Stunningly Decadent Vegan Layered Cake

This fluffy cake recipe takes me down memory lane, back to my childhood in Romania. In the area of Romania where I grew up, layered sheet cakes are the norm around holidays and special events. They can be cut in small bite-sized portions for guests and make for beautiful table additions for a large party.

It is also in Romania, that because of the Orthodox Christian tradition of fasting (removing all animal produce from diets for certain periods of times), there is a tradition of traditional vegan recipes that satisfy any taste. Even though my family is not particularly religious, my mum would always get very creative with our meals and deserts around the calendar periods of fasting, and as a picky eating child who disliked all dairy products, I was delighted by all the treats I would get. Romanians are very welcoming people, and they mostly show love by giving you food and are most delighted when their guests love the food they lovingly prepared.

I started to adapt some of my mum’s recipes during my time in university when I moved in with a dear friend of mine who is vegan and when I became vegetarian myself. I have always loved animals dearly and food that is cruelty free tastes so much better to me.

This recipe always surprises me with how tasty the vegan custard-like cream is and how fluffy the sponge comes out, worthy of a decadent patisserie. All the ingredients used are plant based and easily sourced in most supermarkets. It is easy and quick to bake and once you taste it, you will want to make it over and over again.

To make this beautiful cake you will need as follows:

For the sponge:

• 200g of plain flour
• 200g of caster sugar
• 3 tbsp of dark coco powder
• 1 tbsp of baking powder
• 250ml of soy milk
• 60ml of vegetable oil
• A pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp of lemon juice

For the filling:

• 300ml of soy milk
• 100g of granulated or caster sugar
• 1 extra full tbsp of flour
• 1 tbsp of corn starch
• 100g of vegan spread or margarine for baking
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

To begin with, heat the oven to 180° and line a rectangular shaped baking tray with baking paper. The larger the tray the thinner the sponge layers will be, I used a 32cm x 25cm tray. A trick I recently learned for lining trays is to put a little bit of oil in all 4 corners of the tray to make the paper stick and not fold on itself.

Firstly, to make the sponge, mix together the cold soy milk with the sugar, the oil and lemon juice using a whisk.

Separately, mix the dry ingredients, the flour, coco powder, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Add the dry ingredients to the liquid mix gradually while mixing rapidly with the whisk until you get a smooth consistency.

Pour the cake mixture in the tray and spread it evenly so the final sponge layers will be even.

Bake for 15 minutes, test the sponge with a skewer or toothpick to make sure it’s baked. Then take it out of the oven and leave to cool in the tray for 10 minutes, then move to a cooling rack and let cool completely. The sponge should be very fluffy so take care when taking out of the tray.

We will them make the cream!

In a pan, pour the 300ml of soy milk and mix with the flour, sugar and corn starch until the ingredients have been incorporated. Then put the pan on the hob on low heat and stir continuously until the cream hardens and has a thick custard consistency (see the picture). Then add the vanilla extract. Take of the heat and leave to cool. Once the mixture is cool, add the 100g or margarine or vegan baking spread and mix with a hand mixer to incorporate.

To assemble, take the baking paper off the sponge and cut into 3 equal sections. Sandwich the cream between the layers evenly. Then sprinkle icing sugar on top and leave to set in the fridge, or cut straight away if you’re super impatient like me. Letting the cake set will make it easier to cut into even pieces to serve.

I tried this recipe recently on my flat mate who is not vegan or vegetarian and she was amazed at how delicious and fluffy a vegan cake can be. I was amazed when she told me she never had a vegan cake before in her life and I think I might have converted her to trying foods and recipes with less animal products.

I hope this cake brings you as much joy as it brings me!