Vegan Orange Olive Oil Cake

by VibrantVegan.com
(Vancouver, WA)

Wesley, Max, and I were in a "let's bake something" sort of mood today, and I had just the thing I wanted to try--a Vegan Olive Oil Orange Cake. Now the original recipe calls for quite a bit of sugar and oil, and I didn't want the kiddos to devour a cake filled with sugar and oil today. Mostly though, I didn't want to spend any time today saying, "No. No more cake. You've had enough. Nope. No more. No. That's all for today..." I wanted to bake them a cake I wouldn't care if they devoured. So I suppose this could be considered a "guilt-free" cake; a cake most would call "bread," and a cake us parents love to make and have in the house because we don't need to worry one little bit if our kids want to gobble it all up.

Here's the recipe for a delicious, nutritious, your-kids-will-love-it low fat, low sugar Vegan Olive Oil Orange Cake:

2 cups flour (I used oat, which added some sweetness. Use your favorite flour here.)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup dry sweetener (The original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups sugar--ugh!)
1/4 cup olive oil (Original recipe called for 1/2 cup plus 1/4 cup canola, which I completely omitted.)
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce blended until smooth with 1/4 cup almond milk
1 cup almond milk
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
zest of 1 orange ( I used the juice from the above orange)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Add all of your dry ingredients in a bowl and mix. Add the oil, almond milk, applesauce/almond milk mixture, almond extract, and stir until well combined. Gently stir in the orange zest and juice.
Pour the batter into an oiled and floured 12-inch cake pan, 2 loaf pans, or 8X8 inch baking dish along with a loaf pan--you can pretty much use whatever you have, even a cast iron skillet. Bake the cake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean after you've inserted it into the middle. Let it cool for a few minutes, before inverting onto a plate for serving. If you want to ice this cake, warm 1/4 cup maple syrup mixed with zest of 1/2 of an orange, then pour over the top. You could also ice it with vegan cream cheese blended with little sweetener.

The cake didn't last for more than a day. It made a great snack after our bike ride, a tasty treat after lunch, and a spectacular dessert. We think our low fat, low sugar Vegan Olive Oil-Orange Cake will be loved by all.