Vegan Victoria sponge cake - this delicious egg free and dairy free vanilla Victoria sandwich cake with jam and vanilla buttercream is light, soft, easy to make and perfect for Afternoon Tea!
I'm on a bit of a mission to perfect vegan versions of all of the classic bakes. For the most part, the majority of recipes are not too hard to veganise well; though if anyone has a recipe for vegan choux pastry that actually works do let me know!
Victoria sponge cake has to be the ultimate classic cake recipe, and fortunately it works very well as a vegan version. The cake is light, soft and moist, with just the right amount of fluffy vanilla buttercream and strawberry jam.
This is a perfect cake for all occasions, whether you make it as a birthday cake, or just for a simple afternoon tea. It is the kind of cake that is good for both children and adults so it is bound to be a crowd-pleaser.
What Is Victoria Sponge Cake?:
Victoria sponge cake, also known as Victoria sandwich, is the quintessential British cake. It is named after queen Victoria, who reportedly liked a slice with her afternoon tea.
It is comprised of two layers of buttery vanilla cake filled with jam and cream or buttercream. It is often baked as a birthday cake, for afternoon tea, or just because it's Tuesday.
The Best Ingredients:
Butter: It is very important that you use a vegan block butter/margarine for both the cake and the buttercream - the kind that comes in a foil wrapped block, NOT the spreadable kind in a tub which has too high a water content for baking.
As this is a fairly simple cake, a lot of the flavour comes from the butter, so it is best to also use one that tastes good. I absolutely love Naturli Vegan Block and almost always use it for baking.
It is currently unfortunately only available in Sainsbury's but if you are able to get hold of it that is 100% the brand I would recommend (not sponsored, I just think it's great).
Otherwise, Stork block or Flora plant butter block both work well; and in the US Earth Balance buttery sticks would be the right kind of product to use.
Yogurt: Non-dairy yogurt replaces the eggs and helps to keep the cake soft and moist. I use Alpro vanilla soy but a plain variety will also work, as will coconut yogurt; though I would stick to a thinner type rather than a really thick, set style of yogurt.
Jam: Victoria sponge cake is traditionally filled with jam (purists would say it should contain ONLY jam, no buttercream, and no vanilla extract either!); either strawberry or raspberry is best (and traditional), but you can use any variety you prefer.
How To Make Vegan Victoria Sponge Cake:
(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)
*For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.*
Start by greasing two 19-20cm/7.5-8inch round cake tins and lining the bases with baking parchment. My tins are 19 cm so if you use 20cm ones the cakes will be very slightly thinner than pictured.
Cream together the softened vegan butter and sugar with an electric mixer for a good few minutes until very light and fluffy. You want to try and get lots of air incorporated for a fluffy cake.
Add the yogurt, milk, vanilla, flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and gently mix everything together until it forms a smooth batter. Take care not to over-beat it as that can make the cake tough and you don't want to knock out too much of the air you've just beaten in.
Divide the batter between the tins and bake for about 25-35 minutes until the cakes are springy to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Leave the cakes to cool in the tins for 10 minutes then carefully turn them out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
Once the cakes have cooled, make the buttercream. Place the softened vegan butter, sifted icing sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl and whisk with an electric mixer for at least a couple of minutes until smooth and fluffy.
If the buttercream is too stiff you can whisk in a little bit of milk until it forms the right consistency, no more than a teaspoon at a time.
Place one of the cake layers on a serving plate and spread over a generous quantity of jam.
Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle and pipe blobs of the buttercream on top of the jam. (Alternatively, you can spread the buttercream over the bottom cake layer with a palette knife first, then spoon the jam on top).
Place the second cake layer on top. Sprinkle with a little caster sugar or dust with icing sugar and serve.
Top Tips:
- Make sure that all of your ingredients are at room temperature before you start - if the yogurt and milk are too cold it can cause the butter to harden and the batter to curdle.
- Strawberry jam is the most traditional, but you can use any kind you like. It would also be great filled with lemon curd.
- I like to sprinkle the top with caster sugar, but you could dust it with sifted icing sugar instead.
- If you don't have self-raising flour, you can swap it for regular plain flour and add an extra 2 tsp baking powder instead (so a total of 3 tsp).
- This vegan Victoria sponge cake is lovely served with fresh fruit, especially strawberries or red berries.
- It will keep for up to four days in an airtight container.
- Best enjoyed with a cup of tea.
More Classic Vegan Cakes:
- Vegan chocolate fudge cake
- Vegan lemon drizzle cake
- Vegan carrot cake loaf
- Vegan courgette (zucchini) cake
- Vegan coconut layer cake
- Easy vegan ginger cake
- Vegan biscoff banana bread
- Easy vegan chocolate cake
- Vegan Christmas cake
- Vegan apple bundt cake
If you tried this recipe why not tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess
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Vegan Victoria Sponge Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 175 g (⅔ cup + 1 Tbsp) vegan block butter (NOT the spreadable kind. I use Naturli Vegan Block) softened
- 250 g (1 ¼ cups) caster (superfine) sugar
- 175 g (⅔ cup + 1 Tbsp) non-dairy yogurt (I used vanilla soy) (room temperature)
- 175 ml (⅔ cup + 1 Tbsp) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy) (room temperature)
- 2 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 350 g (3 cups minus 2 Tbsp) self-raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
Buttercream:
- 125 g (½ cup) vegan block butter (NOT the spreadable kind. I use Naturli Vegan Block) softened
- 220 g (2 cups) icing (powdered) sugar sifted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- strawberry or raspberry jam
- caster sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Grease two 19-20cm/7.5-8inch round cake tins and line with baking parchment.
- Cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer for a good few minutes until very light and fluffy.
- Add the yogurt, milk, vanilla, flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and gently mix everything together until it forms a smooth batter. Take care not to over-beat it as that can make the cake tough.
- Divide the batter between the tins and bake for about 25-35 minutes until springy and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Leave the cakes to cool in the tins for 10 minutes then carefully turn them out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
- Once the cakes have cooled, make the buttercream. Place the butter, icing sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl and whisk with an electric mixer for a couple of minutes until smooth and fluffy.
- Place one of the cake layers on a serving plate and spread over a generous quantity of jam.
- Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle and pipe blobs of the buttercream on top of the jam. (Alternatively, spread the buttercream over the bottom cake layer with a palette knife first, then spoon the jam on top).
- Place the second cake layer on top. Sprinkle with a little caster sugar and serve. Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to four days.
Notes
I adapted this recipe from Vegan Life Magazine but was later informed that the recipe was originally created by Kate from The Veg Space so all credit goes to her. Do check out her wonderful blog!
CHRISSIE
Hi, Help
I am trying to find a great vegan victoria sponge and this one has been recommended so many times. I have made this 3 times now, following exactly the recipe apart from the yoghurt, I've used Oykos Dairy free coconut. In the recipe it talks of getting a batter, what I get on all three occasions as been very very thick.... when it's cooked, it's very dense and not really edible. Cloyee if there is such a word, springs to mind. The only thing I'm putting it down to is the yoghurt. Could this been the case?
I use a mixer to do the butter (flora plant) and sugar, once fuffy I add everything else, but use the mixer on very slow and once mixed, transfer to tins.
I so want to get this right. Any advice would be really really appreciated.
Thanks and fingers crossed
Chrissie
Hannah
Hi Chrissie, sorry to hear you've had trouble with this recipe. I haven't tried Oykos yogurt but it looks like it is quite thick. Ideally you want to use quite a thin yogurt for this cake, so a runnier soy based yogurt would be preferable.
Imogen
I followed the recipe instructions exactly, made it twice, first time used vegan stork block and second time used naturli and both times I used alpro plain yogurt. The batter was extremely thick, almost like a dough, so i added a little more milk to try and match the consistency from the photos. They rose a lot in the oven, but when they cooled they became very thin layers (I did check a knife came out clean before letting them cool). The cake ended up OK but the texture was a bit gummy and not the best. Definitely not a light fluffy cake.
Hannah
Hi Imogen, sorry to hear that you had issues with the recipe. If you are after a light, fluffy vanilla cake recipe then I recommend this one, it is my favourite vanilla cake: https://domesticgothess.com/blog/2024/06/12/vegan-boston-cream-pie/
Cheryl
Hi just coming back to say I used this recipe for my son’s wedding. It was so good. Another couple asked for recipe for their wedding as it was the best vegan sponge type cake they had tried.
I add a bit more milk than the recipe suggests - perhaps 50 ml more. Everything at room temperature. I always beat the butter and sugar until it is really white and fluffy. For the wedding I added lemon zest to the sponge not the butter icing.
Teresa
Thanks so much for this recipe Hannah, it has turned out the best sponge cake I've achieved, maybe not quite as light as the traditional version but a much less 'puddingy' texture than all the other vegan recipes I've tried.
Mum liked her Mother's Day treat so much I made another for Easter but customised it by nicking an idea off Nigella - replacing 3 tbsp flour of with custard powder and adding 3 tsp custard powder to the buttercream mix.
I layered the cake with the 'custard' filling and added well drained, mushed up tinned rhubarb to make the most epic rhubarb and custard cake. Amazing!
Emma
That sounds great I will give this a whirl too
Zoe
OMG. If you haven't made this yet, run, don't walk and bake one up right now. THANK YOU HANNAH! I've been baking GF, Vegan cakes for Allergy Boy for 12 years now - this is the best, lightest, fluffiest allergy-friendly cake that I have ever made. Superb. I used Dove's Farm GF Self-Raising flour and other than that followed the recipe as written. Allergy Boy loved it. This is definitely going into my repertoire and I can't wait to try more Domestic Gothess recipes! (I made your Christmas cake recipe last Christmas - also a huge hit.)
(If you're GF in the US, I *believe* that you can buy Dove's Farm flour on Amazon. It is expensive as an import, unfortunately, but worth it for a special occasion. If you have friends/ family in England, get them to send you some or bring you some when they visit!)
Marz
Hi there! I’m planning on making this but was wondering if I could make it in a 9x13 inch rectangular tray instead of the cake rounds?
Hannah
Hi Marz, I haven't tried making it in that size tin so can't say if it will work or not. I do have this great vanilla cake recipe that is baked in that size tin however: https://domesticgothess.com/blog/2021/03/30/vegan-jam-coconut-sponge/
Cec
I've been vegan for 10 years and have been making cakes since then. I made this cake for my mum's birthday and my whole family agreed it was the best vegan cake they'd ever had. The texture was amazing. I used a thin soy based yoghurt and it was more fluffy and moist than any vegan cake I've ever made before. I love that this recipe isn't afraid to be a bit more complicated- because you really taste the difference in quality.
Lily
Hi there! Absolutely adore your recipes but I'm stuck on the ingredient of vegan "block butter" - I'm in Australia & we only have one spreadable vegan butter readily available to buy in supermarkets (nuttelex).. am I able to substitute with half coconut oil or vegetable shortening, even a neutral oil? Unsure of which direction to take. Thanks so much!
Hannah
Hi Lily, either of those options should work ok, there are also lots of recipes online to make your own block butter which would be my first choice.
Cheryl Bhagwandin
Love this recipe! Others are like science experiments , but this was great.
It was meant to be a double sponge but I managed to totally break one so it will be pudding!
But the other one was fine for decoration and will definitely use this every time.
I might try almond essence next time, instead of vanilla
Sarah
Oh my goodness. This cake, without exaggeration, is one of the best things I've ever made- and I've made MANY cakes, vegan and otherwise, in my life. I agree that it is a more involved recipe than other Victoria sponge cake recipes out there, but indeed it is VERY worth it. The crumb is so moist and tender, but also fluffy and holds its shape very well. I made my own self-rising flour (1.5 tsp baking powder + 1/4 tsp fine salt for every cup of AP flour), and used 1/2 tsp baking soda, since it's all I had on hand. For the yogurt, I used the coconut based vanilla Silk one, and thinned it out a bit more with some soy milk. I splurged and used my fancy vanilla bean paste, which took this cake to the next level. O. M. G. This cake rivals one that a specialty vegan bakery in my city does, which has become too expensive to treat myself to.
For folks itching to make a vegan Victoria sponge cake, THIS is the recipe you want to use. The creamed vegan butter and sugar, plus the yogurt, yields a phenomenal texture. Do it!!