When we were brainstorming new recipes for this cookbook, this one was one the first, and a dream treat of Kevin’s. He had the vision in his head of a traditional yellow pound cake with a lightly browned surface. As a child, he had eaten plenty of these with his family and was determined that we make one that looked and tasted exactly the same as those in his fond memories. I, on the other hand, had never had a pound cake in my life, so I had him explain to me every nuance of taste and texture before heading into the kitchen with my sleeves rolled up. When I emerged hopeful, pound cake in hand, I was delighted to see his face light up, and as it turns out, this also became one of my favourite recipes in the book. The ingredients may seem heavy on the coconut, but that doesn’t translate through to the taste at all, though its richness substitutes for the dense buttery flavour of a traditional pound cake.
Ingredients
- ½ cup soft silken tofu
- 1¼ cups organic sugar
- ¾ cup coconut milk beverage
- ½ cup plain or vanilla coconut yogurt
- ½ cup melted coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 2¼ cups Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray a 9- × 5-inch loaf pan with canola oil.
- In a food processor, purée the tofu until it’s completely smooth. Add the sugar, coconut milk, yogurt, oil, and vanilla and lemon extracts and pulse to combine.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt and add to the tofu mixture. Mix until the dough comes together about 1 minute. The dough will be very thick.
- Using a spatula, scoop the dough into the prepared loaf pan and smooth flat.
- Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool in pan. Cool completely before slicing.