Lemony French Cake
Posted by Celine on August 12, 2007
this cake is my dream cake!
it is best when prepared a day ahead of time, to let the flavors develop.
1 c plain [or vanilla] soy yogurt
1 c icing sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 t vanilla extract
2 t pure lemon extract + zest of one small lemon
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
preheat oven to 350F. prepare your cake pan with non stick cooking spray. [note: I used a 6″ x 2″ round cake pan, so you might have to check your cake after 35-40 minutes to see if it’s done, if you use a different pan size. dip a toothpick in the center of the cake, and if it does not come out clean, add another 5 minutes, and check again. repeat until toothpick comes out clean.]
whisk soy yogurt, sugar, oil, extracts, and zest together. add flour and baking powder, mix well but don’t overdo it.
place in prepared cake pan.
bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.
leave in pan for 1 hour on a cooling rack before attempting to remove.
let cool completely before adding frosting!
serve chilled.
a slice, in natural light.
if you want a fair amount of frosting…
lemony cream cheese frosting:
2 oz tofutti cream cheese [a quarter of a tub]
1 cup powdered sugar
1 T margarine
1/2 t pure lemon extract
place cream cheese, margarine, and lemon extract together in a bowl, mix until smooth. add sugar little by little, beating for a few minutes, until fluffy and completely smooth.
if you want just a small amount of icing…
simple lemon icing:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
freshly squeezed lemon juice [you probably won't need more than the juice of half a lemon]
mix sugar and droplets by droplets of lemon juice until extremely well blended. you want the icing to be thick enough to stick to the back of the spoon, so go slowly when adding lemon juice.
prepare just before decorating the cake so that the icing doesn’t harden.
spelt version:
made with spelt (1 3/4 cups in all), 12oz ( = 2 Silk containers) vanilla soy yogurt, about 3 T less sugar, and 3 T less oil -
easy ganache recipe: 3.5oz chopped citron & poivre Frey chocolate, 3 T soy creamer, 1 T agave nectar. heat up soy creamer in a saucepan, remove from heat, add chocolate and agave, stir until the chocolate is melted. (no worries, the pepper is crazy subtle!)
verdict: the spelt version is nice and all, although maybe a bit moister and heavier. the original still remains my favorite.
August 12, 2007 at 4:59 am
[...] lemony french cake “coconut has a date” granola molta cioccolata tapioca Crème à la Pumpkin Frozen [...]
August 12, 2007 at 1:06 pm
looks very good, thanks for the recipe.
August 12, 2007 at 9:15 pm
this would win my mom over anyday, and not to mention me, but she loooves anything lemon.
August 13, 2007 at 4:44 am
I hope she will love it! :)
August 18, 2007 at 3:51 am
Celine, i made it today! and she LOVES it. she went back for thirds. haha. not to mention, i love it too.
thanks! :)
August 18, 2007 at 4:08 am
I am so happy to “hear” this, Hilary!!!
August 25, 2007 at 1:19 pm
OMG! This (I’m typing this with my mouth full) is de-li-cious. I made many vegan cakes, and most of them were quite good, but none of them tasted like the cakes I used to make when I was little. And this one does! Well, maybe it even tastes better. :-)
Thank you so much!!
September 9, 2007 at 7:37 am
[...] ends up being lime, with a hint of raspberry. I likey. it’s yet another variation on the lemony french cake and the chocolate orange french [...]
November 10, 2007 at 7:53 pm
[...] this summer our friend Celine from Have Cake, Will Travel! made a Lemony French Cake, according to her it is her dream cake. Celine’s instructions are clear and easy to follow, [...]
November 20, 2007 at 9:36 pm
Im making it for my birthday tomorrow (the twenty-first). The batter is delicious!
December 4, 2007 at 3:23 pm
[...] afternoon, and it seems to be a pretty good antidepressant. This is an adaptation of Celine’s dream cake recipe, which I found through Vegalicious. I just couldn’t resist baking a dream cake of my [...]
December 23, 2007 at 10:11 am
[...] ( = 2 Silk containers) vanilla soy yogurt, about 2 T less sugar, and 2 T less oil - adapted from the other one - easy ganache recipe: 3.5oz chopped citron & poivre Frey chocolate, 3 T soy creamer, 1 T agave [...]
December 26, 2007 at 9:28 am
[...] ( = 2 Silk containers) vanilla soy yogurt, about 3 T less sugar, and 3 T less oil - adapted from the other one - easy ganache recipe: 3.5oz chopped citron & poivre Frey chocolate, 3 T soy creamer, 1 T agave [...]
February 28, 2008 at 4:42 pm
[...] For You, Cupcake Pumpkin Cupcakes Chocolate Orange French Cake Pumpkin Chocolate Brownie Cake Lemony French Cake Green Tea Mini Cakes Low Fat Rosewater Cupcakes Seitan, Tofu, [...]
February 29, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Yay! This looks so delicious. I’m going to make it for my friend’s birthday next week. I must say that I enjoy your blog so much more now that when I get inspired to cook I can actually do it.
March 11, 2008 at 10:00 pm
[...] adapted from the Lemony French Cake. [...]
May 18, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Oh my goodness, I think I’ve found a new project… te he! Thanks for the recipe, I am definitely going to give it a go… think a blend of spelt and kamut flour would work ok? I’m addicted to Kamut haha.
May 18, 2008 at 5:22 pm
I think it might make the cake a tad too heavy, Sarah. sorry! but do let me know if you decide to give it a try anyway.
May 29, 2008 at 6:59 pm
This recipe is so wonderful. I made it with lemons from the farmer’s market! delicious! It reminds me of the pastries I ate when I lived in France! Thanks for this.
May 30, 2008 at 9:07 am
so happy to hear, Kathryn! thank you for the feedback.
June 25, 2008 at 3:36 pm
[...] made these last night using a variation of the Lemony French Cake recipe at have cake, will [...]