Ultra lemony lemon cake [vegan!]

sneak peak: the lemoniest vegan lemon cake, perfect for birthdays and other cake-appropriate occasions (always)

Citrusy cake is, unquestionably, the best genre of cake (although only unquestionable if you're me, I'll hold back from dictating your cake preferences). For years, I had this exact lemon courgette cake for my birthday, and then when I went vegan I had to figure out something else. Or, to be more specific, Mum figured out something else.

This is the best lemon cake I have ever had, and it easily surpasses the lemon cake of old. In prep for my birthday, Mum tested a bunch of different recipes and adapted them all into her own with maximum zing factor.

Ultra Lemony Lemon Cake
vegan; gluten free if you switch out the flour and baking powder
makes one two-layer 8in cake

Ingredients
Cake:
150ml oil
415g self-raising flour
300g sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 lemons (zest of three, juice of two)
255ml cold water

Filling:
1 can coconut cream
juice of the third lemon
raspberries

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 180C fan (200C for non-fan ovens) and line two 8" sandwich tins.
2. Combine all ingredients and mix with a stand or hand mixer.
3. Divide between the tins and bake for 30 minutes.
4. Whizz the coconut cream with the lemon juice until the texture is in between runny icing and buttercream.
5. Sandwich the cakes together with the coconut cream and some raspberries, keeping about half of the coconut back to stick more raspberries on top.
6. Stick the raspberries on top with the rest of the coconut cream, and dust with icing sugar and/or freeze-dried raspberries.

Done! Decorate with candles, slice, make a wish, and eat.

*All photos in this post are mine. If you wish to use any, please ask my permission and credit me!