This dreamy and delicious Vegan Strawberry and Cream Cake is made with a creamy no-bake vanilla whipped cream filling lavishly decked with fresh strawberries in between two layers of light and fluffy sponge cake! It’s the perfect summer dessert – airy, refreshingly fruity, and straight-on scrumptious! And all of this achieved without using eggs and dairy products at all!

Vegan Strawberry and Cream Cake – German “Käsesahne-Torte”
This is my vegan take on the popular German cake called “Käsesahne-Torte” meaning “cheesecake cream layer cake”. Traditionally, it is made up of two base elements – a creamy no-bake cheesecake filling sandwiched in between two sponge cakes. Sponge cakes are usually made with a lot of whipped egg whites to achieve that light and tender texture while the cheesecake filling is made of quark or cream cheese, whipped cream, and gelatin. Fresh fruits can also be added as an extra layer!

This plant-based version is made without the eggs, dairy, and gelatin! And if I may say so myself, tastes so much better than the classic version! Also, since summer is almost around the corner, I am excited to use strawberries instead of the usual apricots, nectarines, or mandarins. I just love how the floral tones of vanilla mingle so well with the sweetness of plump ripe strawberries! It’s absolutely mouthwatering and made even more stunning topped with vegan whipped cream, strawberry slices, and powdered sugar!

What Vegan Ingredients to Use
Nowadays there are so many vegan products in the grocery stores. That makes it easier to veganize classic recipes that we just can’t live without! A lot of the ingredients from the original recipe are still used here, but I have made substitutions to eliminate non-vegan ingredients:
- Baking soda + apple cider vinegar + cornstarch instead of egg whites – mixing baking soda to vinegar creates a chemical reaction that produces bubbles giving the batter height and volume. The cornstarch binds the ingredients together to make it smoother.
- San-apart instead of gelatin – San-apart is an instant vegan stabilizer for cream and requires no cooking. In case you can’t find this in the supermarket near you, you can sub with 1 tsp of 100% agar powder. To do this, simply stir it in 1/3 cup of plant milk, then bring to a boil and cook according the package instructions. Allow to cool slightly, then stir it into the quark cream mixture and fold in the whipped cream carefully.
- Soy quark instead of regular quark – quark is a type of unaged white cheese popular in European countries. It is similar to cottage cheese, but more of a thick yogurt. If you can’t find it in stores, you can sub it with silken firm tofu, or vegan cream cheese or make vegan quark at home! To do this, place a strainer over a bowl then line it with a cheese cloth. Pour in dairy-free yogurt and let it drip overnight in the refrigerator. The leftover thick yogurt is what you can use for this recipe.
- Dairy-free cream – I used soy-based dairy-free whipping cream which is very stable. You can also try other vegan brands or coconut cream, however, make sure it can be whipped or the filling for this strawberry cake will be watery.

Tips when making Strawberry and Cream Cake
- Do not over-mix your batter or your cake will turn out dense. You do not have to make it super smooth. Just mix until well combined.
- Refrain from opening the oven door too soon or too many times. If the heat from the oven becomes unstable, the cake will deplete and flatten. Wait for the minimum amount of bake time before checking on your sponge cake.
- You can check for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the cake’s middle part, it should come out clean. Also, if you press the surface lightly, it should spring back into shape.
- Feel free to use other fresh fruits for this recipe! You can go traditional with apricots, nectarines, or mandarins or use other fruits and berries like mangoes, blueberry, and raspberries.
- Make it gluten-free: Instead of all-purpose or spelt flour, you can use a gluten-free flour blend 1:1 to make this strawberry whipped cream cake gluten-free.
- Try another type of sugar: Instead of regular granulated sugar, you could also use brown sugar, raw cane sugar or coconut blossom sugar for. However, take note that this may slightly change the color and flavor of the sponge cake.

How to make Strawberry and Cream Cake
As always, I recommend checking out the recipe video and this step-by-step instruction first. Then you’ll find the full recipe with exact measurements in the recipe card below!
Step 1: making the sponge cake
Make the sponge cake by sifting the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder into a bowl. Then add sugar, salt, and vanilla and whisk together. In a measuring jar, whisk together the dairy-free milk, oil, and vinegar. Then stir it into the flour mixture until just combined. Divide the batter between the two prepared 8-inch springform pans and bake at 180 °C (356 °F) for about 22-25 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Once done baking, allow the cakes to cool completely.


Step 2: making the cream filling
In a mixing bowl, beat the dairy-free whipping cream with 3 tsp san-apart until stiff peaks form. In another larger mixing bowl, mix the soy quark with icing sugar, vanilla and the remaining 3 tsp of san-apart until creamy. Then fold in the whipped cream using a spatula.

Step 3: layer the strawberry and cream cake
Place one cake layer, top side up, on a cake plate and secure a cake ring around it. Then place the strawberries on top as shown in the recipe video or step-by-step photos. Now spread the cream filling on the strawberries, pressing down gently so that the cream also gets between the strawberries and smooth out the top evenly. Place the other cake layer on top of the cream, bottom side up. Press it down gently and peel off the parchment paper. Cover the cake with plastic wrap or a lid and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours or overnight.
Tip: You can also pre-cut the top cake layer and then place the single slices on the cream. This will make cutting easier later.

Step 4: Decorate and serve!
For the decoration, beat some dairy-free whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Then add it into a piping bag and pipe small dollops of cream onto the cake. Finally, decorate with fresh halved strawberries and dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

How to store it?
It is actually better to refrigerate this cake overnight to allow the filling to firm up nicely. So you can make it ahead of time! It will stay good in the fridge for up to 2 days. Make sure to not keep it at room temperature for long after serving since this cake contains whipped cream and fresh strawberries.

This Vegan Strawberry and Cream Cake is:
- Eggless and dairy-free
- Gelatin-free
- Visually stunning
- Refreshing cool- perfect for summer!
- Light and airy
- Sweet, fruity, and floral
- Super creamy
- Easy to make
- Utterly delicious!

More delicious cakes for summer time
- Strawberry Lemon Cake with Blackberry Jam
- Blueberry Coconut Cake with Yogurt Frosting
- Raw Coconut Cheesecake
- Blueberry Chia Pudding Cake
- Strawberry Coconut Cake
- Lemon Poppy Seed Layer Cake
- Coconut Rice Pudding Cake
- No-Bake Mango Cheesecake Pie with Passion Fruit
- Strawberry Ice Cream Pie
If you try this Vegan Strawberry and Cream Cake recipe, feel free to leave a comment and a rating if you liked it! And if you take a picture of your homemade Strawberries and Cream Cake and share it on Instagram, please tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka because I love seeing your pictures! Enjoy!

Vegan Strawberry and Cream Cake
Author:You do not have a fitting cake pan at hand right now? Try my Cake Pan Conversion Calculator!
Ingredients
Sponge cake
- 1 ½ cups (180 g) all-purpose or spelt flour or gluten-free flour*
- 1 ½ tbsp cornstarch or vanilla pudding powder
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 pinch of bourbon vanilla or 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (200 ml) + 2 tbsp soy milk or other dairy-free milk
- ⅓ cup (75 ml) neutral oil e.g. canola or sunflower oil
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
Fruit filling
- 17.6 oz (500 g) strawberries or other fruits of choice
Cream Filling
- 1 ¼ cup (300 ml) dairy-free whipping cream e. g. Schlagfix or Silk or sub whippable coconut cream
- 6 tsp san-apart *see notes for alternatives
- 1 ¼ cup (300 g) soy quark e. g. Alpro Skyr or sub silken firm tofu or vegan cream cheese (*see notes)
- ⅓ cup (40 g) powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract or a pinch of bourbon vanilla (optional)
Decoration
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) dairy-free whipping cream e. g. Schlagfix or Silk or sub whippable coconut cream
- fresh strawberries
- powdered sugar
Instructions
*Note: Check out the recipe video + step-by-step instructions in the blog post above!
Sponge cake
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C (356 °F). Lightly grease the sides of two 8 inch (20 cm) springform pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- Sift the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder into a bowl. Then add sugar, salt, and vanilla and whisk together.
- In a measuring jar, whisk together the dairy-free milk, oil, and vinegar. Then stir it into the flour mixture (add 2 tablespoons more milk if needed) until just combined.
- Divide the batter between the two prepared springform pans (about 10 oz (290 g) of batter per cake pan). Gently tap the pan on the work surface a few times to release any air bubbles that have formed. Bake for about 22-25 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
- Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then remove from the pan, place on a cooling rack, and allow to cool completely.
- Place one cake layer, top side up, on a cake plate and secure a cake ring around it as shown in the recipe video.
Fruit filling
- Cut off the green part from the strawberries and cut some of them in half. Arrange the strawberry halves around the cake’s edges with the cut side facing towards the cake ring. Spread the remaining whole strawberries, thick side down, on the inner cake layer. Set aside.
Cream Filling
- In a mixing bowl, beat the dairy-free whipping cream with 3 tsp san-apart until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- In another larger mixing bowl, mix the soy quark with icing sugar, vanilla and the remaining 3 tsp of san-apart until creamy. Then fold in the whipped cream using a spatula.
- Spread the cream on the strawberries, pressing down gently so that the cream also gets between the strawberries. Smooth out the top evenly.
- Place the other cake layer on top of the cream, bottom side up. Press it down gently and peel off the parchment paper. (You can also pre-cut the top cake layer and then place the single slices on the cream. This will make cutting easier later.).
- Cover the cake with plastic wrap or a lid and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours or overnight.
Decoration
- For the decoration, beat the remaining whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Add into a piping bag and pipe small dollops of cream onto the cake.
- Decorate with fresh halved strawberries and dust with powdered sugar.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Flour: Instead of all-purpose or spelt flour, you can use a gluten-free flour blend 1:1. If you use whole wheat flour, the sponge will be more compact and less fluffy. Since different flours absorb different amounts of liquid, you may then need to adjust the amount of liquid.
- Sugar: Instead of regular granulated sugar, you can use brown sugar, raw cane sugar or coconut blossom sugar for your Strawberries and Cream Cake. However, this may slightly change the color and flavor of the sponge cake.
- Soy quark is kind of very thick yogurt available in European countries. If you can’t find it in stores near you, you can also use silken firm tofu, or vegan cream cheese instead since those have a similar consistency to soy quark. However, you can also make vegan quark at home by placing a strainer over a bowl, then line it with a cheese cloth. Pour in your favorite dairy-free yogurt and let it drip overnight in the refrigerator. The leftover thick yogurt is what you can use for this recipe.
- San-apart is an instant plant-based stabilizer for cream and requires no cooking. You could try using cream of tartar as an alternative, however, I haven't tried it yet. A safe substitute is using agar instead. Simply stir 1 tsp of 100 % agar powder in ⅓ cup of plant milk and cook according to package instructions. Allow to cool slightly, then stir it into the quark or tofu mixture and lastly fold in the whipped cream carefully.
- For more useful information on preparation and storage, see the text above the recipe card.
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Thanks for the recipe! I am a bit concern about the strawberries sweating and ruining the cake. Do you have any tips? planning to make the cake the night before.
You can toss the strawberries in some cornflour! 🙂
For the Sans apart substitution with agar agar, is it 1tsp / 1/3cup milk and from that mix use it for the 6 tsp that the recipe needs, is that correct?
You can use 1 tsp agar instead of the 6 tsp san-apart. In a small saucepan, stir the 1 tsp of agar in ⅓ cup of plant milk. Then bring to a boil and cook according to package instructions for 1-2 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then stir it into the quark or tofu mixture and lastly fold in the whipped cream carefully.
Diese Torte ist einfach mega!
Optisch sowie geschmacklich.
Bei mir war nur die Creme etwas zu weich und beim Zuschneiden ist die Torte auseinandergefallen.
Hast du noch einen Tipp wie ich die Creme etwas fester bekomme?
Ansonsten einfach top! 🙂
Also wenn du genau die Produkte, die in der Zutatenliste verlinkt bzw. erwähnt sind, verwendest und dich genau ans Rezept hältst, dann wird die Creme genauso fest und stabil wie du auch im Video siehst. Also fester würde ich sie nicht machen, sonst muss man sie ja schon beinahe schneiden! 😀 Du kannst sonst aber auch mehr San-apart hinzugeben, wenn du sie fester möchtest. Liebe Grüße! 🙂
I’ve made a cake for my mom’s birthday inspired by this recipe and it tasted delicious.
The steps are so easy to follow. I adjusted it a little bit, I added Blueberries and made two layers of dough with Rum.
For the decoration I added some mint leaves which gives it a nice fresh summer look.
Love the variety of content on this blog, keep going Bianca 🙂
That sounds great! I’m happy to hear that it was delicious!
Thank you so much for your positive feedback!
Greetings,
Bianca 🙂
This was amazing! It was super popular and I would definitely make it again!
Glad it was popular! Thank you so much! ❤️
Wow this cake was soo good!!
I must have made some mistake with the San-apart because the cream didn’t go hard enough to slice the cake properly.
So we just used spoons 🙂
I will definitely try it again with agar agar.
Hi Lara,
I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had problems with Sanapart. When using it I whip the cream for at least 5 minutes to make sure it becomes stiff. 🙂
Hope your next try will be better. Thanks for your feedback. 🙂
We can use rice flour and tapioca flour but in what ratio
Hi Renu,
what do you mean? If you are using a gluten-free flour blend, you can exchange the given flour 1:1. When using only rice flour and tapioca flour, I can’t tell you how to combine them the best way. I’m sorry, but I didn’t try to bake this cake only using those two flour types. I only know that in gluten-free flour blends there are lots of different flour types to get a result similar to baked goods with all-purpose flour.
this was incredible! your instructions are also so detailed and easy to follow!! thank you so much!
Thanks for your sweet feedback! 🙂
I can’t believe no one has commented on this yet.I made this today and it is to die for. So creamy and indulgent. I used mandarins instead of Strawberries as I mused to love a mandarin cream cake before going vegan.I never thought I would be able to eat it again- but this tastes exactly the same without the cruelty.
I will keep making this recipe over and over-it is pure genius.Thank you!!!!koru
Thank you so much! <3 I'm very happy that you enjoyed this cake. 🤩