Vegan Lemon Cake | GBBO Bakealong Week 7

Happy Sunday!

I just had the most wonderful weekend in Coventry. I am a member of a charity called the Arthrogyposis Group (or TAG as the cool kids say) and this week was our annual conference. I haven’t been to the conference in about 7 years so it was really exciting and weird to see old faces. Everyone looked so different but at heart not much had changed. I’ve known the people at TAG since I was five years old so when we meet it’s a bit like getting to hang out with your favourite cousins. However, before I get too nostalgic and start spewing summer camp stories, I shall get to a more pressing matter…

Vegan cake is better than normal cake.

No, I’m being serious.

Seriously.

I am a lover of meat and dairy. Not to the extent that I must consume it every day or risk my life-force draining from frail body but a lover nonetheless. This is especially true when it comes to baking. I stopped using vegetable spreads in my bakes about 4 years ago because I realised via a baker friend that butter tastes 100x better. Therefore, I had no intention of returning to the world of fake butter or contemplating the functionality of faux eggs. I honestly decided within myself should veganism be thrusted upon me in a bid to save our planet that I would give up on baking and live a shell of an existence. However, ladies and gentlemen, I am telling you this cake is living proof that there is life post-dairy. It was beautifully moist and tender with a good crumb. I even fed this cake to my brothers and they still haven’t clocked it’s vegan. In other words, it's fully possible to have your cake and eat it without relying on the somewhat questionable dairy industry. #winning

This happens when you don't let your cake cool properly
before slicing...still tasty though!

Okay, dramatics aside, this was an easy bake. I did some research and formulated a recipe based on the methods and ingredients from these three websites (Loving it Vegan; Good Housekeeping; BBC GoodFood). The most interesting thing for me was the egg replacer, or rather the lack of one. The role of an egg in the cake is replaced by combining acid (lemon juice or vinegar) with bicarbonate soda. I’m not 100% sure why this works but I think the combination of the two creates gas which lightens the cake as it bakes. This is probably why the bakers on Bake-Off were trying to get the batters in the oven quickly because the reaction needed to be trapped in the cake. I plan to do some fact-checking on this but it sounds logical, right?

Anyways, the cake turned out fab and I layered it with a vegan Swiss meringue buttercream. VEGAN SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM?! Who knew it was a thing?! I made it with aquafaba and it blew my mind that canned chickpea water could do such wonderful things. It was so weird to watch it whip up like egg whites and taste pretty similar to the regular stuff. The only real giveaway is that it’s a tad greasier than the regular stuff. I used vegetable shortening and vegan spread to replace the butter but I could feel it on my mouth. It could be because I let the shortening get too soft but it’ll still tasted as smooth as you like. I apologise for not getting a good photo but the recipe can be found on Gretchen’s bakery.

Note: Swiss meringue is a bit to airy to stack cakes with so maybe use a regular vegan buttercream instead. Or not. I mean, it’s your cake.

The last thing on this cake which you can’t quite see is my super-smooth, super-zingy and super-perfect vegan* lemon curd! I was going to post the recipe but it needs some minor tweaking so be patient with me. I promise the recipe will be with you soon**.

The recipe below is for the cake alone so feel free to add whatever fillings and icings you see fit. It makes 3x 8” round cakes so scale up or down as you need. Have a go and I can’t wait to hear how your vegan bakes went.

See you next week

Mary xx

*Okay so it wasn’t strictly vegan…or homemade. Guys, I struggled with this curd (if you saw my InstaStory you know exactly what I mean). I tried really hard and ended up with super sour, neon yellow wallpaper paste! I made my poor mother squeeze ten lemons for nothing. I’ll try out different recipes but for now ill rely on good ol’ Sainsbury’s TTD lemon curd!

**Haha, no.

VEGAN LEMON CAKE (SERVES 16-20)

INGREDIENTS

200ml olive oil

300g caster sugar

Zest of 3 small lemons

Juice of 2 small lemons

450ml almond milk (or any dairy free milk)

2 tsp vinegar (white, white wine or apple cider)

410g plain flour

2tsp baking powder

2tsp bicarbonate soda

Pinch of salt

METHOD

1. Preheat an oven 175C fan/ 185C conventional and line 3x 8” round cake tins
2. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, sugar and lemon zest. Then add the almond milk, lemon juice and vinegar. Stir to combine.
3. Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate soda together and add to the wet mix.
4. Stir the mixture until all the flour is fully incorporated but do not overmix.
5. Once mixed, GET IT IN THE OVEN VERY QUICKLY!!!
6. Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
7. Let cool completely before icing and decorating.