I am not vegan but the ongoing free-range eggs situation in Sydney is forcing me to come up with egg-free baking recipes. When you bake as often as I do – at least once a day – you go through a heap of eggs. And to paraphrase PETA, I’d rather go bake-free than buy battery hen eggs.
I am a total fan girl of Not Quite Nigella, a fab Australian food blogger, and when she recently blogged a vegan cake I was all ears, or all eyes, as the case were. Check out her incredible vegan raspberry rose cake: http://www.notquitenigella.com/2016/07/05/vegan-raspberry-rose-cake-vegan-seven-minute-frosting/
Using this vegan cake recipe as inspiration I swapped roses for lavender and omitted her raspberry flavouring. I also made a cheat’s icing of icing sugar and water rather than Not Quite Nigella’s beautiful aquafaba icing. Her recipe made two smaller cakes but I used a bigger tin so just had one cake.
I had not really baked anything vegan before and was sceptical to see how this cake would turn out but I was amazed!
When I took it to work, a colleague from another office was so excited to see my cake. Unbeknownst to me, she’s a vegan and misses out on the treats I take in so we were both excited for her to try some. Plus there were donations made to MSF (Doctors Without Borders) in exchange for cake, so everyone was a winner!
GATHER:
1 ½ cups plain flour
1 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
three lavender buds crumbled finely, plus extra whole buds to decorate
1 cup water
1/3 cup neutral vegetable oil such as canola oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
LET’S GET TO IT:
Preheat oven to 180C and grease and line a 15cm round, deep cake tin with non-stick paper.
In a medium bowl use a fork to whisk together the flour, sugar, bicarb and lavender buds in a bowl and make a well in the centre.
Use a large jug to measure the water, oil, vinegar, vanilla then slowly stir into the dry ingredients. Mix with a silver spoon until it just comes together – do not over-beat.
Pour into tin and bake for 65 – 70 minutes or until a skewer comes out dry.
Set aside for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
To ice, sift one cup of icing sugar into a large bowl and stir in enough hot water until it makes a thick paste. Drizzle over the top of the cake and encourage it with a flat knife to drip down the sides. Decorate with extra lavender.
the hungry mum 
Mmmmm!! This cake looks so yummy!!!!!
Tonee
https://infoellablog.wordpress.com
Thanks Tonee 😉
This looks so good!!!
Oh thanks 🙂
Looks so delicious!😉
Thanks so much 🙂
That looks soon delicious!!
Thanks – I love vanilla!
Lovely cake! So elegant and sophisticated!
Cheers Starr!
Oh my goodness – I should not have looked at this while hungry! How yum!
Hey, you can talk – your blog makes my tummy grumble x
Ooh yay!!!! I’m so excited that you made this! I’ve been working on those vegan cake recipes for years and I get so thrilled when other people make them and enjoy them! Do you mind if I share this on my facebook page? x
I would LOVE if you shared this! Thanks – and thanks for all your inspirational recipes x
This looks lovely!
Thanks Jenn, I love baking with lavender 🙂
You claim it’s because of the egg situation in Sidney but i know what’s going on. You’re a temptress. You’ve already ensnared most of us in your web of divinely baked goods and so now you’re going after the vegans. But why? Why are you doing this? Do you own stock in Weight Watchers? Are you Oprah?
Ha! Yes, I am actually Oprah – I gave up my millions and my TV program and the fans to lose money running a small baking blog in the ‘burbs of Australia 😉
😀
Thats so pretty! I may have a go 😉
Thanks! Hope you do , it is really simple to make.
I think it would make a really pretty rustic wedding cake to with some flowers around it. 🙂
Ooooooh, how pretty is this~!
Mollie