I made this dairy free birthday cake for my mom. Her first reaction was like: “Mmm… actually, it reminds me of what I used to eat when I was a kid. I remember my classmate’s mother baking something similar. The sponge had even more layers. Anyway, it tastes just as good. I can feel the eggs in the sponge, and it’s a real old-fashioned cake.” My mom was right. I got its sponge recipe from an old cookbook.

I’ve always loved cooking. When I learned to read, I started collecting recipes I found in my grandma’s magazines and cooking books. A few months ago, I came across my childhood recipe scrapbook and found it. How nice to have all of them now, 30 years later. I’m glad I took my mom back to her childhood for a moment. I like to remember happy times. A good dish, like a good perfume, can take us back in time and remind us of what we have forgotten.

Dairy free birthday cake ingredients

For this dairy free birthday cake you’ll need the following ingredients

Cake (5 layers)

1 + 1/3  cup (300 g) vegan butter

3 tablespoons vanilla sugar

1 + 1/4 cup (250 g) cane sugar 

2 + 1/2 cups (300 g) all-purpose flour (I use organic white spelt flour)

2 tsp (15g) baking powder

6 free range eggs 

 vegan butter to grease the cake pan

Vanilla custard filling

3 free range egg’s yolks

3/4 cup (100 g) white spelt flour

1 can 14 oz (400 g) sweetened condensed coconut milk

1 + 1/2 cups (350 g) vegan butter

4 cups + 3 tbsp (1 liter milk) I use oat milk

A few drops of organic vanilla extract

1 dash of salt

Frosting

10.5 oz (300 g) quality dark chocolate

10.5 oz (300 g) oat milk

or

10.5 oz (300 g) quality milk chocolate

3.5 oz (100g) oat milk

Step by step instructions on how to make a dairy free birthday cake

1. Crack the eggs on the counter and drop them into a bowl. Remove the egg yolks using a spoon and add them to the second bowl. Ensure that no yolk seeps into the white
2. Grind the sugar using an electric coffee and spice grinder.
3. It is advisable to use room temperature butter. Mix butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and yolks in a large bowl into a smooth mass.
4. Mix the flour and baking soda in a bowl. Pour it into the sieve. Gradually sift the flour into the batter. Mix everything well until it comes together.

5. Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then fold them in the batter.

6. Preheat oven to 350º F/180°C. You would benefit from having two cake pans so you could save some time. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by buttering and lightly flouring.

7. Distribute cake batter evenly into five parts. Pour one fifth of the batter into a cake pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 6 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely. Wash the cake pans. Bake and cool the remaining 3 cake layers as directed. This way, I bake 5 sheets. I put in 2 forms at a time. It’s three bakes in total.

Vanilla custard filling

For the filling, I use dairy free custard (Creme pattisiere). You can stir in a couple of spoonfuls of cocoa if you want more chocolate taste. If the custard is set, it should be thick and easy to apply. When the pastry cream is ready place the layer on the serving plate and spread pastry cream on top. This is how we build the entire cake layer by layer. Dollop pastry cream over top of cake and smooth across top and down sides, creating a very thin layer. You want to fill in any gaps.

If you have left too much custard filling, apply it to the outside of the cake.

Now the cake is ready for frosting.

Frosting

Chill the dairy free birthday cake for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the chocolate frosting. Here you will find the vegan ganache. Pour the ganache on the cake.

Topping

You can decorate the top and sides with chopped nuts if you wish, fruit, or any of your favorite things. You should do it right away after you pour homemade chocolate frosting. I mean while the frosting hasn’t set. Enjoy!

More cake recipes:

• Italian Plum cake
• Lazy cake with nuts
• Christmas bundt cake
• Italian lemon pound cake
• French custard cake – Flan Patissier
• Black forest Yule log – Buche de Noel

If you are looking for inspiration click here

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