This is a super quick and easy vegan cake that you can whip up for a treat. It is a really lovely moist cake and the simple preparation means it is accessible for anyone and a great option to cook with the kids.

I first cooked a version of this cake at Christmas when a Vegan friend of mine was over visiting from the States following the Blueberry cake created by Philipp of Exceedingly Vegan. It appealed to me because of the super simple ingredients and very quick preparation time.

I am terrible at following recipes exactly (I should be called the Wayward Baker as I can't help experimenting!) and the first time I substituted a few things, using coconut oil instead of sunflower oil and adding a lemon glaze. It was quite tasty, so during lockdown I felt like a treat so I experimented a bit further by using strawberries, trading the brown sugar for coconut sugar (for a slightly healthier option) and adding some toasted coconut. I was worried I might have strayed too far from the original... but it was delicious... so here it is for you to try at home. Don't be afraid to experiment! It seems to be a fairly robust cake base to play with. 

 

INGREDIENTS:

200g self-raising flour

110g coconut sugar (you can also use brown sugar)
1 tsp baking powder
small pinch of salt

Wet ingredients:

150ml oat or soy milk
80ml coconut oil (@exceedinglyvegan uses sunflower oil)
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Other ingredients:

200grams strawberries chopped (blueberries or raspberries will work)
Zest of 1 Lemon
Extra toasted coconut to sprinkle
Lemon rind for decoration
Coconut oil to grease the baking tin (or vegan butter)
Baking paper

Lemon Glaze ingredients: 

1/8 cup of lemon juice 
Zest of 1/2-1 lemon
3/4 cup Icing sugar

(I actually used double the quantities here... but it made SO much glaze.. I have halved it)

 

 

METHOD:

Preheat your oven to 180C. 

CAKE:

1. Take a large bowl and add all your dry ingredients, mixing them together and making sure you eliminate any lumps. If using normal flour and baking powder rather than self raising flour @exceedingly vegan recommends using 2 tsp of baking powder rather than 1.

 2. Mix all the wet ingredients together in another bowl. You may want to give them a little whisk to make sure it is a smooth batter and lump free.

 

 

3. Fold in the lemon zest and strawberries, work gently so you don't mush the strawberries up too much in the mixture.  

4. Use baking paper to line your ring tin (about 22cm in diametre) and grease with coconut oil. Don't forget to line the centre ring with paper too (I so often forget that!)

 5. Pour your batter into the lined tin. It is quite thick so you may need to use a spatula to smooth it so it is even across the tin.

6. Bake for 35 min. Check it at about 30 mins to make sure it is not getting too brown. (Both times I made the mistake of taking the cake out early at the 30 minute mark because a skewer came out clean and the top bounced back when touched... the cake was still delicious but VERY moist, it could do with the extra 5 mins cooking time.) 

LEMON GLAZE:

6. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest and icing sugar together, whisk to get out any lumps    

SERVING:

Take the cake out of the oven and let cool down thoroughly.

Take a teaspoon with some lemon glaze and drip it back and forth over the cake in a zip zag. Go around the cake a few times. Then sprinkle some extra toasted coconut on top. I cut little hearts out of the left over lemon rind and also little strips and curled them around a pencil to shape them.

 

Cut and serve! Sadly I didn't have any the other day... but it would be delicious served with some Coconut yoghurt and some extra berries if you have any.

Congrats! Enjoy!

Thank you Exceedingly Vegan for the basis for this simple, tasty recipe!