Vegan Vanilla Cake With Berries and Jam

Vegan vanilla cake with berries and jam - a light, fluffy, easy vegan vanilla cake filled with vanilla buttercream, raspberry jam and summer berries. The perfect cake for afternoon tea! Post sponsored by Spode.

This vegan vanilla cake with berries and jam is easy to make, utterly delicious and perfect for special occasions, birthdays or afternoon tea.

The cakes are really quick and simple to whip up and have a lovely fluffy, moist texture and vanilla flavour. They are iced with a simple vegan vanilla buttercream and filled with raspberry jam and fresh berries.

I think that fresh berries are the best easy way to make a cake look beautiful; all you have to do is pile them on liberally and your cake is sure to be a stunner. They also taste delicious with the sweet vanilla cake!

Of course they can be omitted if you want a plain vegan vanilla cake; this is a very versatile cake recipe and it is great for decorating however you wish.

Afternoon Tea:

This vegan vanilla cake with berries and jam would make a great centerpiece for an impressive afternoon tea. I created the recipe for the lovely people at Spode, the famed British pottery company, in honour of Afternoon Tea week; which runs from the 14th to the 20th of August.

Afternoon tea week is a celebration of one of the nation's favourite traditions. There is nothing better than sitting down with your loved ones to a lovely spread of cakes, sandwiches, scones and biscuits and a big pot of tea (and perhaps even a glass of bubbly!).

Spode Delamere Rural:

The experience is made all the more special by serving your afternoon tea on a beautiful matching tea set. I was sent this stunning Afternoon Tea set from Spode's Delamere Rural range and it is simply gorgeous.

The Delamere Rural range features a beautiful, intricate and exquisitely detailed grey floral border; and many of the pieces include woodland animal designs.

It is a wonderfully versatile range that is at once modern, yet classic and elegant. The pieces are perfect for special occasions, but are also very durable and are dishwasher, freezer and microwave safe so there is no need to reserve them solely for those special occasions!

The large, elegant teapot and pretty teacups transform a cup of tea into something truly special; and the stunning cake stand, cake slice, pastry forks and 6 inch deer plates are perfect for serving up your cake creations.

How To Make Vegan Vanilla Cake:

Step 1: Whisk together the almond milk, vinegar, caster sugar, vanilla extract and melted vegan spread.

Step 2: Sift together plain flour, cornflour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.

Step 3: Gradually whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until smooth (don't over-mix though!).

Step 4: Divide the batter between either three 15cm round cake tins, or two 20cm ones.

Step 5: Bake until golden.

Vegan Vanilla Buttercream:

I find that vegan buttercream is best is it is made using half vegan spread (the solid kind in a stick rather than the spreadable kind in a tub is best - I use Naturli vegan block or Stork block), and half vegetable shortening (such as Trex). This helps to stop it from splitting.

Step 1: Whisk together the vegan spread and the vegetable shortening until very smooth.

Step 2: Sift in the icing sugar and add the vanilla extract and mix first on a low speed, then on high speed until very smooth and light.

Tips:

• I use melted vegan spread as the fat in my cakes as I think that it gives the best flavour. You can replace it with 150ml of sunflower oil if you prefer though.
• If you do decorate the cake with berries then it really needs to be eaten on the day it is assembled. If you don't use berries then it will keep in an airtight container for about 3 days.
• You can bake the cakes in either three 15cm/6 inch tins (as pictured); or in two 20cm/8 inch ones.
• The un-iced cakes can be wrapped and frozen for up to a month.

I used these gorgeous Spode Delamere Rural products for my afternoon tea:

• 10.5 inch footed cake stand
• Cake slice
• Pastry forks
• Teaspoons
• Teapot
• Teacups and saucers
• Cream jug
• 6 inch deer plates

For more vegan cakes that would be wonderful for afternoon tea, try my:

• ginger bundt cake
• banana cake with chocolate peanut butter buttercream
• chocolate fudge cake
• lemon almond cake with coconut whipped cream and strawberries.

Vegan Vanilla Cake With Berries And Jam Recipe:

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5 from 4 votes

Vegan Vanilla Cake With Berries and Jam

Vegan vanilla cake with berries and jam - a light, fluffy, easy vegan vanilla cake filled with vanilla buttercream, raspberry jam and summer berries. The perfect cake for afternoon tea!

Course Dessert

Cuisine baking, vegan

Keyword cake

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 12 people

Author Domestic Gothess

Ingredients

Vegan Vanilla Cakes:

• 360 ml (1 ½ cups) unsweetened plant milk (I used almond)
• 1 ½ tsp white wine vinegar
• 250 g (1 ¼ cups) caster (superfine) sugar
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract/vanilla bean paste
• 150 g (½ cup + 2 Tbsp) vegan spread (I used Stork) melted
• 280 g (2 ⅓ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
• 30 g (3 Tbsp) cornflour (cornstarch)
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• ¾ tsp baking powder

Vegan Vanilla Buttercream:

• 75 g (2.5oz) vegan spread (the solid kind in a stick is best - I used Stork) cold
• 75 g (2.5oz) vegetable shortening (such as Trex) cold
• 300 g (3 cups) icing (powdered) sugar sifted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract/vanilla bean paste

To Decorate:

• about 4 heaped spoonfuls raspberry jam
• about 400g mixed fresh berries

Instructions

Vegan Vanilla Cakes:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Grease three 15cm/6 inch round cake tins and line the bases with baking parchment (or use two 20cm/8 inch tins instead).
  
• In a large jug, whisk together the plant milk, vinegar, caster sugar, vanilla extract and melted vegan spread.
  
• In a large bowl, sift together the plain flour, cornflour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
  
• Gradually whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until smooth but be careful not to overmix.
  
• Divide the batter between the tins (I use a scale to make sure they are even). Bake for 25-35 minutes until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
  
• Leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes then carefully turn the cakes out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
  

Vegan Vanilla Buttercream:

• Place the vegan spread and vegetable shortening in a large bowl and whisk with an electric mixer until very smooth.
  
• Add the sifted icing sugar and the vanilla extract. Mix on a low speed until combined then turn the mixer up to a high speed and whisk for a couple of minutes until light and fluffy.
  
• Trim the tops of the cakes if needed. Place one cake layer on a cake stand and spread over some of the buttercream. Spread over a thin layer of jam then scatter over a handful of berries.
  
• Place another cake layer on top and repeat. Place the final cake layer on top and spread with buttercream but not jam. Decorate with berries and serve. Best eaten on the day it is assembled.
  

This post is sponsored by Spode, thank you for supporting the brands that allow me to continue doing what I love – playing with food and making a mess of my kitchen.