Thank you to the wonderful people at The Happy Foodie for sponsoring this giveaway!
I was recently asked by The Happy Foodie to review and recreate a recipe from one of their vegan cookbook picks (see the article here) and I used the opportunity to bake a recipe I’ve had my eye on for a long time now… Vegan Jaffa Cakes from Ms Cupcake’s ‘Naughtiest Vegan Cakes in Town!’
(They’ve also generously provided THREE copies to giveaway so scroll down for details on how to win!)
Honestly, I didn’t know it was possible to be this excited over a Jaffa Cake recipe.
If you’ve not heard of Jaffa Cakes before, they’re a classic British treat that is something between a cookie and a cake (a heavily debated topic) and consists of a spongey base, topped with a mound of orange marmalade and coated in chocolate. Pure chocolatey-orangey heaven.
Going vegan, over two years ago now, was always much easier than I thought it would be. It didn’t take me long to realise that most of the things I loved to eat had equally delicious alternatives, from dinners to desserts. However, Jaffa Cakes were one of the few things that there was no replacement for.
Until now! Oh, how I missed them so.
Taking that first bite, I couldn’t tell the difference between these homemade ones and the shop-bought originals. So I can’t recommend this recipe enough!
And they’re not as fiddly as you might expect either. OK, so they might not look ultra-pretty but you’ll forgive that once you taste them.

Ms Cupcake's Vegan Jaffa Cakes
Spongey cakes with orange marmalade filling, coated with chocolate. You won't believe how much these taste like original Jaffa Cakes!
Ingredients
- 100 g (scant 1 cup) self-raising flour
- 60 g (1/4 cup + 1 tbsp) caster sugar
- 100 ml (1/3 cup + 4 tbsp) soya or rice milk
- 50 ml (3 tbsp + 1 tsp) light rapeseed or other flavourless oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or essence
Finishing touches:
- 150 g (3/4 cup) dairy-free chocolate chips, or a bar broken into pieces
- 50 g (3 tbsp + 1tsp) dairy free margarine
- 1/2 orange, grated zest
- 12-15 tsp orange marmalade
Instructions
- Grease a bun tray. Preheat the oven to 180c/350F/gas 4.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour and caster sugar. Add the milk, oil and vanilla, stirring until just combined. Drop a small spoonful of the batter into each of the holes in the prepared tray and bake for about 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in the tray for 2 minutes before turning the bases out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Melt the chocolate and margarine in a pan on a low heat, stirring constantly until combined. Remove from the heat and add the orange zest.
- Once the cakes have cooled, and before removing them from the wire rack, spoon a dollop of orange marmalade on top of each one. Spoon the chocolate evenly over the cakes so that the tops are completely covered. The excess chocolate can drip through the wire rack leaving the bottoms free of chocolate. Refrigerate on the rack for about 20 minutes until set. Keep these bad boys refrigerated until you are ready to serve them.

Out now! Get your copy here:
I’m making this recipe for the third time. It is the best!
Happy to hear you’re enjoying them! Gotta love Ms Cupcake’s recipes :)
How long do these keep? Wondering how far in advance I can make yhem?
These are AMAZING! Thanks for sharing. I didn’t have a tray like that, so I just used a cupcake-tray, and they came out pretty much the same way. Once the chocolate was on, it looked very much alike those on the picture. I’m definitely making these again. (I gave some to my non-vegan friend, who ate way more than I did, even though “he doesn’t like anything vegan” :-))
Again, thanks for sharing!
These look incredible!! I Love the idea of DIY jaffa cakes. I can’t believe they’re vegan!
They look a or better,and healthier than the normal jaffa cakes I’m used to :) x
What a clever recipe, the sponge looks so soft! How I miss sometimes using gluten flour! xx
I can imagine! but I’m sure you could come up with the perfect gluten-free sponge for this :-) x
I can’t tell you how much I love these! They look like little drops of heaven!
That is the perfect way to describe them! Thanks Nisha <3
Mmmm jaffa cakes! I 100% need to go and make these once I have all the ingredients! They sound amazinggggg.
They are sooooo incredible. I’m already tempted to make another batch but I know I would just eat them all to myself :'(
Aimee!!! Could life be any better, now we have these Jaffa cakes to eat??? :) Beautiful recreation and they look just like the real deal, if not better! Perfect nom! :) xxxx
Jaffa cakes was all that was missing and now the world is saved!
These jaffa cakes look so tasty! I’ve never actually heard of them, but now I *definitely* need to try them, and soon.
Once people discover them, they become obsessed. They’re just TOO good.
I love this cookbook! Have you ever been to the bakery in London? Its amazing! I must give these Jaffa Cakes a try sometime soon, they look delicious! xx
http://www.one-more-slice.com
I still haven’t been to the bakery yet, no! But it’s on my list of places to visit some day :-)