Mother’s Day was celebrated by many over the last weekend, and much cake was no doubt eaten and enjoyed. Not just for Mother’s Day, birthdays or other big celebrations, this delicious yogurt sponge layer cake sandwiched together with cream and berries, is the perfect addition to your baking repertoire, a beautiful centrepiece and a wonderful option for afternoon tea or dessert.
For all the cake lovers visiting this post, this one is for you! To all the mothers out there, all the mothers of angels, the hopeful future mammas and mums-to-be, I send you all love and empathy in motherhood. To those who have lost a mother, my heart goes out to you.
To my own mother, love you mum! One day we will be able to celebrate in person with you again.
Marisa
VEGAN BERRIES AND CREAM YOGURT SPONGE CAKE
INGREDIENTS
360 ml (1 1/2 cups) organic caster sugar*
480 ml (2 cups) plain, unsweetened plant yogurt (I use oatgurt)
240 ml (1 cup) melted coconut oil* or light olive oil/rapeseed oil
60 ml (1/4 cup) plant milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
A couple of drops almond extract
300g (2 1/2 cup) all-purpose flour + 35g (1/4 cup) cornflour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
TO DECORATE
250 ml (1 cup + 2 tsp) carton/tetra pack of un-whipped vegan whipping cream (I use oat or soy whip for this cake)
240 ml (1 cup) blueberries, approximately (use more if desired)
240 ml (1 cup) chopped strawberry pieces, approximately (use more if desired)
120 ml (1/2 cup) raspberry jam*** (use more if desired)
A sprinkling of flaked almonds, optional
*Alternatively a 50/50 mix of birch and coconut sugars can be used, 180 ml (or 3/4 cup) of each.
**If using coconut oil, ensure all other ingredients are at room temperature to prevent solidification of the oil and lumps in the batter.
***Can be sugar-free or chia jam.
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat your over to 160°C (320°F), fan, and grease and line the bases of four 18 cm (7-inch) cake tins. I only have two cake tins of this particular size, so I bake 2 cakes at a time, then repeat the process after cleaning and relining the tins I have.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the sugar/s, yogurt, oil, milk and extracts. Mix thoroughly.
- Into this wet mixture, sift the remaining dry ingredients. Fold through to combine well, but do not over mix.
- Divide the batter evenly between the pans. I weigh the batter and get around 1300 g (around 49 oz) total weight. Divided by 4 this means each pan gets 325 g (around 11.5 oz) of batter. You can eyeball it, of course, but weighing and measuring will produce the most accurate results and the most even cake layers.
- Bake the cakes on the centre rack of your oven for around 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean and the top is turning a light golden colour.
- Allow the cakes to cool in the tins for around 10 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Meanwhile whip the vegan cream.
- Layer the cakes by spreading around 3 tablespoons of jam, around 60 ml (1/4 cup) of whipped cream (more if you wish), followed by around 60 ml (1/4 cup) of blueberries and around 60 ml (1/4 cup) of strawberry pieces.
- Place the next cake layer on top of the first and repeat the layering of jam, cream and berries, then top with the next cake. Repeat until you have a cake of four layers. Top the final layer with in the same way, but pile the berries in the centre and sprinkle over flaked almonds if using.
- Slice, serve and enjoy!
