Knew You Were Coming? Bake a Vegan Cake!

Peach Upside Down Cake (Rainbow Nourishments)

England does like a nice slice of cake, with a cup of tea! But just like most things in the modern world, the powers-that-be have made a treat problematic: factory-farmed ingredients, palm oil, refined sugar and plastic packaging.

But no need to be a party pooper. You can still enjoy tasty cakes that are vegan (with no palm oil or refined sugar) and either made yourself, or brands in shops that tick all the good cookie boxes!

Keep these cakes away from pets, due to not-safe ingredients like nuts, spices, chocolate etc. Also don’t feed stale cake crumbs to garden birds or wildfowl, as they could harm or choke.

Bin citrus peels as (like tomato/rhubarb/allium scraps), acids could harm compost creatures. And if using tinned ingredients, fully remove lids or pull ring-pulls back over holes before recycling, to avoid wildlife getting trapped.

The History of Cake in England

Raspberry Cake (Rainbow Nourishments)

Of course, it all began in the 1840s with afternoon tea. The Duchess of Bedford would take tea at 4pm, and feeling peckish, began to order bread and butter. Cue some years later, and the Queen would entertain guests with tea and sponge at her holiday home on the Island of Wight (hence the birth of the Victoria sponge).

Back then when luxury ingredients like jam and cream were scarce for the great unwashed, cheap root veggies were used (parsnip cake was very popular, due to its natural sweetness).

Another root veggie that became very popular for cake was carrot. In the US, ‘red devil cake’ is very popular, a blend of earthy sweet beetroot blended with chocolate. A fun tasty way to get your veggies!

The most popular biscuit flavours in England:

Lemon drizzle (the number one apparently)
Victoria Sponge (a classic with jam and cream)
Carrot cake (often served with cream cheese frosting)
Coffee Walnut Cake (nostalgia for camp coffee essence)
Battenberg (covered in marzipan)
Fruit cake (often served at Christmas)
Banana Bread (this is actually a cake!
Chocolate Fudge Cake (mostly served in pubs)

How to Bake Your Own Vegan Cakes

Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake (Rainbow Nourishments)

This is obviously the cheapest choice, avoids packaging and also the tastiest. Cake batter is pretty simple to make, and as you long as you don’t go too fancy, you shouldn’t have many problems.

Tips for Perfect Vegan Cakes!

Most vegan cakes use butter, so choose Lurpak or Flora (both free form palm oil). Ideally ‘block’ versions, rather than margarine:

Sift your dry ingredients for a lighter crumb.
The best plant milks to use are oat and soya, each recipe has different egg replacements, or sometimes they don’t need one! Try to use brown sugar, it tastes nicer and is better for you.
Don’t overmix the batter, or you will end up with a gummy cake!
Vegan baking is a science, so follow the recipe for good results! Get some measuring cups! Vegan chocolate chips are hard to find in stores, so just chop some quality vegan chocolate, it all melts anyway.
Once wet and dry ingredients are mixed, get the batter into the oven asap, as the leavening agents begin to work.

Here are a few super-simple affordable recipes to start you off. Try a few. Then when you have your favourites, you can make a batch each week, and keep them in a cake tin, for when people call!

Anthea from Rainbow Nourishments is a trained baker, who offers lots of lovely simple recipes for vegan cookies, none need egg replacer.

Try her recipes for chocolate beetroot cake and Espresso Cake.

Freyas Vegan cake Baking Mixes

There are only a few brands on sale that are both vegan and without palm oil, so it may be easier to learn how to bake your own. But if you do wish to buy them (or need to buy some for wholesale), here are better brands.

Recycle packaging at supermarket bag bins, if your kerbside doesn’t recycle.

Freyas is a small brand of vegan baking mixes, created by a former Bake Off contestant from Yorkshire. There are four mixes that are all easy to make and bake. Two are for cookies, one is for sticky toffee pudding, but the final one is for lemon drizzle cake (England’s favourite!)

Simple Baking Recipes by a Yorkshire Lass!

Freya also has published a book. Simply Vegan Baking shows how familiar recipes can be made without eggs, dairy or butter. From simple cakes and traybakes and bread to desserts and showstopping cakes, the faff-free recipes include many traditional favourites like: