SPECIAL OCCASION LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE: Vegan, fat-& egg-free; indulgence

Easily the best of the vegan cake recipes 67 investigated & tested... 

Vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake
'Moist and melt-in-the-mouth. Wouldn't have known it was vegan.' 'Yum!'

 This vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake, adapted from an American blogger*, was a lovely surprise.  It tastes like a well-baked conventional cake - very, very more-ish with a moist crumbly texture.  No one will know or care that it's vegan.  

The best thing about it is that it scores highly on the healthy meter: it's fat & oil-free, high in fibre and and fruit, and has no eggs or dairy. 

But a little care is required.  Though simple to prepare with the classic wet- ingredients-into-dry method, what makes the cake rise is the chemical reaction between the fresh lemon juice and the baking soda.  Getting the batter into the pan and the oven as soon as it is mixed will give best results or you could end up with a sunken - but still fabulous tasting - cake.

The cake contains a lot of sweetener in the form of maple syrup.  And that is definitely a financial indulgence.  Most of the maple syrup in the UK is top quality, grade A (the better the quality, the stronger the flavour).   Cheaper grades do exist but it's not easy finding them.  

With pure maple syrups selling at £5-6/200ml in supermarkets, you need to be committed to this cake.  Unless household pockets are deep or the family has shares in a maple syrup producer, 67 recommends the cake - fabulous though it is - is saved for special occasions.  

This is one of those recipes that you can't play around with.

Cost: £6.00 (most of that in maple syrup) (2019 prices)
Makes: 1 8x8inch/21x21cm cake, or equiv

Ingredients:
    100gm/3.5oz plain white flour + 3 tbsp baking powder 
       92gm/3.25oz wholemeal flour
      6 tbsp rice flour, white or brown OR ground almonds   
      2 tbsp cornstarch (not polenta, available in supermarkets)
      1.5 tsp baking soda
      1/2 tsp salt

     1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (200ml) maple syrup
     1/2 cup fresh lemon juice + 1 tbsp zest
     120gm/4.25oz applesauce (recipe for fresh below but tinned & drained is ok)
                2 eating apples
                    (if organic, washed; if not, peeled, cored & cut into coarse chunks)
                1/4 cup water
                1/2 tsp cinnamon
                1/8 tsp nutmeg
            Cook together in a saucepan over med heat until broken down; then mash with a potato basher or puree with a stick blender

Icing:
   100gm sifted icing sugar   
   2 tsp lemon juice              
   1-2 tsp milk            

Method:

Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 180c/350f
2. Line tin with greaseproof paper
3. Whisk dry ingred thoroughly
4. In a separate container, whisk maple syrup, apple sauce, lemon juice & zest with electric beaters until completely blended.
5. Scoop out a space in the bottom of the dry ingred. Add wet ingreds
6. Quickly stir with a whisk, moving from top to bottom, until the batter is completely mixed and smooth.  Don't overmix.
7. Immediately pour into the pan & smooth with a spatula.  Give it a good shake then put it straight into the oven.   The chemical reaction between the fresh lemon juice and the baking soda makes the cake rise; hesitation may result in a sunken cake (which, my tasters testified, still tastes fine!) 
8. Bake 25 mins or until a tooth pick comes out clean; it could take up to 40mins
9. Cool at least 45 mins before icing

Icing: 

1. Sift icing sugar
2. Mix in lemon juice & milk until smooth; the icing should 'flow' without being wet 
3. Pour onto the cake with a tablespoon; use a knife or spatula to even it out
4. Rest 10 mins before serving

Comments:

'The flavour was delicious' Retired volunteer & chef's daughter
'Moist and melt-in-the-mouth. Wouldn't have known it was vegan.' Campaign Manager
'Yum. ' Political Agent

*adapted from The Vegan

Tips:

• the size of the baking tin makes a real difference; an 8inch/20cm square was perfect; a 7inch/18cm circle was delicious but dipped in the middle with a slightly underdone bottom half.  Next time, 67 will try an 8x10 rectangle. 
• the blog 'the spruce' has a recipe for a maple syrup substitute which 67 has not yet tested. If you try it, please comment with results

Notes:

67's experiments with vegan baking had mixed success.  The blogger is not keen on using flax or chia seed, avocado and tofu in cake batter.  Non-dairy milks which contain emulsifiers, sugar and other additives are also a concern as are dairy-free fats which can contain colour and flavourings and, if coconut based, are extremely high in saturated fats. Note: March 2019 - more plant milks without additives are now widely available in major supermarkets)

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This recipe has been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  It  may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.