Welcome to Just Something Fancy!
Finally I start the infamous blogging journey. If you know me, then you know I’ve only been talking about doing this for maybe 5 years. Every time I thought about it, I would come up with excuses why it wasn’t the right time.
”I don’t have enough content ready for posting.”
“I don’t have enough time to commit to this seriously.”
The best advice I can give is just to do it. Jump in head first and just…get started. The rest of it will come.
So here I am. What’s good? lol
Basically, I’m a part of a few vegan baking groups on Facebook and I always get a lot of requests for my recipes when I post pictures of my bakes. When I started this journey, I didn’t think my recipes, (or what I considered my sanity hobby) would amount to much, but since I get so many requests I figured there might be something to this.
This recipe is one of my recently conceived favorites. I wanted to get a base recipe down for the most popular kinds of cake that people might ask me for : Vanilla, Chocolate, Spiced, Gluten-Free, and Lemon.
Today. We’re talking about lemons.
Look at those layers, though.
This cake is fluffy and tart in the best way from the copious amounts of lemon zest and the punchy addition of lemon curd. It’s amazing and the blueberries only add more deliciousness.
So amazing that my best friend came over to my house, tried a single piece, and when she left, absconded with the entirety of what remained.
I had a little help with the components of this cake from some pretty cool bakers and cooks.
For this cake, I used an awesome buttercream recipe from Cake Whiz (linked below) for Ermine Frosting or “Flour Buttercream.”
It’s silky, easy to work with and deliciously light and fluffy. I doubled her recipe and added 1/2 cup lemon curd and 1 tsp of lemon emulsion. I also used Americolor Food Gels to tint the frosting yellow.
For the Lemon Curd, I had to visit my usual go-to Minimalist Baker. Her recipe for lemon curd is simple and not too sweet which makes it the perfect starting point for curd that will be used in other recipes.
Both of those recipes are linked below.
It’s a truly amazing cake and I hope you guys enjoy it!
Lemon Blueberry Cake
Yield: 3 6-inch Cakes
Ingredients for the Lemon Cake:
325g Cake Flour
225g Granulated Sugar
2 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/4 Cup Canned Coconut Milk*
1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
2 tsp Vanilla Extract ( I used Lor Ann Butter Vanilla Emulsion)
1 tsp Lemon Emulsion (Lor Ann brand)
1 1/2 Tbsp Lemon Zest
226g Vegan Butter (softened)
1 Tbsp Follow Your Heart Vegan Egg Powder*
Notes:
*Almond milk will work in a pinch, but canned coconut is the best option. Have not tried with any other non-dairy milks.
*Follow Your Heart Vegan Egg is my cake savior. When I baked and developed my cake recipes at my previous home, I was determined not to use any expensive/hard to find additions in my recipes. My oven at my new place is just a bit temperamental and I find the Vegan Egg adds just that extra bit of stability to keep the cake together.
TLDR: Feel free to leave it out if you don’t have it on hand.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Brush the inside of 3 six inch cake pans with the nonstick medium of your choice ( I use the bakery pan grease recipe from Gretchen Price’s cookbook).
Measure and weigh all the ingredients and set aside.
Whisk together vinegar and milk and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
In a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy and almost doubled in size (about 4 minutes). A stand mixer can also be used for faster results.
While continuing to mix, slowly stream milk and vinegar mix into the creamed butter and sugar. Ensure that the milk is being fully incorporated by the mixer or the batter may curdle.*
Add Vanilla, Lemon Emulsion, and Lemon zest to the butter. Mix until uniform.
Sift together all dry ingredients (including Vegan Egg) and in three parts, add them to the wet ingredients making sure to fully incorporate each time.
Once all the dry ingredients are added, beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes. If using stand mixer, mix on medium-low speed for no more than one minute. Be mindful not to over mix!
Divide batter equally between the three pans, tapping gently on the counter 2-3 times to release any large air bubbles.
Bake for 22 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Place cakes into the freezer for 1 hour before beginning to decorate. This is an optional step, but I find really cold cakes are nicer and easier to handle and this cake is a bit on the delicate side.
When stacking and filling the cake, pipe a circle of butter cream onto the outer edge of each layer and fill the interior with alternating layers of lemon curd and blueberry compote.
Finish and decorate the cake as you like with the remaining buttercream!
*If the mixture curdles, scoop out a 1/4 cup from the bowl and warm it in the microwave for 15 seconds. Slowly stream the melted butter into the curdled batter while mixing, and it should come back together.
Blueberry Compote
Yield: About 3/4 Cup Compote
Ingredients for the Blueberry Compote:
~100g Fresh Blueberries
3 Tbsp Lemon Curd
1 Tbsp Lemon Zest
100g Granulated Sugar
1/4 cup Water
1 Tbsp Cornstarch (divided in two)
Juice of half a small lemon
Additional water as needed
Instructions
Add Blueberries, lemon curd, lemon zest, sugar, water, and lemon juice to a saucepan over medium low heat.
In a small bowl make a slurry with one half of the cornstarch and water. Use just enough water to get the cornstarch to a pourable consistency. Whisk well to ensure there are no lumps.
Add the slurry the pan with the blueberries and stir well with a rubber spatula.
Continue heating on the stove until blueberries have cooked down and the mixture has started to thicken. If it’s too thick, add more water 1 tbsp at at time. If it’s too thin, make another slurry with the remaining 1/2 tbsp cornstarch and add to reach desired consistency.
Remove from heat and cool completely. For a quick chill, place the compote in stainless steel bowl and place in the freezer for 15 minutes, stirring once halfway through.
Lemon Curd Filling
Yield: About 1 cup Filling
Ingredients for the Lemon Curd Filling:
1/2 Cup Canned Coconut Cream*
1/8 tsp Xanthan Gum
100g Powdered Sugar
1/2 Cup Lemon Curd (I used the recipe from Minimalist Baker)
1 Tbsp Lemon Zest
Instructions
In a medium bowl, whip coconut cream, xanthan gum, and powdered sugar until combined. Chill for at least 2 hours.
Add lemon curd and zest and mix until well combined.
*Coconut milk can work here but it will not be as luscious. Whatever you use must come from a can. The stuff in the cartons is far too thin to hold up in this recipe.
Recipes I Used/Modified:
