Let’s talk about cake! That gorgeous, sweet, naughty but nice treat that always gets me into trouble. I have been in love with cake for over forty years! Yes yes, I have a wonderful husband and two beautiful children that I adore, yada, yada, yada…. but cake…. cake has been and will always be the true love of my life!
Sure, we’ve had our ups and downs (usually my weight going up while the cake goes down). We’ve had moments of pure bliss, moments of disappointment when it has all been over too soon. Then there have been the times when I thought we wouldn’t make it; serious times when I packed my bags and left for Weight Watchers (I try not to think about those).
But after all these years we keep going. I think a successful relationship is about what you put into it, so we have come to an arrangement; I will bake with healthier fats and, in turn, cake promises to be kinder to me (and let me fit into my favourite jeans).
So it’s agreed! Now if I can just limit myself to one slice…
Easy Vegan Coconut Cake
Equipment
- 2 x 7 inch / 18 cm Sandwich Tins
- Greaseproof / Baking Paper
- Jug
- Large mixing bowl
- Sieve
- Medium mixing bowl
- Electric beaters (whisks)
Ingredients
For the cake
- 150 ml Unsweetened plant milk I like Alpro organic soya
- 1 tsp Lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 80 ml / g Sunflower oil
- 30 ml / g Coconut oil, melted
- 225 g Self raising flour
- 1/4 tsp Bicarbonate of soda Known as baking soda in the USA
- 140 g Caster sugar
- 80 g Desiccated coconut
For the icing
- 50 g Block plant butter I like Flora Original or Naturli (available in the UK).
- 30 g Coconut oil, melted
- 250 g Icing sugar
- 30 ml Unsweetened plant milk
To decorate
- 80 g Desiccated coconut
- 30 g Coconut flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C
- Line 2 x 7 inch / 18cm sandwich tins with baking parchment; cut two circular pieces of baking parchment to the same size as the base of the tins, oil the inside of the tins, place the paper in the bottom of each tin, oil the tins again (inside edges too).
- Put the plant milk and lemon juice in a jug and allow the lemon juice to curdle the milk (this is basically creating a sort of plant buttermilk). The milk should only take about 20 seconds to curdle (separate).
- In the same jug, add the vanilla extract, sunflower oil and melted coconut oil.
- Sift the self raising flour, bicarbonate of soda and caster sugar into the a large mixing bowl.
- Stir in the desiccated coconut until well combined.
- Stir in the wet ingredients from the jug (making sure it is all well mixed and there are no patches of dry flour remaining).
- Divide the cake mixture equally between the two sandwich tins and place in the centre of your preheated oven for around 18-20 minutes. The cake will be cooked when it is risen, golden and feels slightly springy to the touch. You may also notice some wrinkles around the edges and see the edge of each cake coming away from the side of the pan.
- Once you have removed them from the oven, allow the cakes to stand in their tins for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the icing
- Place the plant butter, coconut oil, icing sugar and plant milk in a medium size mixing bowl and whisk for 3 (ish) minutes until the icing is light and fluffy.
- Transfer the one of the cakes to your serving plate and spread around 1/4 to 1/3 of the icing on top.
- Place the other cake on top and continue to ice around the sides and the top of the cake.
- Decorate the side of the cake with desiccated coconut and place the coconut flakes on the top of the cake. Serve.
Get recipes and tips sent directly to your inbox. Sign up below.
£3.00 Buy me a coffee
If you like the recipes and tips on the blog and want to make a contribution you can buy me a coffee below. Thank you so much.
£3.00