Moist, tender and bursting with the fresh flavors of rosemary and lemon! This vegan pound cake is a delicious crowd pleaser that's made with a surprising ingredient in place of butter.
It has tofu in it.
(Eyes go wide and hands slap over mouth.)
So much for holiday surprises. I can't keep a secret. This vegan pound cake has tofu.
Don't leave. You would never, ever, in a bizillion years know this cake had tofu in it if I fed it to you. I'd feed this to my very non-vegan dad, although I'm not sure if he'd be down with the whole rosemary thing. Whatever. He'd eat rosemary to be polite. And he'd think this cake was loaded with butter.
Not only that, but it has no refined oil. None! Okay, coconut milk has plenty of fat, but no refined oil. Little victories. And I used coconut sugar. It's your call if you want to go that route, but it makes me feel a little bit better.
Now, with all that in mind, I recognize that this cake is starting to sound like someone's nightmare straight out of a 1970's diet book. It's cake though, so who cares what it sounds like? It tastes like pound cake your grandma would make. I dare you to give her this cake for the holidays, and I'll bet you she'll ask for the recipe if you do.
Okay, so you may be wondering how one goes about putting tofu in a pound cake. It's easy! Use silken tofu! Silken tofu is super soft and smooth, so you can whip it with an electric mixer.
Start out whipping your tofu and some sugar, just like you would with butter and sugar in a traditional pound cake. Next, add some coconut milk. The fat gives the cake a nice richness that you'd otherwise miss without oil or butter. Dry ingredients go in last, and then the batter goes into a loaf pan and you bake it up to delicious perfection.
FAQ & Tips for Making Awesome Vegan Pound Cake
- Know-fu you tofu! Make sure you're using silken. If you use some other type like extra-firm the cake will probably be terrible.
- I used Nasoya silken tofu, so that's the brand I recommend you go with, if it's available. Some other brands offer silken tofu in soft and firm varieties. If you have the option, go with soft!
- If you're not into rosemary, leave it out. For that matter, leave out the lemon if you don't like that either.
- And feel free to experiment with other savory herbs in place of rosemary. Thyme would probably be delicious.
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📖 Recipe
Rosemary Lemon Vegan Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (whole wheat pastry flour works too)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces (1 cup by volume) silken tofu
- ¾ cup organic granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup full-fat coconut milk (from a can)
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Lightly oil a 9-inch loaf pan.
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Place the tofu, sugar, and vanilla into a separate, large mixing bowl. Beat together using an electric mixer on high speed, just until fully mixed, about 2 minutes (some small lumps are okay).
- Add the coconut milk, lemon juice and zest. Beat about 1 more minute, until blended.
- Add the flour mixture, about â…“ at a time, beating well between additions, until completely blended, adding the rosemary along with the last addition.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top with a spatula.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
- Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely before removing it from the pan.
- Slice and serve.
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Nutrition
Hi I can't figure out what went wrong but my pound cake was a disaster. It didn't have enough flour is what I think But I double checked the amount I used and the recipe. It matched. Are you sure it d need more flour?It didn't just not rise;it was liquid. I would really like to make this cake. It sounds so good.
Orfa
I'm sorry to hear that! The issue could have been with your baking soda and/or powder not working. Try testing them. Sprinkle a bit of the baking powder into a glass of water, and do the same for the baking soda but use a glass of vinegar. They both should fizz. If either doesn't, then its time to replace it (and that would probably be the reason your cake didn't rise.
I made this last night and it turned out wonderfully! I only had extra firm silken tofu, but it still turned out really well, it was fairly dense but still really moist, and had a nice spongey texture. I also added a basic lemon glaze and extra lemon zest to the top which was a nice addition if you want to amp up the lemon.
That sounds delicious! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Christina!
Hi, I’m a terrible baker. My cake did not rise. What did I do wrong? Btw, the uprisen cake tasted really good.
Oh no! Usually if that happens it's due to dated baking powder or soda. To test baking powder, sprinkle a bit in a glass of water. Do the same for baking soda, but use vinegar instead of water. Both of them should fizz when added to the liquid. If either one doesn't, toss it and get a new one. :)
I'm gonna make this and call it the "Sansa Stark Lemon Cake" :)
Absolutely! I think Sansa would approve. :)
Oh my goodness, I need this in my life. And my stomach. Like, yesterday. Alissa, this looks SOOOOO GOOOD!!!
I fully support that - you should totally have this cake in your life! Enjoy! ;)
I had a dream about this cake last night. I think that's a sign that it needs to be made. Thanks for the recipe!!!
I'm going to have to agree with you on that. I definitely think you should make this one! Thank you and enjoy!!!
Oh yes! This looks heavenly! I am definitely making this! Thanks Alissa!
Meanwhile, did you know Ziplist is no longer in service. Epicurious is the recommended site now for saving recipes, however, I haven't figured out how to save recipes from my favorite food blogs to my recipe box on that site. It was just too easy on ZIplist as you always had that direct "save" button available to save recipes.
Yay! I hope you enjoy it!
I did know about ziplist and have been meaning to check out alternatives. I'm not sure about Epicurious, but Yummly might be worth looking into. It has a bookmarklet feature that's very easy to use - you just drag it to the tab for the page with the recipe and it saves it to a recipe box for you. I'm hoping to have some more time to explore and provide suggestions in the coming weeks.
This looks amazing! And it came at the perfect time, since I have lots of silken tofu left over from Thanksgiving. I have one question, though. Do you mean canned coconut milk? Or do you mean out of the carton in the fridge?
Thanks in advance--I can't wait to make this!
Thanks Nicole! I mean the canned stuff - I believe the stuff in cartons is a blend, so it would have less fat than canned, and your cake might end up a bit on the dry side. Enjoy!!!
Thanks, Alissa! I think I have a can or two left over from Thanksgiving, so that's perfect. :)
Oh you are blowing my mind with this one, need to make!! I love when tofu ends up being the secret ingredient, no one would ever know : )
Tofu is becoming my favorite secret ingredient as of late! :)