updated Jan 25; originql 2019
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| 'Delicious! Moist and melt-in-the-mouth. Wouldn't have known it was vegan.' |
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: £7.00 (most of that in maple syrup) (jan 25)
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 or water
Method:
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: £7.00 (most of that in maple syrup) (jan 25)
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 or water
Method:
