summer passionfruit cake

We were gifted a box full of passionfruit from a friend, and while I believe Roark could have single handedly ate his way through all of them, I felt a calling grab a handful of them and mix some sweet (sugar) and sour (passionfruit) to make a summer cake! Gluten and dairy free, of course. If you’re all for gluten and dairy, feel free to use regular unsalted butter, plain flour and regular buttermilk at a one-to-one ratio.

INGREDIENTS

½ cup + 1 tablespoon vegan butter, room temperature, divided (I love Earth Balance)

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon almond extract

1 tablespoon orange zest

7 tablespoons passionfruit pulp, divided

1 ½ cups gluten free flour (I love Cup4Cup)

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup non-dairy milk

½ tablespoon lemon or white vinegar

1 ½ cups powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS

Vegan Buttermilk

Combine the non-dairy milk and lemon or white vinegar and mix well.

Let sit for 10 minutes. After this time, milk will thicken and curdle.

Cake

Preheat the oven to 340 F. Grease and a line a 2-pound loaf pan.

In a bowl or stand mixer, beat together ½ cup veban butter and the granulated sugar for 3-4 minutes until it's light and fluffy.

Beat in the eggs one at a time, until they are well-combined. Add the vanilla extract, almond extract, orange zest, and 4 tablespoons passionfruit pulp and mix again.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add ½ the flour mixture to the batter, mix until the flour is just combined, then add ½ the vegan buttermilk and mix again. Then, add the other ½ of the flour and mix until it's just combined, and finish off by mixing the second ½ of the veban buttermilk into the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes until a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to sit for 15 minutes before turning it out and allowing it to cool completely on a wire rack.

Icing

In a clean bowl, beat together the powdered sugar with the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and 3 tablespoons pulp, until it's smooth. If the mixture is a little thick, add 1-2 tablespoons water until the glaze is smooth and slowly slides off a spoon. Pour this on top of the cooled cake and decorate with any leftover passionfruit halves.