When I first started thinking about this cake, one of the only things I was really thinking about were the slices of pretty citrus on top  that would get all dried and lovely while the bread baked. I also was a little afraid that they would get juicy and weird and sink into the bread, so I’m glad the gamble paid off and they came out looking gorgeous! I’ve had a jar of poppyseeds hanging out in my spice drawer for years now, not really having had a lot of reasons to use them yet. Although, I do remember trying to make a lemon poppyseed pancake recipe off the top of my head that turned out to be a disaster, but after that, the jar got shoved to the back of the drawer to be forgotten. So, once I knew I wanted to try a citrus pound cake, poppyseeds seemed like a perfect addition. (Also, sorry about this visual, but I keep almost typing poopyseeds, eek!) A tablespoon of poppyseeds adds a nice crunch to the sweet and tart flavors of the dense pound cake.
One of my favorite things about winter is all the citrus that comes about and appears in at the grocery store. I was determined to make a pound cake without tofu, but in the end I caved and figured out that it gives a sort of dense nature to the cake that can’t be achieved otherwise without tons of butter. Word to the wise, blending the wet mixture together is essential to the texture, otherwise you could end up with chunks of tofu in your cake, no one wants that. Use whatever citrus you have on hand for the juice and zest in the cake, especially if they are oranges or lemons. I used a combination of lemon, lime and blood orange juice and zest, but beware that blood orange juice does not look as pretty in a cake as it did in a smoothie. The orange juice glaze can be left out, but just go ahead and make it, it’s so easy. I hope you make this over the weekend and enjoy it while you linger over a cup of hot coffee, bon weekend friends!
Adapted from Connoisseurus Veg
PrintCitrus Poppy Seed Vegan Pound Cake
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
- For the cake:
- 1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon poppyseeds
- 1/2 lb . firm tofu (1/2 of a block)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/3 cup citrus juice (orange, lemon, lime, whatever you have on hand)
- 3 tablespoons citrus zest (whatever you have on hand)
- For the powdered sugar glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.
- In a blender, combine the tofu, sugar, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, juice and zest. Blend briefly until mixture is smooth and combined. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, poppyseeds and salt. Mix until combined.
- Spread the batter into the greased loaf pan. The batter should be fairly thick and you may have to spread it with a spatula to get it to spread evenly. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Top with the powdered sugar glaze.
- To make the glaze: Whisk together the powdered sugar and orange juice until sugar is dissolved, adding more orange juice to thin out if necessary.
Julia says
Holy moly! This is the first I’ve heard you can use tofu in a quickbread to make it vegan. I love that idea and pinky promise I will blend the crap out of the wet mixture prior to adding in the dry. Ugh, sweet slices of citrus all up on a citrus poopy (I mean poppy) seed cake sounds guh-loooorious!
The Frosted Vegan says
Right?! Haha, glad you caught my poopy comment! 🙂
Audrey @ Unconventional Baker says
I’m glad you took the gamble with the citrus on top — it looks absolutely gorgeous and I bet it is delish, especially with that glaze! And I’m all for risk taking in the kitchen 😉
The Frosted Vegan says
Thank you Audrey! I knew that if nothing else it would be pretty : )
Medha @ Whisk & Shout says
Such pretty pictures! Obsessed with the tofu in this… so clever 🙂
The Frosted Vegan says
Thank you dear!
Linda @ Veganosity says
Haha! I have a juvenile sense of humor so the “poopy” seed comment made me laugh out loud. 🙂
This is a beautiful pound cake. I adore the oranges and the glaze on top.
The Frosted Vegan says
Haha, glad I’m not the only one who thinks that’s funny! Thanks for the kind words Linda!
Lisa says
That looks absolutely delicious. Love the use of oranges.
The Frosted Vegan says
Thank you Lisa! That winter citrus really is gorgeous, right?