I was never big on lemon-flavored desserts.
(Hmmm, might it have something to do with the fact that lemon doesn’t exactly pair well with chocolate?)
But, after reading the Single Lady Cupcake post, a few commenters asked about a lemon version of the single-serving cake. Enter Meg L. to save the day! On Sunday, she left me a comment about a lemon-olive-oil cake that, I had to admit, sounded good even to this lemon-shunning chica. I wanted to try it!
The results were fantastic: lemony, cakey, and so moist. One of the best aspects of the blogging community is that someone (in this case, me) might come up with a basic idea, but then others expand upon the idea, taking it to much yummier levels than the first person could have dreamed up. So thank you, Meg, for taking the time to share your recipe variation.
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Single Lady Lemon Cake
(Or muffin, loaf, cupcake, whatever)
Based off of Meg‘s idea
- 3 tbsp flour (30g) (spelt, ww pastry, Bob’s gluten-free, or all-purpose flour)
- heaping 1/16th tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil or sub 1/2 with applesauce (or use all applesauce for an added-fat-free version, but it won’t be as buttery!)
- 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp liquid (milk of choice or water)
- 1/4 tsp lemon extract or lemon juice
- pinch lemon zest
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- Sweetener (I hate giving specific amounts, since tastebuds are so different. For normal tastebuds, 1 to 1 and 1/2 tbsp of sugar, or 1 to 1 1/2 packets of stevia should be about right. If you use liquid sweetener, cut back a tiny bit on the other liquid.)
Directions: Preheat the oven to 330 degrees. Mix the ingredients and pour into an oiled (or sprayed) muffin pan. Smooth top of batter. Cook for 12-15ish minutes. Alternatively, you can cook in the microwave, in a greased mug or ramekin. (Microwave times will vary, depending on the flour you use and the strength of your microwave.)
This cupcake (muffin, loaf, cake, whatever) would be lovely with some lemon glaze.
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Easiest-Ever Lemon Glaze
- 1 part lemon juice
- 1 part sugar or coconut sugar
- optional: a few drops lemon extract
Microwave for 30 seconds, or warm in a saucepan on low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Not a big lemon dessert fan but I eat lemons like apples! Yum.
Whitney
A microwaved cupcake for one? WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME ABOUT THIS SOONER?! Fabulous, saves me making batches, eating three and throwing the rest away. HURRAH. Thank you!
uh oh…i killed this recipe:( i used the same amounts of everything but tried it without the oil, a bit more milk, and added poppy seeds. it turned out chewy and tough. there also wasn’t much flavor to it:( next time i think i’ll add the oil, that was the mistake i made, right?
Probably. I’m not big on fat-free baked goods, and adding more milk could also make it tough… really you made so many changes that I can’t say what could’ve been the problem 🙁
yeah, i’ve tried SO many fat-free and reduced fat baked goods. they just don’t turn out quite right. now, i don’t need to cut back on fat but i jut feel better when i eat less of it. i guess sometimes we just have to make sacrifices:( i think i’ll try it again. i think maybe my microwave is pretty bad also; it sometimes makes my oatmeal a little funny. hey, do you know of a vegan mayonnaise recipe? thanks for having this awesome blog:)
I don’t have a mayo recipe… but if you want a low-fat one, I know Veganaise makes a low-fat version, and Nayonaise makes a fat-free version (although it can be hard to find). cAs for fat-free baked goods, my banana bread is one of the only fat-free baked goods I actually like! https://lett-trim.today/2011/11/02/polka-dot-banana-bread%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
woah! that looks really yummy. i’m definitely gonna try that after my next trip to the health food store. i need to get chocolate chips. any brands you would recommend? i’m kinda new to this vegan life, but i really love it:)
I usually buy whatever’s available and vegan: I can find Ghirardelli semi-sweet at a regular grocery store (gold package), but I also often buy Enjoy Life brand, Whole Foods vegan brand, or even Whole Foods dark chocolate mini chunks… which I also really like to just eat out of the package ;).
I’ve heard Ghirardelli is good. i think i’ll try that. thanks for your input.
We made these sans olive oil and added in poppy seeds. So good and light!
I just tried this and i loveeeeedddd it. I’m going to try it again, but try it with orange this time! and with an orange glaze. I’ve never had an orange cupcake, but I’ve had orange bread and I bet they taste similar :p thanks for the recipe!
Love your recipes! Just tried the Lemon version. We don’t keep lemons in the house, so I used True Lemon (http://www.truelemonstore.com/products/true_lemon and you can get it at Kroger and Walmart now) and it turned out fantastic! Made a chocolate version for my husband and he loved it. I plan to make ‘take to work’ mixes of several flavors so I can kill my sweet tooth easily (and healthily) at work! I’m sure I’ll be making my co-workers jealous.
http://www.facebook.com/theresa.janke/posts/409929885707303
LOVE LEMON! 🙂 I understnad you have a lot your doing but i would love to see more lemon post in the future, i absolutly love lemon 🙂 well any fruit for that matter, the strawberry muffin cupcakes were also fabulous! so more fruit in the future would be awesome ! (dont get my wrong, i love chocolate like any normal person does, but it seems to be upsetting to my stomach 🙁 and i do know this is a “chocolate covered” blog, but still, fruity desserts are my one true love, 🙂 )
Wow! Just made this and it was AMAZING! Granted I got a little carried away with the microwave and had more of a lemon shortbread cookie than cupcuke lol. Also I came up with an alternative topping since I didn’t have the supplies for frosting on had – 1 tbsp fat free greek yogurt, 1/2 tbsp honey, and 1/2 tsp lemon juice. Its not vegan but definitely delicious!