Zesty summer cake

Clau
Jun 20, 2020
3 min read

Summer is finally here!

And I can’t think of something better than sitting down rocking a new pair of sunglasses and getting some vitamin D whilst scrolling through Instagram and listening to your tanning playlist ( ‘cause that’s an actual thing).

As you are peacefully lying under the sun and forgetting the meaning of the word “stress”, you might want to have something fresh, sweet and zesty…

Yes, a full margarita pitcher might do the trick (it definitely will)

But what if you want something other than cold cuts and barbeque to eat as you calmly sip your cocktail, whilst trying, yet failing to get the little umbrella out of your face?

Side note: little umbrellas are the best and they shouldn’t be replaced with a sad piece of cocktail pineapple

Then this cake is for you!

And pretty much anyone who enjoys a nice zesty cake (just don’t tell your family members that is inspired on margaritas under the sun, but more of a lemonade on a very hot hiking day trip story, people can be judgmental)

This cake is gluten free and dairy free, no nuts either.

Recipe

Serves: 8-12

Preparation time: 2h

Ingredients:

For the sponge

- 200g of gluten free self-rising flour ( if you don’t have self-rising flour, add 5g baking powder to 195g of flour and that should do the trick)

- 150g of sugar

- 2 large eggs

- 25ml/g olive oil ( it doesn’t have to be extra virgin)

- 150ml hibiscus infusion ( this gives a nice subtle flavor and color to the cake and if you don’t have or don’t like hibiscus a fruit infusion is fine too)

- 3 tbsp lemon juice

For the filling

-100g lemon curd (make sure it’s dairy free)

For the frosting

- 200g powdered sugar

- 100g vegan butter

- 1tsp lemon juice

- Lemon zest

- 1tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

1) Gather and prep all your ingredients and pre heat your oven before you start.

2) Mix the eggs, sugar and oil until you have a nice homogenous and creamy paste.

3) Boil some water and steep your infusion following the package’s instructions, let it cool and add the lemon juice, reserve 50ml for later.

4) Sift your flour and gently incorporate a third to your egg mixture, then add a third of your infusion, fold and repeat this 2 times making sure you end up with a silky batter.

5) Pour the batter on a greased and floured pan or one lined with parchment paper (which you can clearly see in the pictures since the thought of removing it, so it wouldn’t appear in the photo, clearly didn’t cross my mind)

6) Bake at 180 degrees centigrades or 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-30 minutes on a middle rack and rotate once to encourage even cooking, insert a stick on the thickest part and if it comes out clean, it’s ready to be removed and placed on a cooling rack.

7) Let it cool completely

8) In a clean bowl, beat the butter and slowly start adding the sugar using a spoon (or else you’ll get powdered white dust all over your shirt and people will be judgmental about that, too), add the vanilla, the lemon juice and zest and beat again until you have a fluffy, lump free buttercream.

9) Cut the cake in half, so you have 2 discs, and spoon some of the infusion that you reserved ( a little goes a long way)

10) Pipe a ring on the border of one of the discs, which is going to be at the bottom (or struggle to make a border with your tiny pink spatula in case you don’t have a pastry bag...)

11) Add the lemon curd to the center of the cake and spread it just enough to reach the buttercream borders, place the other half of the cake on top, add a dollop of buttercream in the middle and spread it over the surface ( if you have enough buttercream to cover the whole cake, go for it)