Growing up, tea time was a special time for me. Bonding with family and friends over a cup of tea and a snack that goes with it, created wonderful memories for me. I was born in an Island that is known all over the world for its high-quality Tea. Most Sri Lankans know their Tea. It’s safe to say that, inherently: I am a devoted Tea lover.

Tea time for me; calls for a moist, delicate cake. My go-to has been a soft Vanilla Cake/ Ribbon cake.

Traditional Vanilla Cake, or famously known as the Butter Cake is made with Butter and Vanilla as its key ingredients. For people like me who want to be dairy free, I replace Butter with Margarine. The recipe I am sharing today; is an easy Vanilla Cake. For a little twist, I am adding some food coloring and making it a Ribbon Cake.

This soft Cake is so versatile, you can consider it as a basic “Go-to Cake” for those times when you need one. You can do wonders with this Cake by adding different colors, flavors, toppings (fruits/nuts) or even a variety of frosting. You can make it as vibrant as you want and create your own wonder out of it.

Sri Lankan Ribbon cake / Vanilla Cake

Serves 8 – 10 | Prep-time 20 mins | Cook-time 35-40 mins

Ingredients :

• 2 cups Margarine
• 2 cups Light Brown Sugar
• 2 cups Unbleached Flour
• 4 Eggs
• 1/4 cup Almond Milk
• 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Baking powder
• Food coloring – Pink, Light green

Directions :

• Take the margarine and eggs out of the refrigerator and let it get to room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F° or 170 C°.
• Grease two 9×2 round baking pans with margarine or non-stick baking spray, and line parchment sheet to the bottom.
• Sift the flour and baking powder together and keep aside.
• Take a large bowl and beat the margarine well until it’s soft, fluffy and turned into a pale color.
• Add the sugar and beat them until sugar is well combined.
• Add the eggs one at a time to the mixture and beat well until the batter is creamy.
• Mix in the vanilla extract into the batter and combine well.
• Combine flour in; 3 portions with the batter and beat well.
• Finally add the Almond milk and mix well.
• Take a another bowl and divide the batter into two (Leaving half of the portion in the large bowl itself)
• Add the food coloring to each batter separately, and mix well until your desired color tone is achieved.
• Pour the batter into the two baking pans and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Notes :

• I have used Margarine in this recipe as our family is slowly switching to a dairy free diet. But Butter can be substituted, and it will yield a delicious cake as well.
• I have used Unbleached flour in this recipe as a personal choice, but all purpose, regular flour too will do the job.
• I have used Brown sugar in this recipe which is sweeter than the regular sugar. But regular sugar will work fine.
• Almond milk can be substituted to regular milk.
• As a classic color choice, I have used pink and light green food coloring for this recipe. But feel free to add any colors your heart desire.

Vegan Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients :

• 1 cup of Margarine
• 4 cups of Icing sugar
• 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
• 4-5 tablespoon of Almond milk

Directions :

• In a medium bowl, beat margarine well until it is fluffy and turns pale in color.
• Add icing sugar one cup at a time and beat well, while scrapping down the sides of the bowl to mix everything well.
• Add the vanilla extract and mix well.
• Finally add the almond milk: one table spoon at a time and beat well until you reach your desired consistency.

Notes :

• Butter can be substituted in this recipe to make Buttercream frosting. Make sure to take the butter out of the refrigerator and let it get to room temperature before making the frosting.