Vinegar Cake: An Egg-Free Fruit Cake

Vinegar in a cake? Well yes, it helps to make this egg-free fruit cake rise in a rather spectacular fashion. The vinegar cake has a nice soft crumb and is pleasantly fruity as well as malty with an unexpected sort of sprightliness about it.

Ros chose V for Alpha Bakes this month, oh my goodness! Other than Vanilla and Victoria sandwich, I wasn’t having many ideas and although vanilla is fantastic, it’s such a common ingredient in cakes, I wanted something a little different. I’ve seen Viennese whirls popping up all over the place which is a great idea, but again not quite what I was looking for.

So I turned to trusty Pam Corbin in her wonderful book Cakes and there it was at the bottom of the V list, Vinegar Cake. Traditionally, it was made by farmer’s wives when their hens were off lay. So it’s an eggless fruit cake and it comes from East Anglia. I changed things of course and added a few ingredients not mentioned in Pam’s recipe.

Post Updated March 2025 to include more information, improve recipe, provide a step-by-step guide and renew images.

Dive Right In

• Why Make Vinegar Cake?
• Vinegar Fruit Cake
• Ingredients, Additions And Substitutions
• How To Make Vinegar Cake
• Other Traditional British Bakes You Might Like
• Keep In Touch
• Pin It
• The Recipe

Why Make Vinegar Cake?

Vinegar cake is a delicious simple light fruit cake which is ever so easy to make. Here are a few reasons, should you need them, as to why you will want to make it.

• Curious Chemistry – The vinegar and bicarbonate reaction is fun to watch and a great talking point. Kids will love it.
• Egg-Free  – A perfect bake for those with dietary restrictions or when eggs are scarce or expensive.
• Lightly Sweetened – With just a little golden syrup and a sprinkle of sugar on top, it’s a mostly naturally sweet treat thanks to the dried fruit.
• Simple Method – The rubbing-in technique is quick, easy and doesn’t require any special equipment. Other than that it’s just a case of stirring.
• Timeless Appeal – A traditional no-fuss British bake which works just as well in lunch boxes as it does for afternoon tea.
• Wholegrain Goodness – Using wholemeal flour adds fibre, nuttiness and helps to give a satisfying texture.

Vinegar Fruit Cake

There’s quite a lot of fun to be had with this fruit cake. I watched in awe as the milk and vinegar mixture whooshed up when I added the bicarbonate of soda. It reminded me of one of those school science lessons which probably no longer occur due to health and safety reasons. Whatever the underlying chemistry of it all, it worked and the cake rose really well.

I used a tablespoon of mesquite powder and a tablespoon of maca powder, placed them on the scales then added plain flour to make the weight up to the requisite amount. But I’ve omitted these two health powders from the recipe below.

As dried fruit is really plenty sweet enough already, I’ve omitted the sugar in the original recipe and only added a couple of spoonfuls of golden syrup to the mix. There is a little demerara sugar scattered over the top too. I used a mix of mostly sultanas and raisins with a few, chopped dried apples, goji berries and homemade candied orange peel. Candied lemon peel works equally well as does a mix of both.

Surprisingly, the taste of vinegar is only noticeable by its absence. It has a fabulous crunchy top and is lovely if you serve it warm with clotted cream or ice-cream. I’m not a fan of heavy fruit cakes, but this was just about right, plenty of fruit but plenty of cake too.

CT is also not a fan of heavy fruitcakes, which he associates with being dense, dry and desiccated with bucket loads of horrible mixed peel. This one, he opined, was pleasantly fruity with an unexpected sort of spritliness about it. It has a nice soft crumb and tastes slightly malty which I put down to the mesquite I added. We both felt thoroughly virtuous eating this because of the small amounts of sugar and the healthful properties of the maca I also included.

Vinegar Cake Ingredients, Additions And Substitutions

There are no fancy ingredients needed to make vinegar cake so it’s quite likely you’ll have all of them to hand in your kitchen.

Dried Fruit

Vine fruit are excellent in this vinegar cake. I tend to use a mix of raisins and sultanas. They’re sweet and small, so no chopping required. However, I like to add in a few extras. What those are very much depends on what I have in the cupboard.

Cranberries work well as do blueberries. I’ve also used goji berries, chopped up pieces of papaya, pineapple and apple, though not all of them at the same time.

If you use large pieces of dried fruit such as prunes, dates or apricots, chop them into small pieces first, about the size of a raisin.

Mixed peel is also an option. CT hates the bought stuff, but is more than happy to eat my homemade candied peel, so I usually add some of that too.

You can also add in a few chocolate chips or small pieces of chopped chocolate if you like. This makes a nice change, but these days I generally prefer the cake without.

Flour

As you may have noticed, I forgot to add the flour to the ingredients image. It is very important though.

Although I’ve used half wholemeal flour and half plain flour in this recipe, it’s absolutely fine to use a hundred percent wholemeal. It’s only because I had a load of plain white flour that needs using up that I’ve mixed it in.

Sweetener

Because there’s a lot of dried fruit in this cake, I’ve only added a little golden syrup to the cake mix. There’s absolutely no need for sugar as the fruit is already very sweet.

However, a little demerara sugar is just what’s needed for sprinkling over the top. It gives a lovely crunch to proceedings and a touch of extra sweetness.

Vinegar

You can use any type of vinegar you like for this recipe, although perhaps not balsamic. Having said that, the profiles of apple cider vinegar and malt vinegar are both aligned with this cake, so they are my go-to.

How To Make Vinegar Cake

Vinegar cake is quite a simple cake to make and as it uses store cupboard ingredients there’s no planning required. There’s also no need to soak the fruit beforehand and you don’t even have to wait for the butter to soften.

Please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full instructions, timings and quantities of ingredients used.

Step 1. Rub Butter Into Flour

Place the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Take the butter out of the fridge and cut it into small cubes. Add to the bowl.

Using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour until you get a mix that resembles breadcrumbs.

Stir in your chosen dried fruit. If using large pieces of dried fruit such as dates, apricots or prunes, cut them into small bits, roughly the size of a large raisin.

This is also the time to add any chocolate, if using. Chop the chocolate into small pieces first or use chocolate chips.

Step 2. Dissolve Bicarb

Now for the fun bit. I tried to take a video for you, but it wasn’t very successful.

Pour all but one tablespoon of the milk into a large jug or bowl. Add the vinegar and give a good stir. In a cup, stir the bicarbonate of soda into the reserved tablespoon of milk. Keep stirring until it’s thoroughly dissolved.

Add this to the milk mixture, give a quick stir and watch in amazement as it froths up and up and up.

Step 3. Stir Wet Into Dry

Pour the milk and vinegar mix into the bowl with the dried fruit. Add the golden syrup and stir until everything is just about mixed.

Step 4. Bake

Scrape the mix into a lined cake tin or lightly greased silicone mould. Using a flat knife or back of a spoon, smooth the top as best you can so that it’s more or less level.

Sprinkle the demerara sugar over the top as evenly as you can.

Place the cake on the middle shelf of your preheated oven and bake for about an hour and a quarter. It’s ready when the cake has risen, is firm to the touch and an inserted toothpick comes out more or less clean.

Leave the cake to cool in the tin for about twenty minutes. Then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Top Tips

It’s always best to err on the side of caution, slightly underbaked is generally better than over baked. Hardly anyone likes dry cake.

The cake will keep in an airtight container for a week or so, but keep it well wrapped so it doesn’t dry out.

Other Traditional British Bakes You Might Like

• Bourbon biscuits
• Caraway seed cake
• Fig rolls
• Granny’s apple pie with wholemeal spelt pastry
• Prune rock cakes
• Victoria sandwich sponge

Keep in Touch

Thank you for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this vinegar cake,, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do you have any recommendations or advice for making fruit cakes?

I’d very much appreciate it if you could rate the recipe. If you post pictures of your creations on social media, please use the hashtag #tinandthyme so I can see them.

For more delicious and nutritious recipes follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard or Pinterest. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter. Or why not join the conversation in our Healthy Vegetarian Whole Food Recipes Facebook Group?

If you’d like more cake recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.

Choclette x

Vinegar Cake. PIN IT.

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5 from 2 votes

Vinegar Cake

Vinegar in a cake? Well yes, it helps to make this egg-free fruit cake rise in a rather spectacular fashion. It has a nice soft crumb and is pleasantly fruity as well as malty with an unexpected sort of sprightliness about it.

Cook ModeToggle to keep screen awake

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 35 minutes mins

Course: Afternoon Tea, Dessert

Cuisine: British

Keyword: cake, dried fruit, fruit cake, vinegar

Servings: 15 slices

Calories: 345kcal

Author: Choclette @ Tin and Thyme

Ingredients

• 250 g plain flour (all purpose flour) (I used 1 tbsp mesquite powder and 1 tbsp maca powder, placed them on the scales then added plain flour to make the weight up to 250g)
• 250 g wholemeal flour (whole wheat)
• 1 pinch fine sea or rock salt
• 200 g unsalted butter fridge cold and cut into small pieces
• 500 g dried fruit (I used a mix of sultanas, raisins, chopped dried apples, goji berries and homemade crystallised orange peel)
• 50 g dark chocolate (optional) chopped
• 300 ml milk + 1 tbsp for mixing
• 50 ml apple cider vinegar malt vinegar works well too
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 2 tbsp demerara sugar

Metric – US Customary

Instructions

• Sift the flours (along with mesquite and / or maca if using) into a large mixing bowl along with the salt.
  250 g plain flour (all purpose flour), 250 g wholemeal flour (whole wheat), 1 pinch fine sea or rock salt
• Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
  200 g unsalted butter
• Stir in the dried fruit and chocolate, if using.
  500 g dried fruit, 50 g dark chocolate
• Pour the milk into a large jug or bowl and add the vinegar.
  300 ml milk, 50 ml apple cider vinegar
• In a cup, stir the bicarbonate of soda into the reserved 1 tbsp of milk until dissolved.
  1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• Add this to the milk mixture and watch in amazement as it froths up and up and up.
• Pour onto the dry ingredients together with 2 tbsp golden syrup and mix until just incorporated.
  2 tbsp golden syrup
• Spoon into a 23cm (9 inch) round silicone cake mould or lined tin and level the top.
• Sprinkle the demerara sugar over the top and bake in a preheated oven at 170℃ (338℉, Gas 3) for 1 hour, 15 minutes, or until the cake is risen and an inserted toothpick comes out more or less clean.
  2 tbsp demerara sugar
• Leave to cool for 20 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely – if you can wait that long.

Notes

If using large pieces of dried fruit such as dates, apricots or prunes, cut them into small bits, roughly the size of a large raisin.

You’ll find additional tips and info about this recipe in the main body of the post.

Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on serving size and exact ingredients used. Pasta is not included in the calculation. Please refer to my nutrition disclaimer for further information.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories: 345kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 90mg | Potassium: 366mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 373IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 94mg | Iron: 2mg

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