After the experiment I shared yesterday, today I want to post a simple dessert. Or rather, the simplest I know: a sponge cake without eggs, butter, or milk.
“Wait, what is it made of then?”
This dessert is made with water, seed or olive oil, sugar, flour, and baking powder. As you can see, these are all ingredients that are often found already at home, so it is virtually inexpensive. Plus, it is a dairy-free cake made without animal products, so it is healthy and suitable for those on a vegan diet.
I learned the recipe a few years ago, and now I make it often for my family when we want something light and tasty.
Here’s what you need to do.
Method
Since you already know the ingredients, I’ll skip straight to the instructions. As per usual, you can find the precise amount of each ingredient in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1: Preheat the oven at 356° F.
Step 2: Sift the flour and the baking powder together in a small bowl. Then add a pinch of salt, mix with a spoon, and set aside.
Step 3: In another bowl, mix the sugar with lukewarm water. If you want to add any flavor, this is the right time – but pay attention: if you use lemon zest or orange juice, they can inhibit the action of the yeast and give you a flat cake. Use something like vanilla bean seeds.
Step 4: Now, add the oil to the water and sugar mix. As I explained in my piña colada cheese pie recipe, I recently started using olive oil instead of seed oil. I find it gives some desserts a better flavor, but you can also stick to seed oil, if you want. The amounts for this recipe are the same.
Step 5: Slowly add the flour and baking powder, whisking constantly with a hand whisk. The final result might seem a little more liquid than what you’re used do if you’ve always made regular sponge cake, but don’t worry.
Step 6: Cover the bottom of a springform pan with greaseproof paper, then pour the mixture onto it. Give the pan a little shake to even everything, then put it in the oven.
Step 7: Bake at 356° F for 50 minutes.
After that, you can just let the cake cool down and serve it as it is, maybe with whipped cream and berries aside.
Many people also like to sprinkle powdered sugar over its top. I prefer to cut it in half and add a layer of lemon cream. Sponge cake is often a base for more complex desserts, so you can actually do whatever you want with it.
Recipe card
PrintSponge cake without eggs, butter, or milk
- Author: Mortadella Head
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
2 + 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup white granulated sugar
1 + 1/2 cups lukewarm water
3 fl oz olive oil
1 + 1/8 tbsp baking powder
(optional) vanilla bean seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 356° F.
- Sift the flour and baking powder together, then set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix the sugar with lukewarm water.
- If you want, add the optional vanilla bean seeds.
- Add the olive oil and mix well.
- Slowly add the flour and baking powder, whisking continuosly with a hand whisk.
- Take a springform pan, cover its bottom with greaseproof paper, and add the mixture you just made.
- Shake the pan a little, then put it in the oven and bake for 50 minutes.
- Enjoy.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 50
- Category: Dessert
3 thoughts on “Easy sponge cake without eggs, butter, or milk”
Good
★★★★
Hi, you seem to have confused two different recipes. This is a cake using baking powder. Yet, in Step 3, you treated it like a bread recipe using yeast: “if you use lemon zest or orange juice, they can inhibit the action of the yeast and give you a flat cake.”
Yeast is not among the ingredients. And while acids might inhibit yeast, the opposite is true when you add orange juice (an acid) to baking powder (a base). The acid from an orange or lemon would actually activate the baking powder and cause intense bubbling.
Regardless, thank you for this interesting recipe.
Hi Sam! Oops, that’s a translation mistake on my side! In Italian, we use the same word for both ingredients, so I’ve improperly used the two terms as synonymous. Thanks for bringing it up, I’ll update the recipe with better written instructions asap!