Say goodbye to your Sunday scaries with a vegan olive oil cake for your self-care routine
The top tip to dealing with the Sunday scaries is by putting away your phone and limiting your screen time. We figured, what better way to do this than by getting creative in the kitchen.
Baking is a mindful activity, and has been shown to reduce anxiety and stress, so what better way to be present in the moment and practice some self-care than with a recipe your family and friends will love too.
Baker, Bec Cardwell, who is known for her spectacular party cakes, shares with us a vegan olive oil cake recipe that is simple yet delicious.
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Now this cake is always a favourite if you’re an afternoon tea and cake girl like me. I usually bake this a few hours before cutting into it as it doesn’t require any form of decorating or cooling. Just be sure to add your icing sugar to dust just before serving so it stays nice and fresh for your guests. This cake has a subtle olive oil and zesty lemon flavour, not so sweet so it won’t leave you feeling ill no matter how many slices you devour.
Now it’s very important to know when you add these ingredients, as everyone knows, baking is a science, and the order of ingredients plays an integral role in the texture of the cake and the baking process. Be sure to follow the steps below in order of appearance as it does make a difference on the rise of the cake. We don’t have eggs in this cake, so we need to create a rising agent by order of ingredients.
Last tip, good luck and be sure to enjoy the process. Baking can be quite therapeutic if you remove the expectation of perfectionism. Every cake you make is perfect because YOU made it! HAVE FUN!
BEC WEARS THE – NIRVARNA HANNA CARDIGAN
$229.99
INGREDIENTS
¾ cold pressed olive oil ( feel free to add rosemary infused olive oil if preferred)
¾ plant-based milk – I use oat milk
½ raw sugar
1 squeezed lemon
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 cup flour or alternatively 1 ¼ flour + ¾ almond flour
Icing sugar to dust
METHOD
Preheat oven to 170*C Fan Forced.
Grab your 23cm baking tin and fill the tin with some brown baking paper, pushing it down to create a crater for your beautiful olive oil cake.
SET ASIDE
In a large bowl, combine your wet ingredients with the raw sugar.
Whisk until all your liquid ingredients are homogenised.
It’s important to let the vinegar work with the milk early on so it can activate a decent rise once your baking powder is added with your dry ingredients.
We want a low viscosity mixture meaning a runny based liquid vs a thick gooey liquid (it should look like this once the sugar has dissolved nicely from whisking).
When your mixture looks like one creamy slightly green liquid, you are ready to add your dry ingredients. Whisk until all dry and wet are combined. We don’t want to overmix, just whisk enough to ensure all the ingredients are incorporated. The batter should have a thicker medium level of viscosity now.
Pour your mixture into your cake tin with a spatula.
Pop your cake into the oven for 35-40mins or until the top is golden brown and the cake springs back when touched. Prevent yourself from opening the oven to check your cake, see if you can at least keep it unbothered for 35 mins before opening if the inside of your oven isn’t visible from the outside.
Let it rest for 15 mins before dusting with icing sugar and enjoying with a hot brew of tea!
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This cake cuts into 8-10 decent slices. Enjoy with loved ones.
