Lemon Cardamom Pound Cake (vegan)
This vegan lemon cardamom pound cake is moist and tender with a tight, soft crumb and a beautiful delicate lemon and cardamom flavour. Made with vegan Greek style yogurt for texture and flavour, no one will be able to tell that it is free from eggs and dairy!
Servings 10 people
Ingredients
Cake
- 120 g (½ cup) vegan block butter
- 41 g (3 Tablespoons oil (I use olive)
- finely grated zest of 2 lemons
- 1 ¼ teaspoons freshly ground cardamom* (the seeds from 21 pods)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 300 g (2 ½ cups) self-raising flour
- 160 g (⅔ cup) vegan Greek style soya yogurt
- 250 g (1 + ¼ cups) caster or granulated sugar
- 90 g (6 Tablespoons) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy)
- 30 g (2 Tablespoons) lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Glaze
- 150 g (1 + ¼ cups) icing (powdered) sugar
- juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 180℃/160℃ fan/350℉/gas mark 4. Line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment.
- Melt the butter, pour it into a large bowl and set aside until it has cooled to just barely warm, then mix in the oil, lemon zest, cardamom, salt and bicarbonate of soda.120 g (½ cup) vegan block butter, 41 g (3 Tablespoons oil (I use olive), finely grated zest of 2 lemons, 1 ¼ teaspoons freshly ground cardamom*, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- Add the flour and stir with a spatula until it is fully coated in the butter mixture.300 g (2 ½ cups) self-raising flour
- Stir in the yogurt and sugar to make a thick batter, then add the milk, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Mix to form a smooth, lump free batter, you may find it easier to switch to a balloon whisk at this point.160 g (⅔ cup) vegan Greek style soya yogurt, 250 g (1 + ¼ cups) caster or granulated sugar, 90 g (6 Tablespoons) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy), 30 g (2 Tablespoons) lemon juice, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Pour the batter into the tin and level the top. Dip a butter knife in oil and draw a line down the centre of the batter - this ensures that you will get an even crack down the middle of the loaf.
- Bake for 55-60 minutes until well risen, golden brown, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. You may need to cover the top of the cake with foil partway through baking to prevent it from browning too much.
- Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the glaze, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and gradually stir in enough lemon juice to make a smooth, thick but spoonable icing. Pour the glaze over the cake, making sure that it gets an even coating, you may want to place a tray under the cake to catch any drips. Allow to set before slicing.150 g (1 + ¼ cups) icing (powdered) sugar, juice of 1 lemon
Notes
- *This amount of cardamom for me provided a noticeable but not overpowering flavour. You can use more if you want a stronger flavour, or less if you want just a subtle hint. If using pre-ground cardamom you may wish to increase the amount as the flavour is not as strong.
- USE SCALES. As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scales rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
- Make sure that you allow the melted butter to cool enough before mixing in the flour. It should be just barely warm, definitely not hot.