy with a fresh glass of non-dairy milk and enjoy!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings 12 servings

Ingredients

• ¼ cup 60 ml of aquafaba (canned chickpeas/garbanzo bean liquid)
• ⅓ cup 40 g of tapioca flour
• 2⅓ cups 350 g of plain (all-purpose) flour
• 1 cup 230 g of caster (superfine) sugar
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• ½ teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt
• 3½ fl oz, 100 ml of vegetable oil
• 1 cup 250 ml of plain soy milk
• 1 tablespoon of white vinegar
• ½ cup 125 ml of water, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) conventional. Lightly grease and line a 8 in (20 cm) round cake tin with baking paper, then grease again and dust very lightly with flour, tipping out the excess.
• Place the aquafaba and tapioca flour in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attached, then whisk on high speed for 5–10 minutes, until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
• Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into another stand mixer bowl, this time with the paddle attached. Beat on low speed for a few seconds to combine. Slowly pour the vegetable oil into the bowl to coat the dry ingredients. Mix until it’s a sandy texture (it will look a little greasy).
• Combine the soy milk and vinegar in a jug and stir until slightly thickened. Add the water and vanilla bean paste and stir to combine.
• Mixing on low speed, slowly trickle the milk mixture down the side of the bowl and mix until just combined. Pause and scrape down the side of the bowl to incorporate any oil or flour that has stuck to the side, and mix for a few seconds.
• Using a firm spatula, gently fold in the meringue until just combined. Make sure that it’s completely homogeneous, with no white streaks remaining in your batter. Don't over mix.
• Pour the batter into the prepared tin, then firmly tap the tin a few times on your work surface to release air bubbles (there will be big bubbles sitting just underneath the surface).
• Bake on the middle rack of your oven for 57–60 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
• Let the cake cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cake rack and allow to cool completely. Decorate with your desired frosting and inclusions.

Notes

Baker’s tip: Use cake flour instead of plain flour for an even softer cake crumb.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cake, dairy-free, dessert, egg-free, sweet

If you try this vegan vanilla cake recipe, let us know what you think by leaving a comment and rating below! Be sure to follow along on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook for even more vegan recipe inspiration.

Vegan Sponge Cake FAQs

Got questions about this awesome vegan cake? We have answers!

Storing Your Plant-Based Sponge Cake

Want to make your leftover sponge cake last as long as possible? You’ve got a few choices! If you plan on eating the rest of it within five days, you can wrap it in cling wrap and leave it at room temperature. If you don’t plan on touching it for a while, add some layers of aluminum foil around the cling wrap, stick in an airtight freezer-safe container, and freeze for up to three months! Just be sure to allow enough time for the cake to defrost before enjoying again.

About the Author

Sara Kidd is a vegan pastry chef, food writer, recipe developer, and author. Prior to vegan baking, she worked in the film industry for 15 years and still does some work behind the screen on her YouTube channel. Known for her retro aesthetic, Kidd’s recipes are as a vibrant as she is. Her book, The Vegan Cake Bible: Bake, Build, and Decorate Spectacular Vegan Cakes offers easy-to-follow recipes on creating incredible vegan cakes for all occasions.

More Delicious Vegan Cake Recipes

• The Perfect Ice Cream Cake
• Vegan Birthday Cake
• Protein Chocolate Mug Cake
• Raw German Chocolate Cake
• Vegan Lemon Olive Oil Cake
• Vegan Strawberry Shortcakes

This vegan sponge cake recipe was excerpted from the cookbook The Vegan Cake Bible: Bake, Build and Decorate Spectacular Vegan Cakes by Sara Kidd. Copyright © 2022 by Smith Street Books. Photography by Sara Kidd. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved. Many thanks to Jessica Sabbagh and Lexia Cicone for recipe testing. This article may include affiliate links when available and shopping through these links supports World of Vegan.