Vegan Vanilla and Strawberry Cakes (GF-Option)

Light and fluffy small batch vegan vanilla sponge cake with juicy strawberries topped with a luscious vanilla buttercream hiding vegan gummy bears. These little cakes are fun to make and decorate and easy to whip up for afternoon tea.

I am back again with another vegan gummy bear recipe, although you can make these Vegan Vanilla and Strawberry Cakes just as well without them. But I think it’s so fun to have these little sweets hiding inside the Bundt cakes. If you don’t have any gummy bears, here are the ones I use from JustCBD (use code AMY20 for 20% off too!)* or you can use other vegan sweets – anything you like or opt for more fresh berries.

The batter for these Vegan Vanilla and Strawberry Cakes is really simple to come together, you just need one bowl and a few basic ingredients:

• Plant-based milk and lemon juice: these act as a natural binder and “curdle” to form a buttermilk.
• Sunflower oil: I like the soft texture this lends to cakes and so olive oil would also work. That said, you could use melted coconut oil, too.
• Coconut sugar: this is always my favourite sugar to bake with as I love the caramel-like flavour and smell, but caster sugar also works.
• Vanilla essence: for the classic vanilla sponge element of this cake.
• Plain flour: or a 1:1 GF blend also works and keeps this sponge really light. You could also use a light spelt flour although the texture won’t be quite as light and airy.
• Bicarbonate of soda: just for the rise.
• Strawberries: chopped small, toss them with flour to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cake tins.

Now let’s talk cake tins. I chose to make these Vegan Vanilla and Strawberry Cakes into Bundt cakes as I wanted to hide the gummy bears inside, however you could also bake these into small circular cake tins, too. Be mindful that this is a small cake for 2-4 so you will only need a small circle cake tin (about 5-6inches) to make this into one larger cake or use two smaller tins (about 3inches diameter). If not using a Bundt tin, cooking times will vary, too, so just watch out as they cook.

A few key points on these cakes:

• If using Bundt tins: be sure to grease the tins well and line the bottom of the tins so they come out more easily.
• Allow to cool fully: I prefer to let the cakes cool almost fully in the tins before touching them too much.
• Store these cakes in the fridge: as they have fresh berries in them, it’s best to store then in the fridge.
• To store in the freezer: place un-frosted cakes in the freezer and allow to de-frost thoroughly before decorating.

Apart from that, these Vegan Vanilla and Strawberry Cakes really are so simple and they’re like eating vanilla flavoured clouds, they’re so light. As well as the hiding gummy bear sweets, I also like to top these with some light and luscious vegan vanilla buttercream and then some sprinkles, too. That said, you can decorate these cakes as you please!

I hope you will love these fruity and sweet vanilla cakes, it’s hard to believe that they are naturally vegan with easy gluten-free options and it’s great to have a small batch recipe up your sleeve for when you want cake but don’t want to have loads of leftovers!

If you are looking for more cakes and bakes, how about my:

• Grapefruit Olive Oil Cake with Homemade Candied Peel
• Vegan Double Chocolate Brownie Cake for 2
• Sweet Potato Chocolate Cinnamon Fudge Brownies
• Banana Chocolate Chip Blondies
• Dirty Chai Raisin Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting

Vegan Vanilla and Strawberry Cakes (GF)

• Servings: 2-4
• Time: 30 minutes plus cooling
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Light and fluffy small batch vegan vanilla sponge cake with juicy strawberries topped with a luscious vanilla buttercream hiding vegan gummy bears. These little cakes are fun to make and decorate and easy to whip up for afternoon tea.

Ingredients

Cakes:
• 80ml plant-based milk
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 60ml sunflower oil
• 40g coconut sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 90g + 1 tsp plain flour or GF plain flour
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• A pinch of salt
• 80g strawberries plus extra for decorating
Frosting:
• 50g vegan butter
• 150g icing sugar
• 1 tbsp plant-based milk
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
Decorating:
• Gummy bears
• Sprinkles

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 160Fan/180*C and grease 2 Bundt tins with oil (or use one 6-inch round tin and also line the tin).
2. Chop the strawberries small and toss with the 1 tsp flour.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the milk and lemon juice and leave for 5 minutes to curdle. Now whisk in the sunflower oil, sugar and vanilla essence.
4. Sift in the remaining flour and bicarbonate of soda and add the salt. Whisk to a smooth batter then fold in the strawberries.
5. Pour the batter into the tins and bake for 18-19 minutes for 2 Bundt tins or 25-30 minutes for a larger tin or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
6. Allow the cakes to cool and then remove from the tin(s).
7. Make the frosting by beating the butter until light and fully. Add in the vanilla and then gradually add in the icing sugar until thick and creamy, adding the milk as needed for a softer texture that’s easy to pipe with.
8. Fill the Bundt cake holes with the Gummy Bears and pipe the vanilla frosting on top of the cakes and decorate with extra strawberries and sprinkles. If using one regular cake, spread the frosting over the top of the cake and decorate with the Gummy Bears, strawberries and sprinkles. Store in an airtight container for 3 days.

I look forward to hearing what you think of these Vegan Vanilla and Strawberry Cakes so please let me know in the comments below and tag me in your bakes, I love seeing them! I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With vanilla strawberry love x

*this is an affiliate link although this post is not sponsored and I really love these gummy bears!