When I was head chef and baker in a Cafe I worked at, this was my go to recipe. Making the cakes vegan was a good way to ensure we also had a dairy free and egg free choice on the counter but also, this recipe was just so much more moist than a ‘normal’ cake recipe. It also didn’t matter how many times I tried to branch out on flavours, everyone wanted lemon and blueberry. It was one of our classic flavours for our celebration cakes and it always looked so nice when decorated with edible flowers and fresh blueberries.
I have made the same recipe with Dove gluten-free flour and it still turned out okay it would just as little mixing as possible and about 5-10 minutes longer in the oven. People can’t believe it when I tell them this cake is vegan, especially the buttercream, so although the cake is quick and easy take your time beating the vegan butter to get it white and fluffy so it’s light and not too sweet or buttery.
Vegan Lemon & Blueberry Cake
A moist cake suitable for vegans and non-vegans alike!
⏲️ Prep & Cook Time
1 hour
🍴Servings
8-12
🌱Dietary
Vegan
Equipment
- Stand mixer or bowl
- Whisk attachment
- Grater
- Lemon juicer
- Knife
- Two 8-inch round cake tins
- Baking paper
- Piping bag & nozzle
Ingredients
- 400g self raising flour
- 260g caster sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 lemons’ zest
- 400ml almond milk (or any other alternative milk, can use dairy milk if don’t need it vegan)
- 1 lemons’ juice but save half for the buttercream
- 160ml sunflower oil (any neutral oil works)
- 250g blueberries (saving about half for decoration)
Buttercream ingredients
- (Double these measurements if you are fully covering the cake and adding pipe work)
- 250g of Flora vegan butter
- 400-500g icing sugar
- 1 lemons juice
- Optional: edible flowers, edible glitter
Method
- Pre heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line two 8-inch cake tins (also makes 12 cupcakes, or you could make 2 4-inch cakes)
- Grate the lemons for the zest and set aside.
- Sieve and mix together the flour, sugar and baking powder then mix and then mix in the lemon zest.
- In a separate jug mix together the milk, oil and lemon juice, let sit for a minute, you are making a vegan buttermilk that will help keep the cake moist and light.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix in the mixer until just combined.
- Fold in the blueberries, remember to leave about half for decorating, and once there are no flour lumps and the blueberries seem evenly dispersed but not broken up or squashed it is ready for the tins.
- Evenly split the mixture between your 2 tins and bake for 20 minutes. It is quite a wet mix so will level itself out in the tin.
- Whilst the cake cools make the buttercream. Start by whisking the vegan butter in the mixer until it goes white, it takes a couple of minutes and seems tedious but it makes the creamiest, lightest buttercream if you whisk it.
- I never really use specific icing sugar measurements, I just add until it tastes right. Sieve in a little icing sugar at a time, you should never need more than double the amount of butter, and add a little lemon juice with each addition of sugar until the juice is all used up. Don’t add the juice all at once or your butter will curdle. You can add any colour you want to once the icing sugar is in and it tastes smooth, light and lemon-y.
- When it comes to decorate, I have made a vegan lemon curd before which goes beautifully with this cake to add some more lemon punch but I don’t think it needs it necessarily. I add a little buttercream on top of one of the sponges, the biggest one if you haven’t managed to get them exactly even, like I do all the time, then pipe around the edge, using a fancy nozzle if I’m leaving the sides un-iced or a small one if I’m covering the whole thing, then put some blueberries in the middle for a surprise burst as you eat it.
- Then put the other layer on top and decorate the top and sides how you like, if I’m rushing I’ll just pipe the icing on top and scatter the blueberries and maybe some more zest on top for a more ‘rustic’ feel or if I’m making it for a special occasion I will crumb coat the whole thing then ice the cake to a smooth finish (you will have to double the buttercream if you are covering the whole cake and piping).
- Then slice a lemon very thin to get delicate circles and semi-circles to stick on the cake and slice the blueberries as thin as I can and place them all around the cake in groups of three along with edible flowers and a little bit of added piping work. I aim for a whimsical, fun look I guess, nothing too precise (nothing can be out of place if it isn’t symmetrical to begin with).
- And your cake is done, have fun decorating, find your own style and enjoy eating your delicious cake for up to 3-5 days.
PORTFOLIO 
Leave a comment