What better excuse to bake than for a friend’s birthday? (As if I ever need an excuse)
This was my first attempt at a vegan bake, only because it had became habit to use eggs in all my traybake and birthday cake endeavours. I was under the illusion that eggs were part of the science behind the batter rising, yet in this instance they weren’t necessary. And I can declare now that this lemon drizzle turned out to be just as moist, succulent and creamy as Mary Berry’s lemon drizzle tray bake – if not more so. On reflection, the whisking and mixing and creaming with butter and eggs and sugar isn’t imperative. Especially not when you can do it just as well with a wooden spoon! So if you fancy knocking up a traybake, but don’t have the fresh ingredients, I’d recommend giving this one a whirl.
This recipe also saved a lot time on cleaning up the equipment afterwards. This was always going to be a bonus, as living in student digs means that I have a titchy sink and my housemates’ dishes cluttering the draining board to contend with! Washing up was done with ten minutes as the batter baked. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.
All credit for the recipe goes to Jacqueline Pye’s blog
http://jacsvegfood.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/lush-lemon-drizzle-traybake-vegan.html
So, for the step-by-step process, I suggest visiting Jacqueline’s blog. Although I altered and amended the actual ingredients to personal taste (aka. swapped for those I had close to hand).
And here were the results!
Step 1: Made a Mess
Equipment I used:
Electronic scales
Chopping board
Sharp knife
Sieve
Mixing bowl
Wooden spoon
Teaspoon
Baking tray
Baking paper
Ingredients:
Approx 225ml Unsweetened almond milk
2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
75ml Olive Oil
250g Plain Flour
200g + 60g Granulated Sugar
Rind of 3 lemons, and juice of 2
2 round tsp Baking Powder
Coconut oil (to grease the baking tray)
Step 2: The Traybake Batter
At this stage the mixture combined to make a pale yellow batter. And although I did fold the flour and baking powder in with the other ingredients, carefully and thoroughly as instructed, some lumps did remain. However, this didn’t turn out to be an issue. I believe that as long as it’s generally well mixed and the majority of the larger lumps have been dealt with, it should turn out fine.
Step 3: Post-bake, Pre-drizzle
You can’t imagine how pleasantly surprised I was at this stage. I’d been half-afraid that I’d open the oven door and that the traybake wouldn’t have risen, that it would still be raw in the centre (although having baked for a higher temperature than specified, and a few minutes more than the advised time), and that it would just be a general failure overall. There was additional pressure, seeing as this lemon drizzle was indeed intended as a birthday present and I didn’t have an alternative gift, in case the bake flopped/was inedible.
Step 4: Post-drizzle
I hummed and hawed over putting the whole 60g granulated sugar + juice of one lemon over the top, as the recipe had specified, thinking that half of the drizzle mixture would suffice. But then I decided to throw caution to the wind and pour the whole lot. I regret nothing. Part of the drizzle sinks through the sponge, whilst what remains hardens on top to form a beautiful, crisp crunch. It really is worth pouring all of it on, as I don’t think this effect would be otherwise achieved.
Step 5: Finished Result
It was a tad crumbly around the corners, when cutting into – but they taste so heavenly that it really doesn’t matter if they aren’t all that neat! As you can see in the photo, they had a lovely golden brown, crisp top, whilst the insides were a soft, cream colour. If you do eat with the eye first, then these little beauties are delicious to behold!
The Write Drunk 