Oh lilacs how I love thee so. Yes they smell heavenly but did you know you can also eat these beautiful blooms?! Yassss! Last year I made lilac infused water with the blooms growing in our yard at the time. Sadly there’s no lilac trees at our new home, but there is a thing called foraging, hehehe. Obviously try to find them growing feral in public spaces or abandoned lots, not in your neighbors yards (but sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do, am i right?)
So I wanted to let you about a little party I’m throwing on instagram this week… Celebrating reaching 40k followers and in return featuring some new friends and old ones too on my account. Look for the #fareisle40K tag to see how to enter. I hope you’ll join in. I love meeting all my kindreds out there on the interwebs.
Strawberry season is soon here and I can’t wait to get picking with iley in tow. Filling our cheeks with sweet juicy sun warmed strawberries and then making some yummy creations with them at home. To quote our most recent dinner clients, “life is good, better than we deserve”. Savor if folks, savor every last bit.
Video right below, and recipe after the photos….
Lilac Lemon {Mini} Cake
Yield 1 3-layer 4" cake or 8" cake
Lilacs don't have a strong flavor, but their beauty makes up for that, and means they can go with most everything from sweets to salads without overpowering the dish. So this simple lemon olive cake was begging to be adorned with these sweet smelling petals. I also threw some into the batter like confetti, although their pretty purple color faded when baked. This is a mini cake, but it's layered so basically it's the same amount as one 8" cake. If you want to make a full two layer cake just double the recipe.
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup flour (I used whole heirloom wheat flour-simlar to whole wheat pastry flour)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon good salt (himalayan pink salt for instance)
- 1/2 cup sugar (i used rapadaura)
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup non-dairy unsweetened yogurt
- zest of one lemon
- 2-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/4 teaspoon ground vanilla bean
Whipped Coconut Cream Frosting
- 1/2 cup cold coconut cream (so delicious culinary coconut works well)
- 1-2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar
- optional: finely grated zest from 1 lemon
Instructions
Prepare the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350˚F. Grease and flour 3 mini (4") spring-form cake pans. Or you can make one 8" round cake instead.
- Sift dry ingredients together into a bowl. Whisk wet ingredients together in a measuring cup. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir until combined. Fold in a handful of fresh lilac flowers if you wish.
- Divide batter evenly between cake pans. Bake on middle rack for 20-25 minutes until cakes are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean from the center of cake. If making an 8" cake bake for 25-30 minutes.
Prepare the Frosting;
- Whip coconut cream and sugar (and lemon zest optionally) into soft peaks.
- Spread whipped coconut cream between each layer of cake and on the top, placing lilac flowers on top of cream between each layer as well.
- For a "naked" cake look spread a thin layer of the cream around the sides of the cake, creating a crumb coat.
- Arrange fresh lilac flowers on the top of cake and around the base. Enjoy!
Notes
Double recipe to make a 2-layer 8" round cake.
Cake Decorating Tips: Put a dab of the frosting on the cake plate first to keep the cake in place. Put wax paper under the cake around the edges to catch dripping frosting from messing up the cake plate.
My method for homemade coconut cream can be found here. I've found that refrigerated So Delicious brand culinary coconut milk (full fat) becomes solid and the cream does not separate, it's like it's all cream, and it whips up nicely. You can also refrigerate full fat canned coconut milk and skim off the cream the following day.
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Tag @fareisle on Instagram and hashtag it #fareisle.
Handmade wares used in the post: Arabesque mixing bowl by Lee Wolfe Pottery, Pear wood stirring spoon by Sweet Gum Co., Wood icing spatula used in video by Facture Goods.
Oh my this looks and sounds awesome!
Thank Annie!!! xx Kaity
Gorgeous! Love this!!
Thank you Eden!!!
Hi! What is coconut cream? Are you referring to coconut milk w/ the cream separated in the can or something else?
Thanks! It looks lovely.
Hi Crystine! Thanks for your question. Yes, it’s the cream that comes to the top of coconut milk when it is refrigerated. I will edit the post to explain it better. I’ve detailed the process in previous posts but forgot to outline it here. Also, I’ve recently found so delicious (brand) culinary coconut milk (full fat) becomes solid when refrigerated, so I didn’t have to skim off the cream. I think it might be because of the guar gum addition, but it whips up beautifully. Thanks again! xx Kaity
This cake is absolutely gorgeous! I can’t wait to make something with the Lilacs in my garden! Your recipe has inspired me!
Wonderful to hear Hannah! Thank you! xx Kaity
I used this recipe as cupcakes and subbed applesauce for the yogurt since I do not care for it. The cupcakes were the perfect texture, moisture, and the taste was divine! Hands down, this is my favorite non-chocolate cake recipe so far! I’m not even vegan, but I love to explore vegan recipes, especially when it comes to baked goodies. Excellent recipe! Do not hesitate to make this. <3
Thank you so much for reading and for trying the recipe and for sharing your results with the apple sauce sub! So glad you liked it and that it can work with apple sauce too! Whoot Whoot! xx Kaity