Dairy-free lemon cake. This is a tale of when humble silken tofu saved the day.
Normally, tofu is maligned as a bland, tasteless, oddly textured heavy lifter for vegans, but really, silken tofu is amazingly versatile. It's delightful in both sweet and savory applications, and it soaks up whatever flavors it's paired with, while still delivering a delightful tofu-y punch.
Having grown up eating all manner of silken tofu preparations, I, of course, know this. But I didn't REALLY know the full potential of silken tofu until one day a couple years back when an intense dessert craving struck. I was sitting in my college apartment, pondering ways to procrastinate when my mind decided that I could only be happy and continue on living if I had lemon cake in my life. Specifically, Ina Garten's Lemon Yogurt Cake.
I rifled through my refrigerator and pantry for the ingredients, and lo and behold, I had everything…! Well almost everything. Alas, yogurt was sadly absent from my fridge.
My budget-conscious college mind strained, then drove me to Google to search for yogurt substitutions. One innocent suggestion by a random netizen included silken tofu. I pounced for the carton languishing at the back of the fridge.
And so this dairy-free lemon cake was born. The cake was sweet, lemony, moist, and had a deliciously dense crumb. The lemon juice and zest covered up any remaining "tofu" flavor, and miracle of miracles, I was eating a completely delicious lemon cake that contained no dairy whatsoever–perfect for those of us who are less accommodating of dairy (milk f*rts are real, folks) or are lactose-intolerant!
Silken tofu baked goods, guys. It's a thing, and you need it in your life starting now.
For the cake:
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup silken tofu, whisked until smooth
- 1⅓ cups sugar
- 3 extra-large eggs
- zest of 2 lemons
- 2½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup vegetable oil
For the glaze:
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 lemon)
Preheat your oven to 350F. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl, and whisk all the dry ingredients together.
In a separate bowl, whisk your block of silken tofu until the tofu is thoroughly broken up. Measure out 1 cup, and add it to a large bowl along with the sugar, eggs, lemon zest, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and vanilla extract. (If you're scratching your head about what to do with the rest of the tofu, ask us for ideas in the comments! You can also check out this recipe!)
Next, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
Then fold in the vegetable oil…
Until thoroughly combined.
Prepare a standard 9" loaf pan by lining it with parchment paper, then greasing the parchment paper with your choice of shortening or cooking spray. Pour the batter into the loaf pan, and tap it on your counter to get rid of any air bubbles.
Bake the cake for 75-85 minutes (ours took 85 minutes). It takes a bit longer, because the tofu doesn't behave in the same way as the standard yogurt does. Your patience will be rewarded! If you notice your cake starting to look a bit dark, tent it with foil.
When a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake emerges clean, the cake is ready. Let cool for 15 minutes on the counter before removing the cake from the pan and allowing to cool on a wire-rack completely. For best results, once the cake is completely cooled, cover with plastic wrap or a cake dome, and allow to sit overnight. This allows the cake to really absorb moisture and become nice and shiny, like this:
Believe me, it's worth the wait.
Make the glaze by combining the powdered sugar with the lemon juice. Stir thoroughly and pour slowly over the cake to completely cover it.
You can reserve some to serve alongside the cake, if that suits your fancy, too!
Dairy-Free Lemon Cake
Prep time
15 mins
Cook time
85 mins
Total time
1 hour 40 mins
Serves: 1 9-inch loaf
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup silken tofu, whisked until smooth
- 1⅓ cups sugar
- 3 extra-large eggs
- zest of 2 lemons
- 2½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup vegetable oil
For the glaze:
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 lemon)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl, and whisk all the dry ingredients together.
- In a separate bowl, whisk your block of silken tofu until the tofu is thoroughly broken up. Measure out 1 cup, and add it to a large bowl along with the sugar, eggs, lemon zest, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
- Next, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Then fold in the vegetable oil until thoroughly combined.
- Prepare a standard 9" loaf pan by lining it with parchment paper, then greasing the parchment paper with your choice of shortening or cooking spray. Pour the batter into the loaf pan, and tap it on your counter to get rid of any air bubbles.
- Bake the cake for 75-85 minutes (ours took 85 minutes). It takes a bit longer, because the tofu doesn't behave in the same way as the standard yogurt does. Your patience will be rewarded! If you notice your cake starting to look a bit dark, tent it with foil.
- When a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake emerges clean, the cake is ready. Let cool for 15 minutes on the counter before removing the cake from the pan and allowing to cool on a wire-rack completely. For best results, once the cake is completely cooled, cover with plastic wrap or a cake dome, and allow to sit overnight. This allows the cake to really absorb moisture.
- When the cake is completely cooled, make the glaze by combining the powdered sugar with the lemon juice. Stir thoroughly and pour slowly over the cake to completely cover it. You can reserve some to serve alongside the cake, if that suits your fancy, too!
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