Cranberry Cake (Vegan Vanilla Cake)

This Cranberry Cake is made of fluffy Vegan Vanilla Cake layers, a homemade Cranberry Compote Filling and a creamy Frosting. It’s not only the perfect Christmas Cake but also for any time!

Time goes by so fast, and I can’t believe that there are only 2 days left until Christmas. Are you excited yet? To me, Christmas means snow and beautiful white brightness, but sadly there’s no snow outside where I live. Therefore, I really enjoy spending time in the kitchen and creating Christmas recipes. So I present to you this delicious white and bright Vegan Cranberry Cake from my table. In any case, everyone loved this cake so much that naturally, I wanted to share the recipe with you. Maybe you would like to enjoy this Vegan Vanilla Cake with your family or friends during the upcoming holidays? I‘m sure it‘ll be the perfect Christmas Cake! ?

Vegan Cranberry Cake

I came up with the idea of making a white Cranberry Cake because we usually bake our traditional Black Forest Cake on Christmas. For some reason, I had no cocoa powder on hand, so as a result, I spontaneously decided to make a white cake instead. Since Cranberries are in season at the moment, I thought it would be a great addition to this fluffy Vegan Vanilla Cake. Well, I was right because it is! I mean, usually recipe ideas are much better when they happen by doing, rather than by planning before, right? Even though this Vegan Cranberry Cake was not exactly what I wanted to make, the result was definitely a success. Essentially, it’s a festive take on my Cranberry Loaf but as a layer cake with whipped coconut cream frosting. Or, I could even say that it’s the white version of my Black Forest Cake?

Easy Vegan Vanilla Cake with Cranberries

This Vegan Vanilla Cake is fairly easy to make. First, in one bowl simply combine all the wet ingredients. Second, in another bowl combine all the dry ingredients. Third, sift the dry ingredients over the wet ingredients and stir to combine. To make it more special, I also added some fresh Cranberries to the batter, but this is just an optional step. However, if you choose to add them too, I suggest tossing the fresh or thawed cranberries in a little bit of flour before folding them into the batter of this Cranberry Cake. Otherwise, they’ll probably sink to the bottom during baking.

Bake this cake in 1 tin or 3 tins

You can either bake this Vegan Vanilla Cake in three tins or bake it in one tin. If you decide to just use one, please make sure to double the baking time. Also, once the cake is cooled after baking, you have to cut it into three even layers. Anyways, this Vegan Vanilla Cake tastes amazing even when it’s not layered! You can serve it as one regular classic Vegan Sponge Cake and add the frosting or any other toppings you like.

Homemade Cranberry Compote

The Cranberry Compote definitely takes this Vegan Cranberry Cake to the next level. It’s a wonderful sweet and sour filling, which complements this Vegan Lemon Cake so perfectly. And did I mention that it takes only 3-5 minutes to make? Furthermore, the Cranberry Compote tastes delicious as a topping for Waffles, Pancakes, Crêpes or other sweets and desserts. Especially when you combine it with whipped coconut cream. It tastes absolutely amazing!

I hope you’ll love this Vegan Cranberry Cake! It is:

• Vegan
• Egg-free
• Dairy-free
• Fluffy
• Creamy
• Light
• Juicy
• Flavorful
• Layered with Cranberry Compote
• Frosted with plant-based Cream
• So delicious!

Use any Berries instead of Cranberries

If Cranberries are not in season or are not available where you live, you can also use any other berries or fruits choose to make the compote. Another great idea is to use frozen berries or tinned cherries, as I did with my Black Forest Cake. If you find yourself very short on time, you can just switch to store-bought compote or jam. In any case, whatever filling or topping you choose to use when serving this Layer Cake, I would be happy if you leave a comment letting me know how it turned out. Have fun trying! ?

Cranberry Cake (Vegan Vanilla Cake)

This Cranberry Cake is made of fluffy Vegan Vanilla Cake layers, a homemade Cranberry Compote Filling and a creamy Frosting. It’s not only the perfect Christmas Cake but also for any time!

5 from 3 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Appetizer, Dessert, Side Dish, Snack, Snacks

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 1 18cm/7" cake - makes 3 sponges

Author: Bianca Zapatka

Ingredients

Sponge Cake:

• 2 cups self-raising flour (250g) *see recipe notes
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar (200g)
• 1 1/2 cup soy milk (360ml) or other non-dairy milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup oil (100ml)
• 1 1/2 tbsp white or apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 orange or lemon zest optional
• 1/4 cup cranberries (50g) + 1 tsp flour optional

Cranberry Compote:

• 2 cups cranberries (250g)
• 1/4 cup water (60ml)
• 1/4 cup orange juice (60ml) or sub more water
• 1/4 cup sugar (50g) or more to taste
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Cream Frosting:

• 2 cups non-dairy cream (500ml) *see recipe notes
• 2 packs of cream stabilizer optional
• 2-3 tbsp powdered sugar or agave syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Sponge Cake:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease and line three 7-inch (18cm) cake tins (or optionally bake this cake in only one tin.)
• In a measuring jar whisk together the soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Set aside to clabber for 5 minutes. Add oil, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest and stir to combine.
• In a bowl, sieve together flour, cornstarch, and bicarbonate. Make a well in the middle and slowly whisk in the soy milk mixture until smooth. (Optionally, toss a few cranberries with a little flour and fold in the batter.)
• Then fill the batter into the prepared tins and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let cool in the tin for at least 10 minutes, then remove to cool completely. (If making the cake in only 1 tin, bake for about 45 minutes (please test with a toothpick if it's already done). Once the cake is cooled, cut it horizontally to make three equal layers.)

Cranberry Compote:

• In a small cup, stir cornstarch in 2-3 tbsp of the water to dissolve.
• In a pot, add Cranberries, remaining water, orange juice, and sugar and bring to a boil. Cook for about 3-5 minutes until the cranberries get soft, stirring constantly. Then mash with a potato masher or spoon. Stir in the cornstarch mixture, bring to a boil again, then remove from the heat and let cool.

Cream Frosting:

• Add non-dairy cream, icing sugar, and cream stabilizer into a mixing bowl and beat using an electric hand mixer on high speed until whipped.

Assemble the Cake:

• Put one of the 3 sponge cakes on a serving plate. Spread the cream frosting in an even layer over the top of the sponge, then spread over cranberry compote. Put the next sponge on top and repeat this step. Then put the last sponge on top and spread remaining cream frosting all over the top and sides of the cake. (Optionally, save a small portion of the cream for the decoration and fill into a piping bag).
• Make pipes on top of the cake and decorate with Sparkling Cranberries or other toppings.
• Enjoy! ?

Notes

• Instead of self-raising flour, you can also use all-purpose flour + 2 tsp baking powder.
• To make this cake GLUTEN-FREE, you can use a gluten-free flour blend.
• To make this cake sugar-free you can use erythritol instead of regular sugar.
• I use this plant-based cream for whipping because it gets perfectly stiff. If you want to coconut cream instead, refrigerate 2 cans of coconut milk overnight. Then scoop out cold coconut cream from the cans (you can store the excess liquid in your fridge for another use). Add cream into a cold bowl along with sugar (and cream stabilizer) and whip for about 3 min, until stiff peaks form. Make sure not to over-whip.

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