If you’re a fan of oranges and lemons you’re going to love this light and fluffy vegan St Clements curd cake with its sunshine flavours!

Is the sun finally shining wherever you are?  To me the orange and lemon flavours in this St Clements Curd Cake whisper promises of sunshine with their bright zestiness.  Add in a deliciously light and fluffy vegan sponge cake and you’ve got something that’s just at home with an afternoon cuppa as it is with a dollop of whipped cream and served as dessert.

If you’re new to vegan baking, fear not.  I try and use simple, pantry ingredients for all my cakes and desserts.  Because I don’t want to make it more complicated than it needs to be because vegan baking really ISN’T complicated and, I believe, just as good as anything that includes eggs and dairy.

How to make homemade vegan curd

The curd needs to be made before the cake as it needs a little time to cool before it’s rippled through the cake batter and baked.  But it’s really simple and quick and there’s no eggs so no chance of it curdling!

The curd uses the juice of the citrus fruits and the zest goes into the cake itself so start by zesting the oranges and lemons and setting this aside.  It’s much easier to zest a whole fruit than one that’s been juiced! (Ask me how I know this.)

Put the lemon and orange juice into a saucepan along with the sugar and cornflour, whisk fairly consistently until it starts to thicken.  Remove from the heat, whisk in the butter then transfer to a bowl to help it cool.

How to make a vegan sponge cake

Whisk together the milk, yoghurt, oil and apple cider vinegar.  Again, if you’re new to baking, don’t worry.  You’re cake won’t taste like it’s missing chips because of the vinegar!  The apple cinder vinegar reacts with the baking soda, giving vegan cakes a lovely fluffy texture instead of using eggs.  Mixing these things together also creates a kind of buttermilk, which gives vegan baking a wonderfully rich flavour.

Set that aside while you weigh out the rest of the ingredients.

Into a bowl put the flour, sugar, zest and baking soda and mix together.

Add the milk mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients and stir until well combined.  Pour into a prepared tin or baking dish.  I used a 10 inch (25cm) square ceramic baking dish that I’d lined with parchment.  But you could use a round tin and serve wedges of cake rather than squares!

Drop spoonfuls of roughly half the curd into the batter then use something pointed (like a spoon handle or skewer) to ripple and swirl the curd into the batter.

Bake in a preheated oven for 30-35 minutes until the cake is cooked.  To test the cake is cooked through insert a skewer or cocktail stick into the centre of the cake.  If it comes out with raw batter on it, return the cake to the oven and cook for a few more minutes, repeating the process.  If it comes out clean, the cake is cooked!  Allow it to cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes before lifting out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Serving and storing your St Clements Curd Cake

Serve slices, wedges or squares with a spoonful of extra curd.  I also add a dollop of whipped vegan cream or pouring cream if having for dessert.  Fresh strawberries also really compliment the zesty flavours of the cake.

Store any cooled leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.  This cake also freezes quite well, portion and wrap in foil or put into freezer containers.

If you love this St Clements Curd Cake you’ll also love these other zesty vegan cake recipes:

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

Lemon Curd Cake

Blueberry and Lemon Baked Donuts

Lemon Drizzle Cake

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