Lemon Olive Oil Vegan Cake
Every few months in the year, the baking in our house is vegan oriented due to observance of religious holidays. Although most vegan recipes require limited ingredients (compared to the non vegan recipes that are dairy heavy) I find them easier to mess up. For New Years Eve I was on the hunt to find a recipe that was easy and straight to the point. That's when I stumbled upon this Lemon Olive Oil Cake. I was pretty skeptical because who wants to eat a cake that tastes like straight up olive oil. I'm happy to say, I was wrong. This cake was a hit! Although for my tastes I find the olive oil a little bit overwhelming, it is a delicious cake to have once in a while.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup Bari's Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 cup soy milk
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice (I put 4 tbsp and I HIGHLY recommend doing so)
2 tbsp. fresh lemon zest
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
Toppings:
Powdered sugar
Fruit of your preference for decoration as well as to eat along with the cake
A few sprigs of leaves (I only had bay leaves on hand during this time and since it was only there for decoration it worked)
Directions:
Spray and 8 or 9 inch pan with cooking oil as well as line it with parchment paper and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another bowl.
Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet, stirring until the dry ingredients are evenly hydrated and the batter is thick and smooth.
Pour cake into the prepared cake pan and bake for 45-60 minutes. Depending on your oven, it may take less or more than an hour. I found mine had to bake for 60 minutes before the toothpick I used to poke in the middle came out clean.
After the cake has cooled for a bit, pull the cake up with the parchment paper and allow for it to cooler for a bit longer on a cooled surface.
Once it has completely cooled, sprinkle powdered sugar and top with fruits and leaves.
Enjoy the lemony olive oil goodness in cake form.
