A simple vegan lemon cake made in a blender, fluffy, moist and light, also gluten-free. The addition of aquafaba makes it almost like an angel cake. And this recipe contains no eggs, no dairy, no gluten and no oil. Yummy! Plus do you like my lilacs?
Soften butter either by leaving it out at room temperature prior, or gently microwaving for 5-10 seconds.
Grease one 8-inch round or square pan or two or three 4-inch spring form pans for mini cakes. Dust each with a bit of flour, and tap out the excess. Or cover the bottoms with parchment paper if you have it.
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Activate the milk by adding the apple cider vinegar and setting it aside for 5 minutes.
Make the frothy aquafaba. Capture the liquid in a can of chickpeas (I use bpa-free, no sodium), and reserve the chickpeas in the refrigerator for another use. Pour the liquid into a bowl or 2-cup measuring cup and whip with a mixer until you have a bubbly foam, about 2-3 minutes. Set aside.
Make Cake:
Blend up the butter, sugar and lemon zest in a blender. I used the larger jar of a Blendtec blender (as opposed to their mini jar) because I know I'm adding the dry ingredients so I need a jar with volume.
To the butter mixture, add the milk, vanilla, and aquafaba. Blend until just combined.
In a bowl, mix up the dry ingredients, the flour, baking powder and salt.
Add the dry mixture to the blender mixture and blend until batter is just combined.
Divide the batter between prepared pans.
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown on top, springy to the touch and an inserted cake tester comes out clean.
Wait two minutes, then remove the cakes from the pans. And let them cool 30 minutes on a rack before frosting.
Make Frosting
Make sure the butter is at room temperature before you make the frosting.
Put the butter in a mixing bowl and beat with a hand mixer until fluffy. Add in the sugar, lemon juice, zest and vanilla. Mix again. If the frosting is too stiff, add in a tablespoon of milk at a time and mix between each one until the frosting looks like the texture you want.
Until you frost the cakes, cover the bowl with a soaking wet paper towel to keep frosting from hardening. Frost the cakes, pipe florets or dot with flowers. Enjoy!
Storage
Once frosted, the cakes should be eaten within two days and can be kept at room temperature covered.
If you want to store the cakes, do so before frosting, wrapping them and freezing for three months.
Notes
The texture of the frosting will depend on your choice of brand coconut milk and other factors. Admittedly making coconut whipped cream frosting is also a dicey business so feel free to use your own favorite frosting or top with yogurt and fruit. Comment if you have success or a recommendation on this recipe.