Sugar Free Passionfruit Sponge Cake
This light, summery, sweet cake was one of the first things I ever re-made to be low in sugar. I attempted it when we had some friends over for dinner, friends I knew to be true foodies and great cooks. They approved. Very much so. So I figured baking low sugar treats couldn’t be too difficult.
I’ve come a long way in my cooking abilities and lowering the sugar content of treats since then, but this recipe still remains a favourite. It gave me a gorgeous classic Victoria sponge cake that I could re-make however I wanted. I could add sugar free or low sugar jam and whipped cream to the centre, I could change up the flavours of the sponge, I could top it with fresh fruit or layer it with low sugar dark chocolate ganache.
I love having this versatile sponge cake recipe up my sleeve, and I’ve enjoyed playing around with it over time, but the passionfruit filling is still my favourite. It adds a gorgeous sweet-sour freshness to the whole cake that lifts it beautifully.
I like to use wholemeal flour for the cake when making it for us, which can make the sponge extra delicious in flavour but sometimes leaves it a bit denser than usual. So I like to have a light, summery filling that gives it a lightness and zing that the cake might otherwise lack.
Enter passionfruit.
If you are feeling super fancy, why not try your hand at making passionfruit curd for the filling by swapping the lemon juice in my lemon curd recipe for the passionfruit in this one? It adds an extra touch of class and sweetness to the cake. But when pressed for time, just drizzling the passionfruit over the filling as in this recipe does just fine. More than fine, in fact. Delish!
A delicious, light, summery cake that is easy to make, tastes amazing, and has no added sugar!
- 4 medium eggs, weighed in their shells (should be about 200g/7oz)
- same amount of unsalted butter, softened (at room temperature)
- same amount of self-raising flour (plain/all-purpose or wholemeal or a mix of both), or flour with 3 tsp baking powder
- 100 g (1/2 cup) xylitol
- 1 tsp sugar free vanilla extract
- 300 ml (1 and 1/4 cup) double (heavy) cream
- liquid stevia or more vanilla extract, to taste (optional)
- 3-4 passionfruit
- icing sugar or sugar free icing sugar*, for dusting (optional)
- fresh fruit, to serve (optional)
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Preheat oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Weigh the eggs in their shells and measure out the same amount of butter and flour. Beat the butter and xylitol together for a few mins until pale and fluffy (an electric hand whisk or stand mixer will be easiest). Crack the eggs into a measuring jug and beat lightly. Slowly add the egg mixture to the butter and xylitol, a little at a time, whisking constantly so the egg gets completely mixed in before adding more. If it starts to "curdle" (get bitty or lumpy), add a tablespoon of the already weighed-out flour and continue adding more egg.
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Once the egg is incorporated, stir in the vanilla extract and dump all the flour in in one go. Use a spatula to mix the flour in until there are no more visible specks of flour. Pour into a greased and lined 6" cake tin or two 7" sandwich tins and bake in the preheated oven for 25-35 mins for the 6" tin or 20-25 mins for the sandwich tins, or until the cake is golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.
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If using one tin, use a bread knife to carefully cut the cake horizontally through the centre to make 2 equal sized cakes. Whisk the cream to stiff peaks, taste and sweeten with vanilla extract or liquid stevia, if you like. Spread on the bottom cake, then drizzle over 2-3 of the passionfruit fillings. Top with the other cake and dust with icing sugar (or sugar free icing sugar), if you like. Pour over the filling of the last passionfruit. Serve cool on its own or with extra fresh fruit like sliced bananas or strawberries (keep in the fridge for 1-2 days if it's not all gone that day).
*blitz xylitol in a clean coffee grinder to get sugar free icing sugar, or buy a ready-made one like Natvia's
