White Chocolate and Lemon Vegan Loaf Cake

I've been making more bean curry and cauliflower rice today and if you're interested in clean vegan cooking (I'm not a vegan, I just don't eat a lot of meat nowadays) then check out the recipe for this delicious dish below...

I've also been baking my famous cookies which, in my secret recipe, can be made in under an hour! You can make them too with the recipe below...

But today we're talking about the white chocolate and lemon loaf cake. Now, this is perfect for a summer's day and if made correctly (and it's super easy to make) you will get a nice crust around the cake and a moist, soft centre. It has a very similar consistency to a slice of white bread but feels more like cake and the way you do this is by keeping your ingredients at the correct temperatures when you're mixing them together...

Oh yeah, and it's boiling outside so keep hydrated so you don't end up with cramping hands and feet like me.

Ingredients:

• 200g Vegan Butter
• 150g Brown Sugar
• 2x Tbsp Apple Sauce
• 1x Tbsp Vanilla Essence
• 2x Tbsp Lemon Juice
• 150g Vegan White Chocolate
• 200g Self Raising Flour
• 1x Tsp Baking Powder

How To:

1. Preheat your oven to 200/C and line a loaf tin with some greaseproof paper
2. You need to first make sure your butter is chilled, it needs to be cold to combine with the sugar
3. Once you have combined the sugar and butter you need to add the vanilla essence and continue mixing them together
4. Whilst they are now sitting combined, melt your white chocolate in the microwave or in a bowl over a pot of boiling water
5. Make sure your chocolate is hot and fully melted before you combine it with the lemon juice and put both into your mixture
6. Combine with the apple sauce and then sift in your flour and baking powder, folding in to make a cake batter
7. Transfer this to the cake tin and bake for around 30-35 minutes, checking as you go that you're getting that crust over the cake which gives that extra moist texture when you cut it open
8. Once out of the oven, let the cake cool before you try removing it from the tin - this should take about 15-20 minutes
9. Once you've transferred it to a plate, you can add an optional sprinkling of maple syrup for an extra sweetness (I did not do this but I know people who do and think it tastes good)
10. Cut with a sharp knife in order to keep the cake's shape on the plate you're going to eat it from. Remember, it's going to have a hard crust, which is another reason you need to wait for it to cool

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This cake is a huge hit in this weather because of its moisture and ability to be actually quite refreshing. If the moist cake isn't you're thing then instead of melting the chocolate, you can shred it straight into the cake batter or you can use buttons. This will make a normal loaf cake and give the texture more rise.

Another way you can make this is by swapping out the chocolate for two Earl Grey teabags and then adding the zest of the lemon you juiced to create something of a traditional British tea loaf cake. This one is also a huge hit with people in my household and I might be making it again pretty soon.

Another way you can change it up as well is by adding an extra layer of flavour. Grab a handful of fresh mint and chop it up, adding it to the cake batter the same time you add the white chocolate and lemon. This creates such an incredible flavour it might actually be a cake I enjoy.

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I hope you've enjoyed seeing me cook and bake on Facebook today as well. I've just finished cleaning the kitchen and doing all the dishes. I'm now going to sit this one out, chill, drink sparkling water and eat a load of strawberries. It doesn't look like this heat is going away any time soon. Stay safe, stay hydrated and see you soon!