Vegan Lemon Coconut Cake
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
- 2 cups flour
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup shredded coconut
- 1.5 teaspoon bicarb
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup coconut cream
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon coconut flavouring
Amazing and Easy Coconut Icing!
- 1.5 cups icing sugar
- 3 tablespoons coconut cream (not coconut milk)
- 30g/1oz. butter substitute, room temperature
To decorate
- Halved kiwiberries, blackberries, blueberries and shredded coconut
Step 1 - Grease and line a 20cm/8inch round tin with parchment and preheat oven to 180C/350F. In a large bowl add the flour, sugar, coconut, bicarb, salt and lemon zest and whisk together. In a jug whisk the water, coconut cream, oil, lemon juice, vinegar and coconut flavouring.
Step 2 - Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the wet starting with a quarter of the wet mixture to avoid lumps. Add in the rest of the wet in 3 lots. Stir to just combine but do not overmix. Spoon into tin and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the centre springs back when touched. Cool in the tin for 30 minutes and then gently remove. This is a very moist and light cake.
Step 3 - Make the amazing 2 minute coconut frosting™. Add the icing sugar in a small food processor and blend to remove lumps. Add the coconut cream and pulse. Then add butter substitute and process. Spread on top of the cake when cool-if you want this coconut frosting to be firmer just place it covered, in the fridge to firm up as it sets firm but becomes softer at room temperature.
Personal Note
The other reason I am so obsessed with this cake (and it took me so many attempts to arrive at this recipe) is because the best way to describe this cake is with the word moist. Nina once told me that she cringed every time she read the word moist on my blog or Instagram. But there's no other word for it. A word like "wet" is just as bad and humid is strange and really refers to weather.
That got me to thinking about words. There are words for so many things in English but there are omissions. The most commonly discussed example is perhaps schadenfreude or "pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune."
In French there is "Sortable" which is a single word used for family members and friends that you can take out without fear of being embarrassed. Or one that relates to me, "L'esprit d'escalier" which is when you think of a perfectly witty response but it's too late (when you're at the bottom of the stairs on your way out). In Thai งอน or ngaawn means a feeling of being sulky towards someone close to you for a slight but it's the feeling before being angry or upset and is used between people close to each other.
Sometimes words or phrases pop up in English. Bootylicious is one that made it into the dictionary (sexually attractive, sexy; shapely) and less formally I also love the phrase "Italian chef kiss" or "chef kiss" which is when someone pinches the fingers and thumb of one hand together, kisses them and then gestures flamboyantly away from the lips. I'm waiting one day for someone to come up with a phrase when you put two fingers to your eyes and then gestures to someone else's eyes to show that you're watching them closely!
And for now we'll have to keep with moist!
So tell me Dear Reader, do you have a favourite phrase from another language or English? Did you know any of these phrases or words?