Vegan Orange Cake

Over the summer, my husband and I took a trip to New York City. One of my very favorite things of the whole trip was visiting a restaurant called Alice's Tea Cup. I've written about it before, so I won't go through all of the details again, but it truly was one of the most charming and quirky dining experiences that I've ever had.

I bought the cookbook, and I haven't had the chance to make as many recipes from it as I would have liked, but I finally had the opportunity. About a month ago, a family member invited us over for dinner and requested a non-dairy dessert. That got my mind turning because just about everything I make involves copious amounts of butter or heavy whipping cream. Then, I remembered my trusty cook book and that there were some vegan recipes inside. I found the Vegan Orange Cake, and I chose it because it didn't call for soy anything, and I had everything (except for the oranges) on hand.

This cake was so tasty; it was moist and crumbly. I don't know what vegan food is supposed to taste like, but if it all tasted this good, I think I could make the switch. Don't let the title fool you if you think you are a carnivore to the core... I'm pretty sure that you'll be able to eat at least one piece of this.

Image Source

I hope you enjoy; here's the recipe:

Vegan Orange CakeFrom: Alice's Tea Cup

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups turbinado sugar
1 1/2 ts. baking soda
3/4 ts. kosher salt
1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
1 1/2 Tb. freshly grated orange zest
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 TB. apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 ts. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a deep 8-inch round, non-stick cake pan with cooking spray. (I used a spring form pan.) (If your pan is not non-stick, coat it with cooking spray, and line the bottom with parchment paper. This batter is extremely sticky!)
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the orange juice and zest, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Use a mixer and add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix until the batter is completely smooth.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, and bake for 25-30 minutes (mine took almost 50 minutes...maybe a touch longer. After 25 minutes, I covered mine with aluminum foil so it would brown too much. I'm not sure why there was such a drastic time difference, but all turned out well. JUST BE SURE TO WATCH IT CAREFULLY!!!)
5. Transfer the cake, still in the pan, to a wire rack to cool. When it is cool, carefully remove the cake from the pan and place it on a cake plate or stand.

Orange Glaze

Ingredients:

1 Tb. freshly grated orange zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Whisk all of the ingredients together in a medium bowl until the consistency is thick and smooth. Cover until ready to use.
2. Slowly pour the glaze onto the center of the cake so that it spreads evenly across the top and down the sides, covering the cake. Let the cake stand for at least 30 minutes to give the glaze a chance to set.

You can decorate the top with some fresh orange slices... perfection!