Like many of the recipes I come to like the most, this cake was born of a classic combination of craving and laziness. I.e., I wanted cake, but with the caveat that 1) I did not want to leave my house to go to the supermarket for ingredients (which involves changing out of pyjamas and putting on shoes) and 2) I wanted to get to the eating part of the process as soon as possible and not spend ages on the baking part.
Fortunately, I had basic things on hand like flour, baking powder, sugar and coconut oil. I also had vanilla yoghurt, vanilla extract and strawberries. I wanted a satisfying cake to eat while watching the new season of Bridgerton with housemates, so of course the more spring-like and pastel-coloured the better, and altogether I considered that these ingredients served the purpose of a simple strawberry-studded vanilla sponge cake, which felt Bridgerton-appropriate. Since I also had oats, I decided to add a crumble topping for extra flavour and textural interest - I’ve seen quite a few ‘crumble cakes’ or ‘crumb cakes’ around this spring and like the idea of bringing that dessert-like element to a fruity spring sponge cake.
The result was highly satisfactory and very much to the purpose - I served it with more vanilla yoghurt because I’m very into that currently, but it was also tasty alone. I think you could equally go the custard or ice-cream route and serve the cake warm, taking it back to its dessert-like roots, or serve as a hearty accompaniment to a mid-morning coffee. It is in short a simple but versatile cake, which is personally how I like them.
Makes 12 slices
Ingredients
For the cake:
100g coconut oil, softened
100g sugar (but increase this to 120g if you’re using an unsweetened yoghurt)
2 tsp vanilla extract
150g plant-based vanilla yoghurt (I used Alpro, which is sweetened)
125ml plant-based milk
250g plain flour
10g baking powder
200g fresh strawberries, roughly chopped
For the crumble topping:
25g sugar
25g plain flour
25g oats
25g coconut oil, softened
Method
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C (fan). Grease and line a 9inch square tin with greaseproof paper.
Stir together the four ingredients for the crumble topping in a bowl, using your hands to ensure the coconut oil is evenly cut through the solid ingredients. Set aside.
Beat together the coconut oil and sugar until well combined. Next, add the vanilla essence, yoghurt and milk (ensure these are at room temperature and not straight from the fridge, or they may cause the coconut oil to solidify. If this happens you can just microwave the mixture very gently to melt it again). Once these ingredients are all combined, stir in the flour and baking powder until you have a smooth, even batter. Lastly, stir in the strawberries.
Transfer the batter to the tin and spread it out evenly. Scatter the crumble topping evenly across the top. Put in on a rack in the middle of the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. If you are worried the topping is browning too quickly, cover it in foil partway through.
Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave it to cool completely (it will fall apart if you try to cut it while it’s still warm). Once completely cool, lift the whole cake out of the tin and slice into 12 slices. Transfer to an air-tight container and store in the fridge.
Currently…
Reading: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas, which was lent to me by a friend. Honestly I don’t understand what the TikTok hype is about, I do not think I’m going to finish it.
Eating: a lot of strawberries with everything, currently, while they are in season and absolutely everywhere. I love them with oats and vanilla yoghurt for breakfast
Enjoying: Bridgerton Season 3, as mentioned above, although I confess I remain fundamentally unconvinced by the Polin pairing
This looks wonderful! I'll have to try it!