Vegan Lemon Cake
Inspired by a whim more than anything else. I wanted to make an egg-free cake and had a craving for lemons and so here we are. I had originally tried make a cake with dollops of vegan lemon curd dropped into the cake batter before baking, but between that and the cake turning out chewy, I had a rethink. Making the buttercream on a hot summer's day probably wasn't the best thing which is why it does look a little soft in the photos, but if you end up in the same situation just pop the cake into the fridge for a few hours. You can make this cake with dairy-based ingredients should you prefer.
Serves 12
Hands-on Time 20 minutes
Baking Time 40 minutes
Ingredients
90ml olive oil (plus extra for greasing)
2 lemons
190ml non-dairy milk
110g caster sugar
200g plain flour
30g cornflour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine salt
50g vegan salted butter (softened)
100g icing sugar
150g vegan lemon curd
Equipment
2lb loaf tin
Baking parchment
Micro-grater
Plate
Juicer
Bowl
Electric whisk
Mixing bowl
Spatula
Sieve
Method
1. Make the Cake Batter
Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C (fan)/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Grease and line the loaf tin with parchment.
Grate the zest of the lemons onto a plate and squeeze the juice into a bowl, you need 50ml.
Add the olive oil and non-dairy milk to the lemon juice and whisk for a minute.
Add the flour, cornflour, bicarb, baking powder, and salt to a mixing bowl along with half of the lemon zest. Combine using a spatula.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry whilst gently stirring. Fold until combined but do not over mix.
2. Bake the Cake
Pour the batter into the prepared tin.
Bake on the middle shelf for 40 minutes until golden. Let the cake cool completely in the tin.
3. Make the Lemon Curd Buttercream
Whisk the vegan butter in a clean bowl for a couple of minutes until lightly whipped.
Sieve the icing sugar over the beaten butter and whisk for several minutes until light and fluffy.
Add the vegan lemon curd and whisk again for a couple of minutes.
Spread the butter cream over the cake and sprinkle over the remaining lemon zest. For a firmer icing, pop the cake into the fridge before serving.
Enjoy!
