In January, indulgence will come with a heavy dose of guilt. But which wet blanket could possibly feel guilty about stuffing themselves with gorgeous, sugary food when the holidays are around the corner? Obviously, not me. So today, I give you this divine Vegan Brown Sugar Pound Cake. This, seriously, is the best pound cake recipe I’ve ever made or eaten. It is moist, dense, and has a velvety, delicate crumb, exactly the way a pound cake should. It is also amazingly buttery – with vegan butter, of course. If you’re wondering what a pound cake is, here’s the lowdown: a pound cake is an old-fashioned cake made with exactly a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs and flour. While I can’t claim my vegan pound cake follows those rules exactly, this is as close to an old fashioned pound cake as you’ll get – via an eggless, butter-free, healthier sugar route.
For the best results, start out with the right ingredients. They are obviously a little different from the ingredients in a traditional pound cake, because keep in mind we are substituting for both eggs and butter here. One thing you’ll notice is that my pound cake is rather brown, not yellow as most pound cakes tend to be because of the egg yolks. There are no egg yolks here, of course, but one of the reasons for the color is that I used turbinado sugar, which is unrefined, and has some molasses. The molasses adds amazing flavor to this cake. You can add regular brown sugar, or you can just go with white sugar for a lighter crumb. Personally, I love that rich brown. Check to get new recipe updates by email.
I beat the aquafaba into soft peaks and then fold it into the batter, which is a technique one uses when one makes an angel cake, which has a rather lighter texture than a pound cake. So why do I do that? Because I need something that will emulate eggs in the recipe and build some structure. The aquafaba won’t make the cake rise the way beaten eggs would, which is fine and exactly the result you want. The other ingredient I use to replace the eggs is applesauce. Applesauce adds moisture, as yolks would (minus the fat) and helps, again, with building structure. Amaretto is my delicious secret ingredient in this recipe. I added a glug – about a tablespoon and a half – of this almond liqueur to the batter, and boy, does it make all the difference? You can use an orange liqueur, or just use almond extract or orange zest. For a larger cake, double the batter and bake it in a tube pan. Bake 10 minutes longer and check with a toothpick before removing from the oven.
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