I made this dairy-free vanilla sponge cake (adaptingMarry Berry’ classic Victoria sandwich recipe ) for the Macmillan Coffee morning fundraising event at my school.  The cake is really easy to make, as you just put everything in a large bowl and mix. When the cake is baked, you can decorate it as you like – I covered it with dairy-free vanilla frosting (ready-made) and decorated it with edible flowers, representing hope and rejuvenation. All of it was sold at the event, so the cake must have been delicious! I think this cake is perfect for birthday parties and other events!

You’ll need:

• 225g self-raising flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 4 eggs
• 225g soft margarine ( I used Pure sunflower spread)
• 225g caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 Tbsp Jam of your choice ( I used blackcurrant jam)
• To decorate:  1 tub vanilla icing or vanilla frosting

How to make the cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 160ºC.
2. Grease and line 2×20 cm sandwich tins.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl.
4. Add the other and beat with an electric mixer until you get a batter that falls off a spoon easily.
5. Divide the mixture equally between the two tins. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 30 minutes.
6. After 25 minutes, check if the cake is cooked by inserting a skewer in the middle – if it comes out clean the cake is ready. Also, they should be springy to the touch and  come away from the edge of the tins.
7. Let the cakes cool in the tins for about 5 minutes, then carefully turn them out onto a cooling rack.
8. Make sure the cake has cooled completely before decorating.
9. Place one cake onto a serving plate upside down and spread it with the jam. Put the second cake on top, top-side up.
10. Dust with icing sugar or cover the cake with vanilla icing or frosting.
11. Decorate the cake with edible flowers or other shapes of your liking. Or just scatter some sprinklers on top.
12. Let the frosting set then slice and serve.

Tips

• You can use square tins or a single, themed silicon mould for special occasions –  such as rose, butterfly, heart, star, bunny etc. I’ll definitely bake one soon using my butterfly silicon mould!
• You can use other type of margarine or butter.