In December my cousin, Roshan, picked me a laundry basket of fresh lemons from his garden. I giggled almost involuntary from excitement because I knew in a blink that the zest would make the perfect cake.

For weeks I have been trying to create a simple vanilla sponge with various flours. This recipe is very adaptable but it works best with flour, oat and Spelt flour. The batter is very hardy and you can also add coconut, chocolate chips, or orange zest and fresh thyme to your it. I’ve tried them all and each time my cake came out great.

Top tip - Don’t try this recipe with Almond or Gluten-Free flour. Both flours yield cakes that are not edible. This cake will stay fresh for up to six days in a airtight container.

Ingredients

2 cups of Spelt flour/Flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup Xylitol

3/4 cup milk alternative (I used Soya milk)

1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used Woolies Vegan Coconut yogurt) or applesauce

1/4 cup of oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

zest of three lemons

Method

1. Whisk all the dry ingredients together.

2. Whisk all the wet ingredients together.

3. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients in there. Mix with a wooden spoon until there are no bubbles.

4. Gently fold in the lemon zest.

5. Pour into a small loaf tin/sheet pan/round pan and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees for 55 minutes. Not a minute less or else the cake will be gluggy.

For the icing, add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar (you can use Xylitol for a sugar-free icing but I didn’t) and 1 tbsp milk of your choice to a mug. Mix it with a spoon and drizzle it over your cake when it’s cool.