(8in) square cake tin with 5cm (2in) sides
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas mark 4. If the cake tin has a removable base, grease the sides of the tin with sunflower oil and line the base with a square of baking parchment, otherwise line the base and sides of the tin.
Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Leave just until melted, stirring occasionally, then remove from the heat and add the sugar, sunflower oil, vanilla extract and eggs and whisk together well. Next add the ground almonds, rice flour, salt, baking powder and chopped pecans and fold in until well mixed.
Tip into the prepared tin, then place the 12 whole pecans in an even grid on top. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the middle of the cake still wobbles slightly when you gently shake the tin – a skewer inserted into the centre should come out with a little moisture on it.
Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack and allow to cool in the tin for at least an hour before carefully removing the cake and cutting into 12 squares (each with a pecan in the middle) to serve.
Whether you’re vegan by choice or intolerant to dairy foods and eggs, finding cakes that both work and taste good can be tricky. It’s certainly not impossible, though, as this cake proves with its intense lemony flavour and a soft, light crumb that is just as good as anything made with butter or eggs. For the icing I’ve used a soya spread, which works wonderfully when sweetened and thickened with the icing sugar. You could use any other citrus fruits to flavour this cake as well (see the variations).
Prep time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 45–50 minutes
Ready in: 1 hour 45 minutes
Serves: 8–12
450g (1lb) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
300g (11oz) caster sugar
125ml (4½fl oz) sunflower oil, plus extra for greasing
Finely grated zest of 3 lemons
Juice of 3 lemons plus enough water to make 300ml (½ pint)
For the frosting
175g (6oz) soya spread
500g (1lb 2oz) icing sugar, sifted
Pinch of salt
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp lemon juice
23cm (9in) diameter cake tin with 6cm (2½in) sides
Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F), Gas mark 3. Grease the sides of the cake tin with sunflower oil and dust with flour, then line the base with a disc of baking parchment.
Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl and mix in the sugar. In a separate bowl, mix together all the remaining ingredients. Add these to the dry ingredients and stir well until the mixture comes together.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 45–50 minutes or until springy to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Using a small, sharp knife, loosen around the edges, then carefully remove the cake from the tin and leave on a wire rack to finish cooling.
As the cake cools, make the frosting. Place all the ingredients in a large bowl or in an electric food mixer. Using either a hand-held electric beater or the food mixer, whisk on full speed for 2–3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
Once the cake is cool, use a bread knife to slice it horizontally in half. Place the bottom half of the cake, cut side up, on a cake plate or stand, then spread over some of the frosting, to about 5mm (¼in) thick. Place the top half of the cake on top, cut side down, then spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake.
Vegan frosted orange cake
Make up the cake in the same way, substituting the lemons with the zest and juice of three oranges (with the juice topped up to 300ml/½ pint with water, if necessary) and reducing the sugar to 275g (10oz).
Vegan frosted lime cake
Follow the recipe as above, substituting the lemons with the zest and juice of four limes (with the juice topped up to 300ml/½ pint with water, if necessary).
Dairy-free blueberry crumble cake
This dairy-free cake has a divinely thick, sticky crumble topping. Naturally sweet blueberries are dotted throughout the cake and scattered on top where they burst during baking and ooze their syrupy juices into the topping. If you’re intolerant to eggs, this cake works well with an egg replacer, which you can buy from health-food shops. Of course, you can use real eggs otherwise.
Prep time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 50–60 minutes
Ready in: 2 hours
Serves: 8–12
225g (8oz) plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt
50g (2oz) caster sugar
50g (2oz) wholemeal flour
150ml (5fl oz) soya or rice milk
50ml (2fl oz) vegetable oil
1 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs, beaten (or 3 tsp egg replacer mixed with 6 tsp water)
250g (9oz) fresh or frozen (and defrosted) blueberries
For the crumble topping
50g (2oz) plain flour
½ tsp ground cinnamon
150g (5oz) soft dark brown sugar
