Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

This tasty lemon poppy seed cake is made with more mindful ingredients than the classic recipe. We used gluten-free flour and fresh almond meal instead of refined white flour, coconut oil instead of butter, coconut sugar instead of refined white sugar, fresh plant-based milk instead of dairy milk, and a homemade cashew icing instead of regular icing. This is why this cake is a darker color than your traditional lemon poppy seed cake but it´s equally delicious! Give it a try!

INGREDIENTS

Wet Ingredients

• 1/3 cup melted mild coconut oil)
• ¾ cup coconut sugar
• ½ cup + 2 tbsp. room temperature* plant milk (I used almond milk made with the NutraMilk)
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• zest of 2 lemons

Dry Ingredients

• 1½ cups all purpose white flour or GF cake flour mix, sifted
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup almond meal prepared in the NutraMilk
• 4 tsp poppy seeds, plus more to decorate

For almond milk

• 1 cup (150g) almonds
• 1 quart (946ml) water
• 1/8 teaspoon Pink Himalayan salt (optional)

For cashew icing

• 1 and ⅓ cups unsalted, raw cashews
• 3/4 cup almond milk
• 2 tbsp. powdered sugar or sweetener of choice
• ¼ tsp cinnamon powder
• ½ tsp. vanilla essence

INSTRUCTIONS

• Start by making fresh almond milk with the NutraMilk:
• Place almonds in the NutraMilk container.
• Press Butter cycle, set for 7 minutes.
• Press Start.
• Add water and replace lid.
• Press Mix (do not change the default Mix time).
• Press Start.
• Press Dispense, open spigot and fill your container with almond milk.

• Prepare cashew icing:

• Place cashews in the NutraMilk and process until you get a butter consistency (approx. 4-5 minutes)
• Add the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth. Add more milk if needed. Set aside. (You can sore it in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days).
• Heat up the oven to 180° C (or 160° C fan forced) / 355° F (320° F fan forced). Line a 1 kg / 2 lb tin with a wide strip of baking paper to be able to remove your cake easily.
• If using coconut oil, melt it gently over a low heat. Whisk the oil and sugar together with an electric whisk.
• Add in the plant milk, lemon juice and lemon zest and mix with a spoon, otherwise the mixture will splatter everywhere.
• Mix all the dry ingredients in another bowl together. I recommend sifting the flour for a lighter crumb, but the recipe works well without that step also.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix gently but thoroughly, making small circles from a small well in the center of the bowl gradually incorporating more dry ingredients into the wet ones – I find that this method prevents lumps from forming.

• Transfer the batter to the prepared baking tin.
• Bake for about 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the top is nicely browned.

• Once cool, drizzle with cashew icing or cover with cashew icing.

Prepared and photographed by NutraMilk nutritionist, Florencia Tagliavini.

Recipe inspired by Lazy Cat Kitchen.