Gluten Free and Vegan – Vanilla Sponge Birthday Cake
In the present day, there are many individuals who have certain dietary requirements – gluten free, dairy free, egg free, vegetarian, vegan; the list goes on. For some people, they can’t eat certain foods due to allergies and intolerances, and for others, it’s simply down to choice.
As someone who can’t eat both dairy and gluten, I’m always on the hunt for new sweet treats to try, especially cake. However, more often than not, the free from cakes from the supermarkets don’t quite taste the same to a normal cake, and the majority have egg in, which isn’t suitable for vegans. Therefore, I took it upon myself to create a recipe for everyone out there who is ‘free from’ and is wanting to bake the perfect birthday cake. After all, what’s a birthday without a birthday cake, right?
Ingredients
What you will need:
- 250g GF SR Flour
- 250g Caster Sugar
- 250g DF Butter
- ‘No Egg’ – equivalent of 4 Eggs
- 1/2 tsp GF Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Strawberry Jam
- GF / Vegan ‘Ready To Roll’ Icing
- GF / Vegan Decorations of your choice
Frosting:
- 250g Icing Sugar
- 1 tbsp DF Milk (I recommend Coconut Milk or Oat Milk)
- 140g Butter
Instructions
Method for the Sponge:
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Place the sugar, butter and vanilla extract into a large mixing bowl. Use an electric whisk, on a medium to high speed, to whisk the ingredients together; whisk until the mixture is light and creamy.
- In a separate bowl, mix 4 teaspoons of ‘no egg’ (12g) with 8 tablespoons of water (120ml) – this will be the equivalent of 4 eggs.
- Slowly add the mixed ‘no egg’ into the mixture and whisk on a high speed until it appears light, fluffy and creamy.
- Sift the flour and baking powder bit by bit into the mixture and fold it in a figure of 8 – do this until all the flour is folded in.
- Using a big spoon, separate the mixture evenly into two greased baking tins.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 18 minutes. Check to make sure the cakes are well risen and cooked properly; do this by interesting a skewer into the middle of the cake and be sure it comes out clean.
- Leave the cakes to stand for 10 minutes before transferring them onto a cooling rack.
Method for Frosting/Decorating:
- Place the butter, icing sugar and milk into a large mixing bowl. Use an electric whisk on a low speed, to begin with, to whisk the mixture together. When the mixture is starting to come together, turn the speed up to medium and continue whisking until the frosting is smooth. The frosting should be fairly stiff but creamy enough to be spreadable.
- To fill the cake, spoon some of the frosting onto the top of one of the halves of the cake. Cover the cake with the frosting (leaving a little room at the edges) and then add the strawberry jam on top.
- Place the other half of the cake on top of the other – sandwiching the two together. At this point, you should have the perfect Victoria Sponge Cake. If you’d prefer a simpler cake, then simply leave it as it is.
- Next, cover the surface and rolling pin with a dusting of icing sugar and roll out the ‘ready to roll’ icing. Knead the icing until it’s flexible, then roll it out into a large square (2-3 inches bigger than the cake). Lift the icing over the top of the cake and allow it to drape over the edges. With a sharp knife, cut away any excess icing.
- To make the cake as I have, I used up the rest of the frosting by covering the top of the cake with it. I then individually added different types of free from treats – milk & white chocolate coins, cookies, chocolate, marshmallows, millionaire shortbread and rocky road. (I find the best place to pick up free from treats is Sainsbury’s).
I look forward to seeing your creations!
Don’t forget to tag #queenofthedesserts and follow me on my Instagram page @queen.of.the.desserts
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