Lemon and raspberry semolina cake (Vegan)

Makes 8-10 servings

Lemon semolina cake

A simple cake with classic flavours. Great for family gatherings or if you just fancy a sweet treat.
The semolina sponge cake resembles the consistency of a Romanian baked cheesecake (pasca); top it with raspberry jam and whipped cream for an irresistible dessert.  
You could also substitute the raspberry elements with cherry jam and cherries, yum!
Let me know if you try this by tagging @apinchofzing on Instagram.

Ingredients

Sponge cake
100g semolina
100g self raising flour
100g sugar
300ml plain yogurt  (plant based)
75ml oil (rapeseed or sunflower)
1 lemon zested and juiced 
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder 

Whipping cream
270ml Elmlea plant double cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Fruity element
1/3 jar raspberry/cherry jam
A handful of fresh raspberries/cherries

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C. 
2. To make the sponge, use a large bowl to mix the semolina, flour and sugar. Next, mix in the yogurt, oil, lemon zest and lemon juice. Lastly, mix in the vanilla extract and baking powder. 
3. Pour the cake batter in a 10 inch round cake silicon mould . Place on the middle shelf of the preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes.
4. Take the cake out of the oven, remove from the silicon mould and leave to cool down on a wire rack. 
5. To make the whipping cream, add to a bowl the double cream, sugar and vanilla extract and whisk until thick.
6. Once the sponge cake is cold, top with a layer of jam and pipe the whipping cream on top. Decorate with fresh fruit. Store in the fridge.

Thanks for the recipe inspiration go to Exceedingly Vegan.

Milk cake with Chantilly cream and raspberries (Vegan)

Makes 8 servings

Milk cake with Chantilly cream and raspberries

Milk cake with Chantilly cream and raspberries

Milk cake with Chantilly cream and raspberries

Super moist & light milk cake, with sweet vanilla and vibrant raspberries.
An old fashioned treat that tastes like childhood; definitely worth holding on to!

I wasn’t born vegan, so to keep this cake in my life I had to veganise it. I am very pleased with the result and glad to be able to keep this sweet treat in my life. This cake is great served cold on a hot summer day and you only need a few ingredients to make it.  It is a bit like a trifle in terms of consistency: moist, sweet, creamy, with the added textures of fruit and sponge.

Chantilly cream sounds fancy, but don’t be intimidated, it is whipped cream with sugar and vanilla. You can’t go wrong topping the cake with grandma’s raspberry jam and some fresh raspberries.

Such a simple cake, with classic flavours, that should not be forgotten.

Ingredients

Sponge cake
1 tablespoon vegan spread and 1 tablespoon flour for coating the oven dish
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon cider vinegar or lemon juice
2 cups made out of 2 tablespoons fine semolina and the rest plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup sugar
a pinch of salt
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons rapeseed oil

Milk
1 pint (568ml) hot soy milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chantilly cream
270ml Elmlea plant double cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For serving
1 jar raspberry jam
A handful of fresh raspberries

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 190C. Lightly grease and coat in flour a 30cmX23cmX5cm oven proof dish.
2. To make the sponge, mix the soy milk with the the cider vinegar. Leave to curdle and move to the next step.
3. In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients (semolina, flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt).
4. Add in the wet ingredients (curdled milk, oil and vanilla extract) and gently mix together. Don’t overmix.
5. Pour the cake batter in the ovenproof dish and level. Place on the middle shelf of the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.
6. While the cake is baking, heat up the soy milk in a pan with 1 tablespoon of sugar and vanilla extract. Don’t allow the milk to boil, once it starts to shimmer just turn off the flame and set the milk aside.
7. Take the cake out of the oven and while the cake is still hot, pour over the hot milk. The milk will absorb into the cake. Leave the cake to cool down. Cover and chill in the fridge once it’s cold enough to go in the fridge.
8. To make the Chantilly cream, add to a bowl the double cream, sugar and vanilla extract and whisk until thick.
9. Now to the fun part! Decorate the cold milk cake with Chantilly cream, raspberry jam and fresh raspberries. Serve with a large serving spoon in individual bowls. Dig in!

Thanks for the inspiration go our family friend Marcela, who used to make this cake for me as a child.

Milk cake with Chantilly cream and raspberries

Rum babas aka Savarine (Vegan)

Makes 12 cakes

Rum babas aka Savarine (Vegan)

Milk cake with Chantilly cream and raspberries

Makes 8 servings

Milk cake with Chantilly cream and raspberries

Milk cake with Chantilly cream and raspberries

Milk cake with Chantilly cream and raspberries

Super moist & light milk cake, with sweet vanilla and vibrant raspberries.
An old fashioned treat that tastes like childhood; definitely worth holding on to!

This cake is great served cold on a hot summer day and you only need a few ingredients to make it.  It is a bit like a trifle in terms of consistency: moist, sweet, creamy, with the added textures of fruit and sponge.

The secret of the super light sponge is that it is fat free (no butter, oil or substitutes) and instead of the full amount of flour I used some fine semolina, which helps absorb and hold in the milk for a lovely moist cake.

Chantilly cream sounds fancy, but don’t be intimidated, it is whipped cream with sugar and vanilla. You can’t go wrong topping the cake with grandma’s raspberry jam and some fresh raspberries.

Such a simple cake, with classic flavours, that should not be forgotten.

Ingredients

Sponge cake

• 4 eggs
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons fine semolina
• Vanilla extract
• 1 pint (568ml) hot milk

Chantilly cream

• 300ml double cream
• 1.5 tablespoons sugar
• Vanilla extract

For serving

• 1/3^rd jar raspberry jam
• A handful of fresh raspberries

Method
1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 6. Butter and coat in flour a 30cmX23cmX5cm oven proof dish.
2. Separate the egg whites and yolks. Place the egg whites in a large mixer bowl and mix on high speed until white and fluffy. Add 4 tablespoons sugar and mix on high speed until the sugar melts and the egg whites are stiff and shiny. From this point onwards, it is very important not to over mix the cake batter and keep the air in the mix, so I recommend using a balloon whisk. Add the vanilla extract and egg yolks and whisk just enough to incorporate. Add the semolina and sifted flour and gently incorporate in the cake mix. The resulting consistency should be like a light mousse.
3. Pour the cake batter in the ovenproof dish and level. Place on the middle shelf of the preheated oven. Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to gas mark 5 and bake for another 20 minutes, until the sponge is risen and slightly shrunk away from the edge of dish. Do not open the oven door before 20 minutes of baking, as this will cause the cakes to collapse.
4. While the cake is baking, heat up the milk in a pan with 1 tablespoon of sugar and vanilla extract. Don’t allow the milk to boil, once it starts to shimmer just turn off the flame and set the milk aside.
5. Take the cake out of the oven and while the cake is still hot, pour over the hot milk. The milk should immediately absorb into the cake. Leave the cake to cool down. Cover and chill in the fridge once it’s cold enough to go in the fridge.
6. To make the Chantilly cream, add in a bowl the double cream, sugar and vanilla extract and whisk until thick.
7. Now to the fun part! Decorate the cold milk cake with Chantilly cream, raspberry jam and fresh raspberries. Serve with a large serving spoon in individual bowls. Dig in!

Thanks for the inspiration go our family friend Marcela, who used to make this cake for me as a child and still does now every time I visit 🙂