Vegan baking … chai-spiced upside down plum cake

Vegan, vegetarian, paleo … the food world is full of different philosophies that try to tell us which foods to eat and which to ban from our plates.

Personally, I don’t believe in labels when it comes to my food choices. For me, they represent restrictions and a lack of balance regarding nutrition and – more importantly – joy. I genuinely believe in a balanced diet that focuses on organic and real plant-based foods (read more about how I think about nutrition here).

But at the same time, I like to draw my inspiration from these concepts as they do address fundamental aspects of how to nourish your body by making conscious food choices.

About 90% of my diet is vegetarian, I try to stay away from bad carbs, and reduce milk products to a minimum. When it comes to animal products, I make sure they are organic and sustainably sourced.

With vegan becoming more and more popular I started to experiment with vegan baking as well. I could see how you can easily replace cow milk with plant-based alternatives. But what about the eggs? They are essential to baking and profoundly influence the consistency of cakes and pastries.

But it works. There are great vegan recipes out there, like this one for a chai-spiced upside down plum cake. It’s a delicious fruity cake with a lot of flavors that come from all the spices (yes, it smells and tastes a little bit like Christmas) – perfect for this time of the year.

When it comes to vegan baking, it’s essential to me that the recipes don’t call for any processed substitutes like vegan margarine, tofu, etc. but instead use real and healthy ingredients. That’s why I like this recipe so much:

It comes without any animal products. Coconut oil is an excellent replacement for butter, and apple cider vinegar helps the cake to rise (make sure you add it last and immediately place the cake in the oven to bake).

Whole grain spelt flour adds a lot of nutrients: fiber, minerals, and vitamin b. It also helps your digestion and keeps you full for longer.

The cake is low in sugar. I used coconut sugar which is deemed to reduce blood sugar spikes compared to regular sugar and reduced the maple syrup to a minimum.

I usually reduce the sugar amount by half in any recipe. At first, you might think it’s not sweet enough but your taste buds adjust quickly, and you’ll notice that your sweet tooth will be satisfied with much less sugar than you thought.

There is one more thing I love about this recipe. It uses a small tin and therefore is perfect for a little gathering with your friends and family!

Have fun experimenting with vegan baking and let me know your favorite recipes!

Love,

Marion

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Chai-spiced upside down plum cake

September 8, 2021

Servings: 8

Prep: 30 min

Cook: 40 min

Total: 70 min

Difficulty: medium

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By: BAKE & NOURISH

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 30g coconut sugar
• 3-4 small plums, pitted and thinly sliced
• 300g whole-grain spelt flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (natron)
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1.5 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 0.5 teaspoon sea salt
• 0.25 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 150 ml maple syrup
• 220 ml milk of your choice (nut, seed, rice …)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Directions

• Step 1 Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 18cm cake tin with a ½ tablespoon of the melted coconut oil.
• Step 2 Sprinkle the coconut sugar evenly over it to cover the base. Lay the plum slices on the bottom of the cake tin – they should be tucked in neatly, so the entire bottom is covered with plum slices.
• Step 3 In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and the spices and whisk to combine.
• Step 4 In a pan, heat the remaining melted coconut oil, maple syrup, milk, and vanilla extract.
• Step 5 Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
• Step 6 At last, add the apple cider vinegar and incorporate quickly.
• Step 7 Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for 40-50 minutes (place the cake tin on a baking sheet to catch any seeping liquid).
• Step 8 Let the cake cool completely. Flip the cake onto a serving plate so that the plums are now on the top.