Vegan Fanta Cake with Sour Cream and Mandarin Cream

When we talk about cake, we get to schoolyards, bake sales, and laminated sign-up sheets pretty quickly. In those memories, there are always a few classics: marble cake, muffins, something with chocolate sprinkles — and for some of us, Fanta cake.

For me, this cake was a must at my birthday parties. And if the name alone didn't already spark curiosity among my friends, then the combination of fluffy sponge, fresh cream, and sweet fruit definitely did the trick. So either you're throwing yourself back into childhood memories, or you're discovering a cake that tastes like balloons, paper napkins, and sticky fingers to a lot of us.

Why is orange soda in the batter?
The question is obvious: who came up with the idea of pouring orange soda into cake batter? We don't know either, but it makes for a particularly fluffy, soft, and lightly sweet sponge. You won't really taste the orange soda later, but for nostalgia's sake, we're keeping the recipe exactly as is. And don't worry — you can use any brand you like.

Mandarins or peaches?
If you google Fanta cake or flip through old baking books, you'll find both versions — with mandarins or with peaches. In our cookbook "Deutsche Küche Vegan", we went with peaches, but I looove the taste of mandarins from my childhood, so for this recipe we landed on mandarins. Another bonus: you don't need to cut them up — you can just fold them straight into the cream. So: we'd recommend both options and you can decide according to your taste.

What's the best pan to use?
For our recipe, we used a small deep baking pan (25 x 20 centimeters / 10 x 8 inches). If you want to keep the height of the cake flexible or your pan doesn't quite fit, we'd recommend a baking frame — basically a rectangular cake ring for sheet cakes. With it, you can spread the sour cream topping onto the base without worrying about the edges. For a bigger crowd, just double the quantities and bake the cake on a standard sheet pan.

Can you make the cake ahead of time?
You can easily bake the sponge the day before and let it cool completely. It's best to prepare the sour cream and mandarin topping on the day you plan to serve the cake, or refrigerate it for a few hours before spreading it on the base. The finished cake can be stored in the fridge and eaten slice by slice over the next few days — ours still tasted great after two or three days.

Looking for more vegan cakes for parties or birthdays?
Then we'd like to suggest our Glazed Vegan Apple Cake, Vegan Blueberry Sheet Pan Chocolate Cheesecake, or Vegan Strawberry Sheetpan Cake with Vanilla Cream.