This easy vegan sponge cake recipe will amaze you! Light, fluffy, and spongy layered with strawberries and cream, this cake will not disappoint!
Traditional sponge cakes are made with whipped egg whites, flour, and sugar. To make this vegan, I had to omit the eggs but still wanted to achieve a light and airy texture. I tested the recipe many times with various egg replacers and even whipped aquafaba, but the end result wasn't spongy enough.
That's when I remembered that you could use carbonated water in baking to replace eggs. I knew that it gave my easy vegan soda cake a great texture, so I used my basic vegan vanilla cake recipe and added sparkling water instead of plain water. The result was a vegan sponge cake with an amazingly light and fluffy texture.
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🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Flour – white flour or a white grain-based gluten-free flour mix work the best and will give you the whitest cake. (Add a tsp of xanthan gum if using gluten-free flour mix).
- Sugar – for sweetness. You can use any granulated sweetener that you wish, but the lighter the sugar the more white your cake will be.
- Baking Soda – to help the cake rise.
- Salt – for flavor.
- Carbonated Water – for aeration and lift in the cake.
- Oil – for a moist cake. Canola oil works best since it has a very neutral flavor, but you can use any neutral-flavored oil. (You can reduce it slightly or replace it with apple sauce if you need it to be oil-free, but the oil is important for a truly moist cake).
- White Vinegar – to interact with the baking soda and make the cake rise. (You can also use apple cider vinegar. Don’t worry, you won’t taste the vinegar after it bakes.)
- Vanilla Extract – for flavor. You can also use lemon extract for a lemon-flavored sponge cake.
- Buttercream Frosting – for the middle layer. You can check out my vegan buttercream recipe for just about any flavor of frosting you want or use my vegan whipped cream.
- Strawberries or Jam – to put between the layers of cake.
- Powdered Sugar - to sprinkle on top of the cake. Look for organic powdered sugar to be sure that it's vegan.
🥄 How to make vegan sponge cake
Step 1 - Preheat your oven to 375° F (190° C). (You will turn it down to 350° F once you put the cake in, but this initial hotter temperature helps the cake to rise.)
Step 2 - Prepare two round cake tins (8-inch or 9-inch work well) by spraying them with oil and placing a cutout circle of parchment paper at the bottom of the pan).
Step 3 - Measure the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and give them a little stir with a whisk. (Be sure to spoon-measure the flour.)
Step 4 - Add the wet ingredients including the oil, vanilla, and 1/2 of the carbonated water to the dry ingredients and stir with a whisk until you have a smooth thick batter.
Step 5 - Stir in the remaining carbonated water and the vinegar and stir again just enough to form a smooth batter. (Don't over mix.)
Baking the cake
Step 6 - Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pans.
Step 7 - Place the cakes in the oven, turn down the heat to 350° F (176° C), and bake for 30-35 minutes at 350° F until the top center appears dry and springs back up when touched.
Step 8 - Allow the cake to cool for 30 minutes in the cake pan then invert them onto a plate in the refrigerator to cool completely before frosting.
Assembling the cake
Step 9 - Put your first cake top side down on your serving dish. (If you have a very round top, you may want to trim it so it's flat on top.
Step 10 - Arrange fresh sliced strawberries on top of the first layer, then put a thick layer of buttercream (or whipped cream) on top of the strawberries.
Step 11 - Put your next layer on the top right side up.
Step 12 - Sprinkle the top of the layer cake with a dusting of icing sugar. (Put the icing sugar in a wire mesh strainer and hold it over the cake tapping it lightly sprinkle the sugar on top.)
👩🏻🍳 Pro tips
- Spoon measure the flour. This simply means to fill the measuring cups with spoonfuls of flour and not pack the flour down when measuring. This will ensure you are measuring the correct amount of flour.
- Don't over-stir the cake batter. You don't want to stir out the bubbles.
- Preheat the oven to 375° F (190° C) even though you are going to be baking it at 350° F (176° C). This initial hotter temperature helps the cake to rise. I do this trick will all of my muffin recipes too for a nice muffin top.
- If you are using vegan whipped cream, assemble the cake immediately before serving.
🎂 More vegan cakes you'll love
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Vegan sponge cake recipe
Vegan Sponge Cake
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups carbonated water
- 2/3 cup canola oil or any neutral-flavored oil
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup vegan buttercream frosting or vegan whipped cream
- 2 cups strawberries sliced or 1/2 cup of strawberry jam
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375° F (190° C). (You will turn it down to 350° F once you put the cake in, but this initial hotter temperature helps the cake to rise.)
- Prepare two round cake pans (8″- 9″ work well) by spraying them will oil and place a cutout circle of parchment paper at the bottom of the pan).
- Measure the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and give them a little stir with a whisk. (Be sure to spoon measure the flour.)
- Add the oil, vanilla, and 1/2 of the carbonated water to the dry ingredients and stir with a whisk until you have a smooth thick batter.
- Stir in the remaining carbonated water and the vinegar and stir again just enough to form a smooth batter. (Don't over mix.)
- Pour into the prepared cake pans.
- Place the cakes in the oven, turn down the heat to 350° F, and bake for 30-35 minutes at 350° F until the top center appears dry and springs back up when touched.
- Allow it to cool for 30 minutes in the cake pan then invert them onto a plate in the refrigerator to cool completely before frosting.
Assemble the sponge cake
- Put your first cake top side down on your serving dish. (If you have a very round top, you may want to trim it so it's flat on top.
- Arrange fresh sliced strawberries on top of the first layer, then put a thick layer of buttercream (or whipped cream) on top of the strawberries.
- Put your next layer on the top right side up.
- Sprinkle the top of the cake with a dusting of powdered sugar. (Put the powdered sugar in a wire mesh strainer and hold it over the cake tapping it lightly sprinkle the sugar on top.)
Notes
- Spoon measure the flour. This simply means to fill the measuring cups with spoonfuls of flour and not pack the flour down when measuring. This will ensure you are measuring the correct amount of flour.
- Don't over stir the cake batter. You don't want to stir out the bubbles.
- Preheat the oven to 375° F (190° C) even though you are going to be baking it at 350° F (176°F). This initial hotter temperature helps the cake to rise. I do this trick will all of my muffin recipes too for a nice muffin top.
- If you are using vegan whipped cream, assemble the cake immediately before serving.
Can i use your GF flour blend to make this cake? I want to try this cake out so i will half the recipe and try it. But please let me know if it will work with you GF flour oat blend. Also if xanthum should be added do i half that too ? Thank you❤
Yes, it will work with my gluten-free flour blend and you should add xanthan to the mix. Enjoy! 🙂
Hi! Can add melted chocolate? I prefer the taste to cocao powder. Thanks!
I think that you could, but I have never tested it with melted chocolate.
Hello, I’m so excited to use this recipe! I just wanted to know if it’s possible to use this recipe for cupcakes instead of whole cakes?
I haven't tested it, but I think that it will work well. Enjoy! 🙂
This sponge came out so good! From the flavor to the texture, it was on point. If only my vegan whipped cream came out the same way too lol.
I'm glad the sponge cake came out well for you. Vegan whipped cream can be tricky.
Hi, can I use gluten free flour because we have gluten intolerant, and do you know which combination is the best?
Because your recipe sounds good, looks delicious, and I really want to try to make it for my daughter's birthday this week.
Thank you.
I've made it with a few different GF flour mixes and they all turned out well. Just be sure that it's a grain-based mix and not something like almond flour. (I also find GF mixes that contain sorghums flour tend to give a chewy texture, so avoid that ingredient if possible.
Hi there! I’ve just become vegan and am looking for a vegan sponge for my dad’s birthday so yay! I just wanted to know whether this cake could be baked in just one 23cm pan as my oven won’t accommodate two pans at once?
Hi Amy, I'm not sure how it will come out in 1 larger pan since I have never tested it that way. If you try it, the cake will need to bake about 10 minutes longer. You may want to just make 1/2 a batch and cook them separately. Don't make a full batch and let 1/2 the batter sit while the other one bakes though. You need to get this cake in the oven asap to keep the air in it. I hope that you are able to make it work for you. Enjoy! 🙂
Could I possibly put the batter mix into a a large baking sheet to make a cake roll instead of using two circle pans? Recipe sounds so delicious!
Yes, that should work fine. You may need to adjust the baking time depending on the size of the pan you use. Enjoy! 🙂
So you didn't use any oil at all, just homemade aquafaba? That's not an equal replacement either as the recipe called for 2/3 cup of oil and you only used 1/3 of aquafaba. Is that correct? And what is homemade aquafaba? I just open a can of chickpeas and pour our the liquid. How long did u bake for?. I just followed the recipe and its amazing but very calorific, if I can use you recipe that would be great.
Hi, do you have the measurements for this eggless cake, in metric please?
Thank you
Thanks for letting me know that was missing, I put them in the recipe card now. Just click "metric" at the bottom of the ingredient list. Enjoy! 🙂
Can I make this as a 9x13 cake?
I have not tested it, but I think that it will work. Enjoy. 🙂
Thank you for this recipe! I'm working on an egg and dairy free Boston Cream Pie for my mom's birthday. I tried a couple of other sponge cake recipes that use flax egg and they just didn't work out the way I wanted them to. I followed your recipe exactly and it's PERFECT! I couldn't believe that I could get a vegan cake to turn out so light, fluffy and still moist! I'm still working on perfecting the other components, but I'm so relieved to have this down! Thank you so much again!
I'm so happy that this recipe worked well for you! I'm sure your Boston cream pie will be delicious! 🙂
So you didn't use any oil at all, just homemade aquafaba? That's not an equal replacement either as the recipe called for 2/3 cup of oil and you only used 1/3 of aquafaba. Is that correct? And what is homemade aquafaba? I just open a can of chickpeas and pour our the liquid. How long did u bake for?. I just followed the recipe and its amazing but very calorific, if I can use you recipe that would be amazing.
Using sparkling water as part of the leaven works beautifully. I made this as my birthday cake today, with a couple minor adjustments. I used organic unbleached cake flour, reduced the sugar (organic unrefined) to one cup, and subbed one-third cup of thick homemade aquafaba for the oil (I'm following an oil-free diet these days in an attempt to lower my cholesterol.) The layers produced are as close to the non-vegan genoise I used to make as any vegan attempt I've ever made. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm waiting for the jam I just made to cool to sandwich between the layers (blackberries picked locally and frozen, local honey, apple pectin and chia seeds to thicken, and a couple splashes of creme de cassis.)
You're welcome, Gene. I'm glad that you had success with this recipe! The sparking water gives amazing results in vegan baking! 🙂
This recipe is amazing! I can't believe the texture that the soda water gave this cake! My family loved it. I'll be saving this recipe to make again!