Lemon and Coconut Loaf

It has been a while since I have baked, but I figured that it was wrong to have a birthday without a cake. So, I decided to bake myself a little lemon loaf topped with coconut cream buttercream decorated with white chocolate butterflies (if you know me well, you might know that I love butterflies!). 

This is also the first vegan bake I have posted. Now that I am back trying to be a bit of an eco-warrior (I think we ought to ignore the increase in electricity use that occurred today!), this may be the first of many. This recipe does, however, come with a slight warning, which is that the buttercream has not quite been perfected yet so did keep curdling. A quick whisk back together and it is ok, and once on the cake it is best stored in the fridge for the buttercream to harden a little. However, in my opinion this buttercream issue is just a minor issue when you account for how delicious it is (I also warn you that if you lick the spoon/whisk you may end up eating the whole bowl before much ends up on the cake!). But, if you don't fancy trying the coconut buttercream you can always just make a standard buttercream (ratio 2:1 for icing sugar and margarine) and add some lemon zest or coconut extract. Either way, it'll taste great!

Recipe - Makes a 1lb loaf cake

For the sponge:

• 160ml coconut milk
• 1 tsp cider vinegar
• 100g margarine
• 100g caster sugar
• 130g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• Zest 1 lemon

For the drizzle:

• Juice 1 lemon
• 2 tsp icing sugar

For the buttercream frosting:

• 25g margarine
• 70ml coconut cream (chilled and liquid drained)
• 125g icing sugar

For decoration: 

• 30g (dairy free) white chocolate
• Desiccated coconut, toasted, to sprinkle

Firstly, prepare the white chocolate butterfly decorations. Break the chocolate into a microwave-proof bowl and microwave on a low setting until melted. Stir regularly to prevent the chocolate from burning. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with an icing nozzle and pipe butterflies onto baking paper. Leave to set slightly, then bend (you might need to improvise and find something to prop them up against) and leave to set until needed.

Preheat the oven to 160C and grease and line a 1lb loaf tin. Add the cider vinegar to the coconut milk and leave to one side. Cream the margarine and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the lemon zest. Sift in the self-raising flour and bicarbonate of soda and fold in, then slowly add the coconut milk, folding gently to combine. Tip into the loaf tin and bake for 30-40 minutes or until browned and the sponge springs back when lightly pressed.

Remove from the oven and place onto a wire rack. Mix the lemon juice and icing sugar together then use a cocktail stick to poke holes all over the top before drizzling over the lemon juice mixture. Leave to cool completely.

Make the buttercream frosting by creaming the margarine and icing sugar together before gradually adding the coconut cream and whisking in. Tip into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm plain nozzle and pipe onto the top of the sponge. 

Sprinkle the desiccated coconut over the frosting, then peel the chocolate butterflies off the baking paper and place gently on top, then serve.