I know it’s not blueberry season, but I baked this cake in late August and then a few things got in the way and I never published it. But this cake is so good that I don’t want you to miss out on it. It’s easy to make, super tasty and if you need a vegan version of this – then you just need to follow Vanessa’s version that uses coconut yogurt.
Around here bake sales are starting again, so this would be a great contribution. I also find that baking with frozen blueberries works really well.
My kids love this cake and said if I added a few poppy seeds it would be like the lemon cake at Starbucks. This one is healthier I’m sure. There’s tofu in it, which I thought was the weirdest thing when I first read the ingredients. Have you ever added tofu to your cakes?
I froze part of this cake and ate it plain later on. It tasted just as great. I can also imagine using black berries, or maybe pomegranate as a topping to switch it up – or maybe I should add some poppy seeds and channel Elaine on Seinfeld.
I baked this in two mini loaf pans. When using a bundt pan, make sure it's small enough (mine was too big)
Ingredients
- Cake Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon of lemon zest
- 1/2 cup yogurt
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1/2 cup silken tofu, blended
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- Lemon Syrup:
- 1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- Blueberry Topping:
- 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries, thawed
- Pinch salt
- Sugar to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan with cooking spray. Dust the inside of the pan with flour. Over the sink, knock the flour around until the inside of the pan has a thin coat of flour. Set aside.
- In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest in a bowl. Mix to combine (a fork works well) and set aside.
- Using a blender or food processor, blend tofu until smooth. In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, blended tofu, and oil until the batter is smooth. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture. I like to do this in two batches. It might be a little oily at first, but it will come together. The batter will be thick-almost like a muffin batter. Transfer the batter into your prepared pan, taking care to see that the mixture is evenly distributed throughout, and place in the preheated oven to bake. When a thin metal tester placed into the center of a cake comes out clean, the cake is done (about 25 – 30 minutes and it reached a golden color).
- While the cake bakes, prepare the lemon syrup and berry topping. To prepare the lemon syrup, simply combine the lemon juice and powdered sugar in a small bowl. A fork works well. The berries are also simple to prepare. Remove any leftover tofu from the food processor, thoroughly rinse and dry. Add ½ cup of the blueberries with a pinch of salt and sugar. Blitz the blueberries in a food processor until a puree is formed. In a medium sized bowl, combine the puree with remaining whole berries, fold until well integrated.
- When the cake is done, remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack for about 5-10 minutes. Then remove the cake from its pan by inverting it onto a plate and flip back upright.
- While the cake is still warm, slowly spoon the syrup onto the cake. Some of the syrup will be absorbed by the cake and some will not. You can serve this cake at room temperature or warm. To serve, top the sliced cake with generous dollop of the blueberry mixture.
Notes
The original recipe comes from Molly Wizenberg. Vanessa's version is vegan by using coconut yogurt instead of the regular yogurt. This cake freezes well and can be made with any berry topping or served plain
