Before I decided to completely re-do my website, I made the most delish cake. This gluten-free & vegan lemonade cake, is like taking a sip of iced cold lemonade on a hot day. Although it is currently snowing in Montana, I am determined to find the last batch of strawberries at the grocery store.
1. Preheat your oven to 350° F and grease your loaf pan with butter, dust with flour and set aside
2. in a bowl, cream your vegan butter with your sugar
3. next add your lemon juice, vanilla, salt and baking powder until combined
4. alternating 1/2 cups of flour to 1/2 cups of Strawberry Lemonade Kombucha mix those into your butter and sugar mixture until smooth
5. next lemon zest
6. spread evenly into your loaf pan and bake for 45 – 50 minutes
7. steep black tea in hot water for 5 minutes, set aside to let cool
8. once it is cool add your strawberries and ice to the tea and drink
9. let your cake cool completely and mix your glaze
11. once the cake is fully cooled, cover in the glaze, top with strawberries and enjoy!
This cake is moist, soft, and full of bright citrus flavor. I have a family recipe for lemon bread, that recipe is amazing but this cake embodies all things that lemonade has. The bright, the sweet, the tart and the palate dance.
I posted this recipe on my instagram a few days ago and my DMs blew up (thank you all! I love DMs!). A few months ago, I started poking around and asking my sister what her boyfriends favorite cake is, because he is spending his birthday in Oregon with us, while we visit for our family friends wedding! His birthday falls on the day of the wedding and we knew we wanted to celebrate him as well! He is an incredible illustrator, he and me sister are so stinking talented, and I knew that the cake had to be gluten free and vegan so I could also indulge!
When Lily got back to me she said, “Lemon Poppy seed”. My heart started to race because I have never tested this recipe before! Not only do I have to make a bomb-ass lemon poppy seed cake, I have to make it vegan, gluten free and oh transport it to Oregon and have it hold its moisture for 3 days. I had the work handed to me!
I went to the drawing board and started doing my research on different base lemon cake recipes. I found there were a ton of similarities between the 20 recipes both not vegan and vegan. I ended up using the basis of my vanilla cake and adding a lot of lemon juice, lemon zest and a twist of vanilla. I feel the vanilla added depth to the butter flavor and the lemon added the brightness that was needed.
Not only is this cake incredibly quick to prep, it lasts great for a few days unfrosted and wrapped tightly while stored in the fridge which is was BIG goal here! I went ahead and tested this recipe a few times and am confident in saying, this is a winner!
– 1/4 tsp lemon extract *if you dont have add more juice
– juice of 1 whole lemon
– 1 tsp lemon zest
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 2 tsp baking powder
– 1 1/4 cup of non dairy milk
– 2 tbsp poppy seeds
– 1 tsp salt
– 2 cups of gluten free (1:1 flour)
Frosting:
– 1/3 cup of vegan butter
– 1 tbsp of coconut milk
(canned thick coating on the top)
– 2-3 cups of powdered sugar depending on the
moisture in your coconut milk
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 1 tsp salt
Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 350° F and grease your 2, 7″ cake pans or 1, 9″ cake pan, dust with flour and set aside
2. in a bowl, cream your vegan butter with your sugar
3. next add your lemon extract, vanilla, salt and baking powder until combined
4. alternating 1/2 cups of flour to 1/2 cups of non dairy milk mix those into your butter and sugar mixture until smooth
5. next add your lemon juice and lemon zest
6. lastly, add in your poppy seeds and stir until fully folded through your batter
7. evenly fill your 7″ baking rounds with batter and bake for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean
8. while your cakes bake, beat your vegan butter, coconut cream, vanilla extract and salt
9. add in your powdered sugar to create a vegan butter cream, the texture should be thick but spreadable
10. let your cakes cool completely and cut then in half length wise to create 4 layers
11. alternate cake, frosting, cake and frosting to create a layer cake with 3 of the layers
12. using the 4th layer (choose a top piece with the “crust”, using your hands create a cake crumble and set aside
13. after your cake is frosted, add your cake crumble as decoration, top with fresh fruit and enjoy!
Notes
best kept in the fridge covered to stay fresh longer!
Let’s talk about transportation of cakes!
When we were prepping to get married 2 years ago, I had decided to make our own cake. I couldn’t find a cake baker in the area (south west Montana) that had a good, not dry vegan and gluten-free cake so I said, “heck, I will make my own!”. I had to prep this cake at least 2 weeks before our wedding due to travel and the week before prep. The key to keeping cakes fresh is allowing them to cool for hours before wrapping them in plastic wrap. Usually and in my everyday life I avoid plastic at ALL costs. But in this case, you have to have a tight suction on your cakes to suck out air.
Step 1. Bake your cake
Step 2. Allow your cake to FULLY cool (I am talking 3 hours)
Step 3. Wrap each layer that you make individually 4 times with Saran Wrap and TIGHT
Step 4. if you are baking the cake weeks in advance, toss it in the freezer, if you have a few days, toss it in the fridge
Step 5. Transportation: Whether you are flying or driving, get an insulated bag or cooler and fill with ice packs wrapped in towels (we don’t want them leaking condensation on to the cakes), fill the cooler with ice, and your cakes, you can stack them here in their individual wrapping and cover them again with ice packs in towels
Step 6. Upon arrival at your first or final destination, put cakes immediately into the fridge for an event within the next 3 days or the freezer for an event in the next week
*allow your cakes to thaw in the fridge for 1 day prior to your event – may need more per cake size
Step 7. Pull out your chilled cake rounds from the fridge and start frosting (I like to frost a cold cake to avoid crumbs
*if you are using a pound style cake or a denser cake, I suggest a simple syrup cake soak on each layer before frosting to bring back moisture
Step 8. Frost your cake and enjoy!
Now that I figured out how to transport this cake, I wanted to share it with you! Feel free to top the cake with fresh berries, I choose strawberries, but blackberries, blueberries and raspberries will work beautifully. Enjoy with a friend and tag me in your posts! I love seeing the creations you make!
Spring is one of my favorite seasons! I’m a spring babies (yay for Aries!)! Ever since I was a kid, March marked the first official day of Spring in my eyes!
A spring lover, citrus enthusiast and very much into this spring-tini recipe! Spring signifies more of a refresh to me than the new year. There is something so inviting about sitting outside when the weather starts to get nice again, revisiting all the familiarity of the warm weather just a year earlier and listening to the birds chirp in their happiness that just warms my soul.
I talk a lot on my instagram and my blogs for Health-Ade about finding happiness within. The idea of personal motivation and growth is something that I push myself to feel daily. When I feel the warmth of the sun peeking out behind clouds after a long and cold winter, the self love and positively that got me through the grey winter shines light on the truth of my goals.
As a true spring lover, I created the freshest tasting Spring-tini to get those winter blues in the past! With the help of arguably one of the most refreshing flavors from Health-Ade, the Blood Orange Carrot, this Spring-tini makes any party better! Have no fear! If you don’t drink alcohol there is a mocktail recipe as well!
perfect cocktail for a night on the porch enjoying the spring weather!
Ingredients
– 1 full bottle of blood orange carrot Health-Ade Kombucha
– 1 handful of ice
– 6oz of tequila
– juice from 1 lime
– juice from 1 blood orange
– 1 tsp agave nectar
Instructions
1. in a cocktail shaker add all your ingredients together including your ice
2. gently shake for about 30 seconds
* note kombucha does have a light bubble so don’t screw your shaker top on super tight
3. pour into 3 coupe glasses and enjoy with a garnish of blood orange
4. drink responsibly and enjoy!
Notes
*can omit tequila for a non-alcoholic version, please drink responsibly
This recipe is the perfect afternoon backyard party sip to take you right into Spring! When I created this recipe, I wanted to create the full embodiment of what this season means. The transition of new life with tulips blooming, the brightness of the sun, baby animals being born. The season of life and energy, Spring is about new chapters, fresh starts and even better the transition of Winter produce of citrus with the bright colors of flowers and blossoms! Bring brightness into your spring, with some pep in your step!
Step aside Winter, and welcome Spring with the most festive Spring cocktail out there! Tag me in your posts so I can see how you are welcoming Spring into your life! And always, stay positive, stay happy and enjoy some Health-Ade!
WOW! Guys this recipe name is a mouthful, but let’s be honest…after one bite of this recipe you will be keeping your mouthful with this delicious treat! That was an easy dad joke I just had to use!
I am a huge fan of granola – I mean I love granola! I use to eat it by the bowl full with almond milk, coconut yogurt really anything, and then the day came where I found out that granola is deep fried. YUCK. Don’t get me wrong here, I am all about a 80% healthy 20% indulgent diet, but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why you had to deep fry granola when baking it tastes better anyway!
I had a friend in college that use to make her own granola and I started helping her because it was a win win. I spent time with my friend and got to pick through delicious granola bite by bite every weekend. I found the perfect ratio granola a few years ago that I make at least once every two weeks and ALWAYS keep it on hand! This granola lead me down the path to chia pudding…see guys my story circles back! Chia pudding. If you haven’t heard of it before, you might be thinking to yourself “what in the heck is this weird thing? And wait you eat it for breakfast but it’s a pudding?”
YES to all of the above!
Essentially, when you take chia seeds and soak them, they create almost a gelatin outer orb around the seed itself. If you soak enough chia seeds in a delicious combination of coconut milk and kombucha, you get the best dang breakfast that keeps you full of healthy fat from the coconut, fiber from the chia seeds and probiotics from the kombucha. When I was working in an office, I would premake a batch for the week, set them into tupperware and viola perfect easy healthy breakfast!
As we embrace August we embrace the start of school and the crazy holiday season (on the horizon if you’re an adult!) and with that comes the need for easy meals, make ahead snacks and mindlessly healthy options! Although oatmeal is a delicious option, it’s still toasty in August and this chia pudding is a perfect cool alternative for those hot mornings heading out the door for school or work!
Not only will you stay full until lunch but you will also be 100% satisfied. My chia pudding is just the perfect balance of sweet and soft that compliments the crunchy granola topper! Add a drizzle of honey or maple syrup for extra sweetness if you so desire and enjoy your morning meal – it’s seriously the most important meal and this one is full of delicious goodies!
Whether you are a graduate, mom, dad, nanny or have no affiliation with school, the school year is upon us and we all have to start out the fall on a great food! Try making this today and tag me in your pictures so I can share a bite from afar with you!
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