Since I've decided to embark on my vegan lifestyle journey, I've been pleasantly surprised at how easy the transition was for me. Something I had always deemed impossible for me. Well, here I am six months into the journey and I have hardly found myself craving foods that are not part of a vegan diet. I have to say, with the growing trend of veganism, it has become a lot easier to find indulgent treats and foods at restaurants and stores that cater to those on a plant-based diet.
If anything, I am a person with a huge sweet tooth and I always appreciate a good slice of cake. I've always enjoyed baking as a therapeutic activity to relax and unwind resulting in a delicious end product. But when it comes to baking, excluding eggs, milk and butter can pose a challenge in creating cookies, cakes and other sweet treats. Thankfully again, the internet is here to help with that!
I've been able to find some recipes for inspiration when it comes to vegan baking on social media. Learning what plant-based substitutes to incorporate in place of traditional ingredients has been a journey. I'm still experimenting and experiencing some trials and errors. Thankfully, no attempt has been completely ruined. So while I don't always reach the intended texture and consistency in my baking, I can still enjoy the flavors of my 'failed attempts' while I work to fine tune ingredient proportions and methods to get the outcome I want.
This Lemon Loaf Cake was the first ever attempt I made in vegan baking and it was inspired by vegetarian foodie The Mindful Avocado. I slightly tweaked the recipe and on my second attempt, I thought this would go great with blueberries and after trying it out, I am convinced I made the right call.
Prep Time: 20-30 mins
Cook Time: 45-55 mins
Cook Temp: 360°F / 180°C
Ingredients:
Wet Ingredients:
1/4 cup coconut oil, soft or melted
2 Flax eggs*
1/3 cup cane sugar
1/4 cup Monk fruit sweetener**
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, or any preferred plant-based milk
2-3 tbsp lemon juice (about one lemon juiced)
1 tbsp lemon zest (about zest of one lemon)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup Almond Flour
1/2 cup oats flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup blueberries (optional)
Lemon Glaze (optional):
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup powder sugar
Flax Eggs Coconut oil w/ Sugar Added Lemon Added Milk & Flax
Add dry ingredients Fold until mixed Loaf pan ready for oven
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- In a medium bowl, pour the coconut oil. If it is not soft enough, pop in the microwave for about 30-40 seconds until it is soft and partially melted.
- Slowly add in sugar & monk fruit sweetener as you stir.
- Add in the lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and flax eggs stir.
- If you have just taken your plant milk from the fridge, pop your measured amount into the microwave for 25-40 seconds. If your milk is cold and you mix it into the coconut mixture, it will cool your coconut and make it clump, which you don't want.
- Once you have your wet ingredients mixed together let them rest and grab a small bowl to prepare your dry ingredients. You can dump them into the small bowl and use a fork or whisk to mix together. If you want to make sure your dry ingredients are clump free, use a sift over your bowl as you pour your dry ingredients into your small bowl
- When ready, slowly add contents from the small bowl into your wet mixture. I do this in thirds and fold eat time. You can either use a medium spatula, whisk or fork for this process. If there are some small clumps of flour that is okay. Don't over stir as it will make your cake more dense and hard.
- Optional - but recommended: If you choose to, at this point, add in the blue berries and fold a few more times until mixed.
- Prepare your loaf pan by lining it with wax or parchment paper. Leave some hanging over the edge of the pan as this will help you get the cake out of the container after you have baked it.
- Before your pour your cake batter in, use some coconut oil or non-stick spray on all sides of the pan.
- Now slowly pour your batter into the pan and pop into the oven. set your timer for 45 minutes.
- Once your timer goes off, use a tooth pick to test if your cake is ready. To do so, open the oven door and insert the toothpick in the middle of the cake as deep as you can, then pull it out. If you see any of the cake mix stick to the toothpick, it will need more time to bake. I usually add about 5-6 extra minutes and recheck with the toothpick until no more of the cake sticks and the toothpick comes out clean.
- When your cake is ready and cooked all through, take it out of the oven and let it rest to cool.
- Optional: For the lemon glaze, use a small bowl to mix 1/4 cup powder sugar and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Keep mixing until the sugar becomes dissolved in the lemon juice. The consistency of the glaze should be like a thick syrup or glue. Once you cake has cooled, drizzle and lather your glaze over the top of your Lemon Loaf. Let it cool and allow the glaze to harden before serving.
- Suggested serving is a 1 inch thick slice allowing for about 12 servings.
Enjoy!
* To make flax eggs, prepare about 20-30 mins ahead of time. Use 2 tablespoons of flax meal = ground flax sees and 6 tablespoons of water in a small bowl. Mix together and let rest. After about 20 mins mixture will become gelatinous and resembles texture of egg whites.
** Monk fruit sweetener is a natural zero calorie sugar alternative. The flavor can be quite strong as well. If you do not have this on hand, just use 1/2 cup of cane sugar.
Nutrition Facts per slice:
Calories . . . . . 148 kcals
Carbs . . . . . . . 19 g
Fiber . . . . . . . . 2 g
Protein . . . . . . 2.3 g
Fat . . . . . . . . . . 7.5 g
With Glaze:
Calories . . . . . 158 kcals
Carbs . . . . . . . 21.5 g
Fiber . . . . . . . . 2 g
Protein . . . . . . 2.3 g
Fat . . . . . . . . . . 7.5 g
If you enjoyed this recipe, check out my coconutty bars!