Sponge cakes go back way before Queen Victoria, although high tea started in the 19th century, when people would ‘take tea and cake’ in the drawing room as a snack (dinner was eaten around 8pm to 9pm back in the day). Queen Victoria was a big fan and would often enjoy various sweets and treats (served at her Isle of Wight summerhouse, and was particularly fond on the sandwich cake with jam and buttercream, named after her.
Tesco offers a good very simple recipe. The sponge is made with sunflower oil and plant milk, and sweetened with golden syrup. The vegan buttercream uses plant-based softened butter, icing sugar and vanilla extract.
Before cooking, read up on food safety for people & pets (many human foods are unsafe around animal friends).
a Victoria sponge with coconut double cream
Also try this vegan Victoria sponge, served with fresh berries and The Coconut Collab’s own vegan double cream, to sandwich the sponge layers together. Although made from coconuts, it doesn’t taste of them, it tastes just like dairy double cream!
This Victoria Sponge (School Night Vegan) is a fairly simple recipe, just make the sponge and then it’s a case of strawberries, jam, organic icing sugar (to avoid eggs) and vegan whipped cream (Coconut Collab is a good brand in stores).
Victoria Sponge Cake (Cupful of Kale) is another decadent recipe, again layering up fluffy vanilla sponges with fresh strawberries, strawberry jam and whipped vegan buttercream.
granola that tastes like Victoria sponge cake
Cheeky Nibble is a wonderful brand of vegan granolas, a bit expensive but that’s because they are artisan-made, allergen-friendly, free from palm oil and sold in sustainable packaging. They also taste like dessert, so it’s like eating healthy cake for breakfast, and are absolutely delicious.
The founder created the brand as she has autism and Tourettes Syndrome and found that baking helped her anxiety. She also finds exercise helpful, so she combined her two passions to bake granolas that were chunky enough to take with her to the gym, yet had nostalgic flavours.
The granola is sold in boxes that are carbon-balanced with World Land’s Trust, so you can eat your breakfast with a clear conscience. The flavours include:
- Cherry Bakewell
- Victoria sponge
- Banoffee Pie
- Vanilla latte
