Vegan Coconut - Lemon Cake

Some days I wonder why I do what I do. This cake was one of those labours of love to put together, not because any part of it was incredibly difficult or time-consuming to do, but because I had to do it all with gloves on! Some of you know that I'm allergic to coconut - not only ingesting it but touching it (or hazelnuts) as well. To avoid poufy arms and an itchy rash from seriously hindering my ability to cook at work, the gloves (and a thorough rinse of my hands with wet wipes) were the order of the day. 

That said, I am very proud of this dessert and surprised as heck that it looked so good - as I am with all my cakes! Granted, I already had a good recipe that I used as a base - my Vegan Lemon Sheet Cake - and a few tweaks (and a doubling of the recipe) was all it took to turn it from petit four to celebration status. I wanted to add another (subtle) layer of flavour this time, so I used a thick coconut milk for the soy, and filled it with raspberry jam sprinkled with shredded coconut meat. Of course, the frosting was coconut based too, so even though the cake is full of vibrant lemon tang, the flavours balance nicely enough and the whole thing isn't too sweet. 

I'd say this is more a "grown up" cake, but then again I'm usually cooking for a crowd of ankle biters (albeit quite adventurous ones). It's tender and moist enough, but stands up to slicing and transportation well... almost like a sheet version of a pound cake. Even the "crust" isn't really noticeable, so you don't need to trim it a whole lot (if at all). Then again, you may just want a "taste test" before the big event, just for quality!

Sharing with Sugar & Slice Sunday

Vegan Lemon-Coconut Cake
Makes 2 9x13” cakes, 1 double-layer slab
20 oz sugar
8 oz non-hydrogenated margarine
¼ cup lemon juice
grated zest of 4 lemons
2 tsp vanilla
1 ½ tbsp lemon extract
24.6 oz flour
2 tbsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp salt
2 cups water
2 cups premium coconut milk (I used Rooster Gold Label)

Filling
¾ - 1 cup pure raspberry jam, warmed slightly until spreadable (I fell in love with this one)
1/3 cup fine-shred coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350F, grease 2 9x13 pans.
2. Cream together sugar and margarine. Add lemon juice, zest, vanilla and lemon extracts and beat well.
3. Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
4. Add dry ingredients in three sections, alternating with the water and coconut milk. Beat well after each addition.
5. Divide between pans and bake 45 minutes, or until cake tests done.
6. Cool completely in the pan before turning out onto a tray, then chill 1 hour before filling.
7. Spread jam evenly over one of the layers and sprinkle with coconut.
8. Place second layer on top, trim the edges and chill again before frosting and decorating.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 335.6
Total Fat: 12.1 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 143.3 mg
Total Carbs: 54.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.7 g
Protein: 3.4 g

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