Today I’m sharing with you a recipe by my wonderful friend and gifted foodie Rebecca (you may know her gorgeous account: @thezestylime – if not, I highly recommend you check it out for stunning plant-based food porn!).

Rebecca was sweet enough to surprise me with a slice of this blackberry vanilla cake at my farewell dinner in London, and I was blown away by how delicious and satisfying it was. It’s not very surprising, therefore, that hers was the first cake I baked upon being reunited with an oven, back home in Switzerland! I’ve already made this cake twice – if that’s not love than I don’t know what is! It’s definitely a keeper, and I couldn’t be more pleased to share it with you today:

Blackberry Vanilla Cake – The Zesty Lime

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups gluten-free flour blend
• 1 cup coconut sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 2 tbsp cold water)
• 1 cup oat milk (or other non-dairy milk)
• 3 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup coconut oil (melted)
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries (+ 1/2 cup)

Topping:

• 1/2 cup coconut condensed milk
• 3-5 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180° C.
2. Make a flax egg by combining 1 tbsp milled flaxseed and 2 tbsp cold water in a small bowl. Stir together and let sit to thicken up.
3. Sift flour into a large bowl, then add rest of dry ingredients- coconut sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir together well.
4. Make a crater in the middle of the dry ingredients and whisk in the flax egg, non-dairy milk, vanilla, melted coconut oil, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar.
5. Lightly grease a 7-9 inch pan (round or square, depending on which shape you prefer) with coconut oil and pour the cake batter in.
6. Sprinkle the 2 cups blackberries into the batter, pushing some underneath so they will be baked through the cake and not just on the top. Save the 1/2 cup to sprinkle on top part way through baking if the batter rises to cover all the blackberries.
7. Bake (1 hr 25 mins) on the middle rack of the oven. If using a spring form pan, place a baking tray underneath as it may leak. After approx. 55-60 mins check the cake, since baking times may vary depending on your oven and exact size of pan. Check every 10-15 mins until cake is fully baked.Remove cake from oven and cool for at least 30 mins. *Note* As oven temperatures can vary so much, I recommend checking earlier already – the cake only took 30 minutes to bake in my oven.
8. For the topping combine the coconut condensed milk with the fresh lemon juice and combine. Set aside whilst cake cools. Then serve with lemon drizzle and fresh blackberries.

Happy Baking!

And don’t forget to tag the lovely Rebecca (@thezestylime) if you post your blackberry cakes on social media! 🙂