Vegan Lemon Coconut Cake

Ever since the semester has started three weeks ago, it has been a crazy flurry of activity. Now more than ever, I look forward time in my kitchen as an oasis of calm. Last week, there was a potluck dinner at the community that I volunteer at. I took this chance to revisit the first vegan recipe I ever tried. Till now, this is still my favourite cake to make and eat simply because it is so refreshing to the palette! This is my ultimate guilt-free cake fix.

When I first made this cake some months back, it was an instant success. My family loved it so much I made a second cake the next day and once again it was finished within the day. Surprisingly, vegan cakes are so much easier to make than traditional ones since there is no need to cream the butter and sugar, or eggs and sugar. Everything can be done in a bowl with a whisk. And that was exactly how this lemon coconut cake was made.

The texture of this cake is slightly on the dense side, so it is more like a pound cake rather than a sponge cake. I’ve tried making it in an 8-inch round cake pan too, and the cooking time is about the same. I just prefer the loaf pan because the cake tends to crack in the middle, just like a lovely tea bread. The lemon glaze topped with desiccated coconut give it the extra oomph, so don’t skip it!

Vegan Lemon Coconut Cake

Ingredients

Cake

• 185g (1.5 cups) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 80g (scant 0.5 cup) cane sugar
• 80ml (1/3 cup) coconut oil
• 240ml (1 cup) unsweetened soy milk
• 60ml (1/4 cup) lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
• 1 Tbsp lemon zest (about 3 medium lemons)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Lemon Glaze

• 2 Tbsp coconut oil
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
• 1-2 cups icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
• 2 Tbsp desiccated coconut (for topping, optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a 1 lb loaf pan with parchment paper.
2. Evenly combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar and lemon zest in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients.
3. Pour in coconut oil, soy milk, and vanilla extract into the dry ingredients. Whisk until combined. Careful not to over-mix. You are done when there are no large lumps.
4. Add the lemon juice last and stir until just combined. There will be a fizzy sound as it interacts with the baking soda, we want this reaction as it creates the bubbles that leaven the cake.
5. Pour batter into prepared cake pan, and bake for 40 minutes.
6. Cake is done when it pulls away from the sides or when skewer comes out clean.
7. Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, before removing the parchment paper and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. To make glaze, combine coconut oil, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Add in icing sugar by the tablespoon until desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake and top with desiccated coconut.

Tips

• Bake the cake as soon as lemon juice is added to the batter, as waiting too long may result in the air bubbles escaping, and the cake may become too dense.
• The cake tastes best when served at room temperature, so if you need to refrigerate it, let it come to room temperature before serving.