Vanilla olive oil cake (vegan)

A simple, very easy to make vanilla cake that happens to be vegan! Use extra light tasting olive oil for this recipe, it will ensure the richness of texture without an overpowering flavor.

Ingredients

For the cake

- 2 1/4 cups flour

- 1 1/2 cups sugar (organic)

- 1 Tablespoon baking powder

- 1 teaspoon baking soda

- a pinch of salt

- 1 1/2 cups almond milk

- 3/4 cups extra light olive oil

- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

- 3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

For the frosting

- 2 cups powdered sugar

- a pinch salt

- 1 cup margarine (Earth balance) or shortening

- 1 Tablespoon almond milk, or more if necessary

- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

- 1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Sift the flour with the sugar, baking soda, baking powder and the salt. In a separate bowl, combine the almond milk with the olive oil, vanilla and lemon juice. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and stir to combine. Pour batter into two greased and floured 9 inch springform pans (I used an 8 inch and a 9 inch pan) and bake at 350F for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before frosting.

To prepare the frosting, use a mixer to beat the margarine (or shortening) with the rest of the ingredients. Add more almond milk if you would like to thin the frosting or more powdered sugar if you would like to thicken it. If using shortening, you will need more almond milk.

To assemble the cake, spread the bottom layer with some of the frosting, add the second layer and cover the cake with the remaining frosting. Enjoy!