Orange and rosemary vegan cake

This recipe I adapted from the one I got from CNM by Emma Carter. It’s a lovely cake for my vegan friends – pretty delicate taste, very moist on the inside and with a lovely little polenta crust on the outside. The version below is not gluten free, but you can easily make it so by using a different flour (I will try it with coconut flour and no sugar at some point soon, and let you know if it works out!). Enjoy!

For the cake:

1.5 cups flour (I used spelt)
1 cup fine polenta
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1/2 cup oat milk
6 tbsp warm water
2 tbsp ground flaxseed
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup coconut sugar (could try without!)
1/2 cup coconut oil, softened
The juice of one medium orange
The zest of a medium orange
A pinch of salt

For the drizzle topping:

2 tbsp fresh orange juice
1 tsp fresh rosemary
1/2 tbsp maple or agave syrup

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C
• Line a 6-inch cake tin with baking paper or use a silicone cake mould
• Mix the polenta and flour together in a large bow, adding the bicarbonate, salt and rosemary. Stir to combine.
• Separately mix the ground flaxseed with the warm water and stir. Set aside to gel.
• Mix the coconut sugar and coconut oil (soft or liquified) in a bowl using a blender until it becomes creamy. Add the flax gel and mix until smooth.
• Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients along with the vanilla extract.
• Add the orange zest and juice and mix until smooth.
• Slowly add the oat milk into the bowl, a little at a time, until you have a smooth cake batter. You might not need all of it.
• Spoon the batter into the cake tin. Transfer to the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes until golden and a skewer comes out clean.
• Whilst the cake is baking, whisk together the drizzle ingredients.
• Remove the cooked cake from the oven and leave to cool a little.
• Skewer some holes through the surface of the cake whilst still warm, then pour the drizzle mixture over the top.

I hope you’ll love this, but let me know how you get on! 🙂