Blueberry Tea Cakes with Vegan Lemon Buttercream Glaze

UPDATE ~ the giveaway winner is ANN! Congratulations Ann, I’ll be in touch to get your address.

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I’ve decided that we should institute afternoon tea as a thing in the US workday. Wouldn’t that be great? A break every afternoon that includes a little cake or muffin or donut with some tea or coffee, to re-energize you for the rest of your day.

For my junior year in college I lived in Spain where we had siesta each day and did this very thing ~ we stopped work or school for lunch and then had time to shop or hang out with friends, go for ice cream or a pastry and then go back to our work or studies for a few more hours in the early evening. And I have the perfect recipe for your afternoon tea: Blueberry Tea Cakes with Vegan Lemon Buttercream Glaze from Laura Theodore’s new cookbook, Jazzy Vegetarian’s Deliciously Vegan.

This new book is amazing – Laura was so thorough in preparing it. It includes lists of pantry staples, top 10 essential ingredients, cheese and creamy sauce substitutions, herbs and spices, and more – and that doesn’t even get into the more than 175 recipes that follow. Sure, you can google egg replacements, but wouldn’t it be so much easier to have a list of them right in the book you’re cooking from? They are there too!

And the recipes… I can’t wait to try more of them, like the Breakfast Tostadas, Miso Parsley Hummus, Stuffed Manicotti, and the Divine Chocolate Mousse Cake. Want to try some of these recipes too? Well one lucky person will get to, as I am giving away a copy of Deliciously Vegan (US residents only this time!). To enter, just leave a comment telling me your favorite delicious vegan dish. Enter by Sunday, April 22 at midnight Pacific Time and I’ll choose announce the winner the following week. Good luck!

And now our featured recipe….

Blueberry Tea Cakes with Vegan Lemon “Buttercream” Glaze

MAKES 12 CAKES

These delectable little cakes make a fantastic finish to any spring or summer meal. Showcasing fresh plump blueberries, these delicate cakes are then drizzled with a luscious lemon glaze. These mini-cakes will really impress family and guests alike. Oh yes, did I mention? Sans the glaze, they make tasty breakfast muffins or a satisfying sweet snack.

GLAZE

• 1/3 cup vegan margarine
• 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 cups vegan powdered sugar, divided, plus more if needed
• 2 tablespoons nondairy milk

CAKES

• 1 cup sweetened nondairy milk
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour, plus more for coating pan
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup vegan cane sugar
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

To prepare the glaze, put the margarine and 1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice into a medium-sized bowl and stir vigorously with a fork to combine. Add 1 cup of the powdered sugar and briskly stir with the fork until all of the sugar is incorporated. Add the second cup of powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons nondairy milk and stir until the glaze is nice and smooth. Cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours to allow the glaze to thicken slightly.

To make the cakes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the nondairy milk and lemon juice into a small bowl or pitcher and stir to combine. Let stand for 10 minutes while preparing the batter.

Generously coat two 6-cup jumbo muffin tins with vegan margarine. Sprinkle a bit of the flour into the bottom of each muffin cup and tilt the pan, tapping to move the flour evenly around the insides of the muffin cups, until each cup is coated with a very thin film of flour. Tap out any extra flour. Put 1 1/4 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon into a large bowl and stir with a dry whisk until combined. Add the sugar and stir with a whisk to combine.

Add the oil to the nondairy milk/lemon mixture, and stir vigorously with a whisk or fork to combine. Add the water and the nondairy milk/lemon mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a large spoon, until well moistened, to make a batter. Gently fold the blueberries into the batter and stir to combine.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a tea cake comes out clean. Put the tins on a wire rack and loosen the edges of the cakes with a knife. Let cool for 5 to 7 minutes. Carefully invert the tins onto a wire rack and gently shake to loosen the cakes. Cakes will be very, very soft, so carefully arrange them on the wire rack to firm up a bit and thoroughly cool (about 2 hours).

Once the cakes have cooled, drizzle one-twelfth of the glaze over each cake. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 6 hours before serving. Let the cakes stand at room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving. Tightly covered and stored in the refrigerator, the cakes will keep for about 2 days.

Recipe by Laura Theodore, from Jazzy Vegetarian’s Deliciously Vegan. Published by Scribe Publishing, ©2018, reprinted by permission.