Vegan Lemon Cake.md

Modified From:

Cake: Chloe Flavor p. 234 Icing: TODO find citation

Yield:

1 cake layer plus icing (can double recipe to make a two layer cake)

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 0.5 cup granulated sugar
• 0.25 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp lemon zest (You can use two large lemons and have enough zest for both the cake and the frosting)
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 1.25 cup coconut milk (buy one of the "premium" / non-lite cans, and mix well after opening it)
• 0.5 cup vegetable oil (e.g. grapeseed oil)
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• Lemon slices, for garnish (optional)

Frosting:

• 1/4 cup (56 g) non-dairy butter (e.g. Earth Balance)
• 1/4 cup (52 g) vegetable shortening
• 2 cups (200 g) confectioner's sugar, sifted (this will probably be like 20 minutes of sifting, sorry)
• 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 2 tbsp nondairy milk (e.g. rice milk), more as needed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" cake pan with cooking spray and lightly dust with flour.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk until just combined. Do not overmix.

Fill in the prepared pan with the batter, and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. When done, remove cake from the oven and allow it to cool in the fridge.

While the cake is cooling, you can make the frosting. Use a hand mixer (or a stand mixer if you only have one of those) to beat the butter and shortening for a few minutes until creamed. With the mixer on low speed, add the confectioners' sugar, lemon zest, vanilla, and nondairy milk. Once all ingredients are well-combined, beat on high speed until the frosting is light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add a tablespoon or two more milk if it's too dry. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge.

Now you have to wait for the cake to cool completely. I mean it, don't try to cut corners here, it needs to be well below room temperature before you put the icing on, or the icing will separate and it will be a huge mess. You can even put it in the freezer for a bit if you're in a hurry, just don't leave it in there too long.

Finally, once the cake and frosting are cool, remove the cake from the pan and apply the frosting to it. You can also slice the lemons and place them on top to make it clear that this is a lemon cake, not some milquetoast vanilla cake. Then, either refrigerate for later or eat immediately!