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Lavender & Vanilla Buttercream Cake

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Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Resting time 2 hours 30 minutes
Course Dessert

Ingredients
  

Vanilla Cake

  • 2 cups plant milk of choice (oat, soy, almond etc).
  • 2 tbs white vinegar
  • 3 cups all purpose flour, sifted
  • 1.5 cups granulated sugar (I used Wholesome Organic golden sugar)
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • pinch of salt
  • 2/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 tbsp vanilla extract

Jam filling

  • 1 jar black currant jam (I used MacKay’s Blueberry & Blackcurrant Preserve which happens to be vegan)

Vanilla Buttercream Icing

  • 1 cup vegan butter, softened to room temperature (I used Earth Balance)
  • 3 cups powdered sugar (I used Wholesome Organic)
  • 2-3 tbsp unsweetened non-dairy milk
  • 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

Cake Toppings

  • 2-3 tbsp culinary dried lavender
  • fresh blackberries
  • sprig of thyme

Instructions
 

Vanilla Cake

  • Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C ). Grease and line two 8-inch cake pans with baking or parchment paper.
  • Add together almond milk and vinegar and set aside to curdle for 5 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk briefly.
  • Make a well in the middle of your dry ingredients. Add oil, vanilla and all the milk. Whisk until combined. Your cake batter will appear thin – this is ok.
  • Transfer batter evenly into two cake pans and place in the oven. Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave 2-4 hours to cool (or in the fridge overnight, with each cake individually wrapped in plastic wrap).

Jam layer

  • If your cakes came out with a bulging surface, using a knife, trim the top of one cake to even surface.
  • Once cooled, add a layer of jam filling to the trimmed cake. You can choose to omit the jam, or add a layer of icing here instead. Then, carefully place your second cake on top.

Vanilla Buttercream Icing

  • To make your icing, beat the softened vegan butter with an electric mixer until creamy. The vegan butter MUST be softened, but not melted. If it's melted at all, the frosting won't turn out and will be too runny.
  • Gradually add the powdered sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time, until all the powdered sugar is mixed in.
  • With the mixer on low-medium speed, add the non-dairy milk, 1 tablespoon at a time. Add the vanilla as well, and increase the speed to high. Beat for about 30 seconds, until light and fluffy.
    (If the frosting seems too thick, you can add more non-dairy milk, 1 tablespoon at a time. If the frosting is too thin and runny, simply add more powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time until the desired consistency is reached).
  • Icing your cake.
    (You can store the frosting in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks. It will firm up when it's cold, so let it soften at room temperature a bit before frosting a cake or cupcakes with it).

Decorating your cake

  • Prior to serving, sprinkle the cake with a generous amount of dried lavender.
  • Top your cake with fresh blackberries and a sprig of thyme. (Adding your fruit too far ahead of time will make your cake soggy, so take care to add them just before presenting and cutting your cake).

    Notes

     
    • Keep in mind cakes have to cool completely (2-3 hours) before icing them. It's sometimes best to make your cake the day before you need it and simply icing and decorate it then next day.
    • Or, you can choose to chill it in the fridge to hurry the cooling process but it will slightly effect the consistency of your cake. 
    Keyword Cake, Lavender, Plant-Based, Vanilla cake, Vanilla icing, Vegan, Vegan cake