Allergy friendly. cupcake happy!

Living an allergen-free life, I often feel the need to keep things simple. And sometimes, a simple butter cake is all you really need. A good go-to recipe can be really versatile. Adapted from a popular St. Louis bakery, this recipe can be a special birthday morning indulgent breakfast cake, a nice complement to coffee with a friend, or a lovely dessert after a delicious allergen-free dinner.

Adapted from Helfer’s Deep Butter Cake recipe (stltoday.com)

Vegan Buttery Cake
Yield: 8 to 9 servings

Crumb Topping
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup vegan margarine (recommended: Soy-Free Earth Balance Buttery Spread)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon Buttery Sweet Dough emulsion OR imitation butter flavoring (see note)
½ all-purpose flour, plus up to another ¼ cup if needed

Procedure

1. In a small mixer bowl, beat together sugar and margarine until fluffy.
2. Add salt, vanilla, butter flavoring and flour; beat at low speed just until crumbly. If necessary, add up to ¼ cup more flour until the mixture is coarse and crumbly.
3. Cover and refrigerate.

Cake
1 T. Ener-G Egg Replacer plus 4 T water (equivalent to 2 eggs)
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegan margarine (recommended: Soy-Free Earth Balance Buttery Spread)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup non-dairy milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon Buttery Sweet Dough emulsion OR imitation butter flavoring (see note)
1 3/4 cups cake flour
Powdered sugar, for garnish

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8-inch-square or round baking pan.
2. Prepare Egg Replacer by mixing 1 T. EnerG Egg Replacer with 4 T. Water. Whisk to combine. Set aside to allow to thicken.
3. Combine sugar, margarine and salt in a large mixer bowl; beat on high speed for 2 to 3 minutes or until fluffy.
4. Add egg replacer; beat on high speed 2 to 3 minutes or until light.
5. In a small bowl, combine non-dairy milk, vanilla and butter flavoring.
6. Alternately add cake flour and milk mixture to batter, starting and ending with flour. Beat on low speed, scraping sides of bowl, until well mixed.
7. Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly in prepared pan. Spread batter over crumb mixture.
8. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until top is deep golden brown and cake tests done in the center with a wooden pick. Cool 5 minutes.
9. Loosen edges of cake with an icing spatula or knife. Place a flat plate or cake board on top of the pan. Hold the pan and plate together securely; turn over. Carefully remove the pan. (The crumb side is now the top of the cake.)
10. Dust with powdered sugar. Garnish with fruit, or coconut whipped cream, if desired.

Notes:
Butter flavoring is sold with the extracts in supermarkets. The original recipe states that its flavor is essential to the success of this recipe. If you are more adventurous, try using Buttery Sweet Dough Emulsion by LorAnn Oils. Since vegan baking requires that we eliminate butter, this emulsion adds that buttery flavor back in to the cake. See my recent blog post on Vegan Ooey Gooey Butter Cookies for information on where to purchase this product.

Also, I have tried this recipe using dairy-free sour cream as an alternate egg replacer. However, I recommend the EnerG egg replacer, which gives a lighter texture.