Vegan Lemon Bundt Cake

Sugar. My sweet, sweet, oh-so unhealthy but sinfully delicious friend. When I am stressed, you offer me a moist warm cookie to get lost in. When I feel moody and frumpy, there you are with rich chocolate kisses. When I have suffered a heart ache, you serve me up a pint of creamy cold ice cream. When my friends and family are over, you entertain their taste buds with dazzling cakes and pies. For every birthday, holiday, winning little league team, broken heart, romantic date, and countless other memorable times in our lives; sugar has been there.

For years, I must admit, chocolate was my go-to sweet treat. But as I have ran into my adult years, I find myself gravitating more and more towards desserts that feature lemon, lime, and other tart flavors as their main attraction. Key-lime pie, lemon meringue pie, lemon cookies, lemon drops, lime sorbet, and lemon cake. With the tangy, mouth-watering citrus to balance out the sweet sugar base of the dessert, it is a flavor that brings my taste buds to life.

The recipe I am posting today is one for vegan lemon bundt cake. When I first came across the recipe in the book "The Joy of Vegan Baking" I found that the cake seriously lacked enough lemon flavor and, because of it's use of maple syrup in the recipe, made it taste oddly of lemon pancakes. So I altered the recipe to my liking and the recipe below is what I came up with. I found it to be moist, dense, and yet surprisingly light in flavor. I hope you enjoy!

Lemon Sauce

Ingredients:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup boiling water
zest and juice from 2 lemons

In a large saucepan, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Gradually stir in the boiling water, and simmer over low heat until thick, stirring occasionally. Stir in the lemon zest and juice, and remove from the heat. Serve warm or at room temperature over cake.

Vegan Lemon Bundt Cake

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
zest of 2 lemons
6 teaspoons Ener-G Egg replacer (equivalent of 4 eggs)
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup lemon sauce*
1/2 cup canola (or vegetable) oil
1/2 cup nondairy milk
1 tablespoon lemon extract
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 recipe lemon sauce*

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a Bundt pan.

In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, making soda, salt, and lemon zest until well combined.

In a medium bowl mix the egg replacement powder with the water until frothy (about 2 minutes). Add the lemon juice, lemon sauce, canola (or vegetable) oil, milk, and lemon and vanilla extracts, and blend again for another minute.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and pulls away from the edges of the pan. Let cool completely before unmolding. Serve with lemon sauce.