My melt in the mouth, light and fluffy yet healthy version of this British classic
Howdy beauts!
Yes it’s been a while since I posted a recipe…but at least now you know why 😉
I’m still so grateful for all your lovely kind feedback and wishes of wellness following my positive pregnancy article.
It’s made me even more excited to return to life as a personal trainer (who’s also a mum) later this year.
I’ve missed my gorgeous personal trainer clients and attendees of Boot camp and I’m also looking forward to working with many more new mummas and mummas to be!
Which leads to the occasion behind this cake: Father’s Day!
I wanted to give my wonderful husband something extra special as this year’s was his first. I couldn’t ask for a better husband, partner, best friend, rock and Daddy to our beautiful baby daughter…so a cake was certainly the first step in showing my appreciation of everything he does!
As Victoria Sponge is one of his favourites, I decided to make a healthier version we could ALL enjoy (including Buba which is why I used fresh strawberries instead of jam!)
Although this recipe is dairy free, it does contain eggs. If you did however want it to be 100% vegan, you could use either flax eggs or egg replacer.
I made the cashew buttercream the day before and left it in the fridge overnight which helped keep it fluffy.
My only other tip would be to use a coconut milk that doesn’t contain guar gum (an ingredient often in canned coconut milk to keep the fat and water separated when at room temperature.)
I instead made my coconut milk using organic Biona creamed coconut in hot water.
It’s refined sugar free, with the use of coconut nectar but if you wanted to make it 100%, you could instead just use a higher quantity of the stevia drops (the brand I use, Nick’s are available on Amazon.)
So I hope you enjoy it as much as we all did! x
Healthy Victoria Sponge
A dairy free, grain free, gluten and refined sugar free yet 100% delicious version of this British classic!
- 6 eggs (medium size, preferably organic)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 tbspns coconut nectar
- 90 ml melted coconut oil
- 80 g coconut flour (sifted)
- 2 tbspns gluten free baking powder (I use doves farm)
- stevia drops to taste (I use Nick's Stevia Drops available on Amazon)
- Sliced strawberries for the middle, whole strawberries for the topping
Preheat oven to 160c or 180c is not fan assisted
Grease and line two 16cm sandwich cake tins with parchment paper
Whisk the eggs, coconut nectar, stevia and vanilla until fluffy
In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients so there are no lumps in the coconut flour
Slowly whisk the melted slightly cooled coconut oil into the egg mixture until fluffy
Slowly sieve in the dry ingredients and combine until there are no lumps (I used a whisk)
Divide the mixture into the greased cake tins
Place in the oven for 20 mins on the same shelf
Remove from oven when brown and springy to touch and a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before assembling
Cashew Buttercream Frosting
A delicious dairy-free version that can be used to frost and fill various cakes
- 2 cups raw cashew nuts (soaked overnight or for a minimum of 6 hours to soften)
- 1 cup melted coconut oil
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk (I use the biona creamed coconut, make sure yours doesn't contain guar gum)
- 1/4 cup coconut nectar (use additional stevia drops if you'd like it sweeter)
- 2 tbspns vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp pink salt
- 6 tbspns lemon juice
Drain the soaked cashews from their water and rinse well
Add all ingredients to the bowl of a high powered blender (I used my Nutri Ninja food processor.) Blend until smooth.
Scrape sides as needed to make sure everything is well incorporated. Taste test and adjust as needed: adding more coconut nectar/stevia for sweetness or more lemon juice for tang, or more vanilla for flavour
Transfer the frosting to a large mixing bowl. Cover and place it in the freezer for 30 minutes. Remove and blend again until thick (about two minutes)
Cover and place back in the freezer for 10 minutes and then whip again for 3 minutes, or until thick and fluffy. Repeat this step until the frosting is fluffy in texture (I did it a total of 3 times.)
Once whipped, keep in the fridge. Allow it to soften at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before you decorate your cake
Store the in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 7 days. Or up to 6 months in the freezer