Strawberry Orange Tray Cake (Vegan, No Refined Sugar)
A fluffy, vegan tray cake sweetened only with whole fruit. Dates, banana, apple sauce and fresh strawberries. My healthy take on the German Fanta Kuchen: no eggs, no refined sugar, no maple syrup. Toddler-approved, freezer-friendly, and ready in under an hour.
Equipment
- Blender or food processor (or large bowl + fork for hand method)
- Large mixing bowl
- 30×20 cm baking tray (or similar rectangular tin)
- Baking paper
- Fine grater (for orange zest)
- Citrus juicer
Ingredients
- Wet ingredients
- 200 g soft Medjool dates pitted (about 10–12 dates)
- 1 ripe banana ~120 g peeled
- 130 g unsweetened apple sauce
- 1 organic orange zest + ~200 ml juice
- 100 ml neutral oil sunflower or light olive
- 15 ml apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Dry ingredients
- 350 g spelt flour or plain wheat flour
- 50 g fine ground almonds
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda Natron
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- Last in
- 100 ml sparkling water
- Topping
- 400 g fresh strawberries hulled and halved (quartered if large)
- 2 tbsp flaked almonds optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a 30×20 cm baking tray with baking paper, leaving a little overhang on the long sides for easy lifting.
- Zest the orange with a fine grater, then juice it — you need ~200 ml juice. Set both aside.
- Add the dates and 50 ml of the orange juice to your blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy, scraping down once or twice. If your dates are very firm, soak them in warm water for 10 minutes first and drain.
- Add the banana, apple sauce, remaining orange juice, orange zest, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Blend 20–30 seconds until completely smooth.
- Transfer the wet mixture to a large mixing bowl. Whisk the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl, then add to the wet mix and fold gently with a spatula — about 6–8 strokes. Don't overmix.
- Pour in the sparkling water and fold gently 2–3 strokes more, just until incorporated. The batter should look bubbly and slightly foamy.
- Immediately pour into the prepared tray, smooth the top, scatter strawberries cut-side-up, and sprinkle with flaked almonds if using. Get it into the oven within 2 minutes — that's when the bubbles do their best work.
- Bake 30–35 minutes, checking from 28 min. The top should be golden and a skewer in the centre should come out clean (a smear of strawberry jam is fine).
- Cool 15 minutes in the tray, then lift out using the baking paper and cool fully on a rack before slicing into 12 squares.
Notes
Hand method (no appliance): Soak the dates 20 minutes in warm water, then mash with a fork until smooth. Mash the banana separately, then whisk both together with all the other wet ingredients in a large bowl.
Non-organic oranges: Skip the zest (peel may be waxed/treated).
Nut-free: Replace the 50 g ground almonds with 50 g extra spelt flour and skip the flaked almonds.
Quick homemade apple sauce: Peel and chop 2 apples, blend with 20 ml water until smooth. Done.
Storage: Room temp 2 days covered, fridge 4 days in airtight container, freezer 2 months (slice first, wrap individually).
Non-organic oranges: Skip the zest (peel may be waxed/treated).
Nut-free: Replace the 50 g ground almonds with 50 g extra spelt flour and skip the flaked almonds.
Quick homemade apple sauce: Peel and chop 2 apples, blend with 20 ml water until smooth. Done.
Storage: Room temp 2 days covered, fridge 4 days in airtight container, freezer 2 months (slice first, wrap individually).
Nutrition
Calories: 245kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 5gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 180mgFiber: 4gSugar: 15gCalcium: 55mgIron: 1.6mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!