We all know you can’t beat honey & lemon for those cosy autumn nights 🍋🍯
Nutrition:
This cake is made with lemon zest which is very high in vitamin C. Lemon zest contains nearly three times as much as vitamin C as the flesh. Vitamin C is very important for the immune system: it reduces tiredness and fatigue, while boosting your energy and protecting your mental health, skin, blood vessels and bones. If you have a flu or a cold, vitamin C is the key to the healing process and lemon is one of those foods capable of improving your health. Due to the vitamin C content, lemon zest has anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective properties. Citrus fruit like lemon are particularly recommended for those suffering from inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), due to the anti-inflammatory properties of the flavonoids of the lemon called hesperidin. It is also beneficial for those suffering from anaemia. Vitamin C-rich fruit helps to improve the absorption of iron. If not enough vitamin C is consumed by our body, poor iron is absorbed and it is more likely to become anaemic. Deficiency of vitamin C is associated with several diseases including scurvy, inflammatory diseases, anaemia, bleeding gums, muscle degeneration, heart diseases and macular degeneration.
Finally, it is interesting to notice that lemon is a “low-risk” food, which means that it has a low probability to be contaminated with microorganisms, due to its acidic nature. Bacteria tends to grow in foods that contain a lot of moisture such as raw eggs (e.g. Salmonella), raw meat and fish (e.g. Listeria monocytogenes or Pseudomonas aeruginosa) or cooked rice (e.g. Bacillus Cereus). On the other hand, they do not grow in acidic food like lemons.
For one person:
What You Need:
150g vegan butter
150g honey
1 lemon, zest
1.5 tablespoons of baking powder
.5 tablespoons of salt
1 handful of dried thyme leaves
3 tablespoons of thyme oil
7 tablespoons of olive oil
400ml of plant-based milk
300g of flour
1 glass of water
Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 190 degrees or 160 degrees if you have a fan oven
2. Grate your lemon into a small bowl and save for later
3. Squeeze your lemon juice into a small bowl and set aside
4. Pour your flour and milk into large bowl and mix
5. Add your vegan butter and continue to mix
6. Now add you oils, honey and your lemon juice and mix some more
7. Finally, add your salt, baking powder, water, half of your lemon zest and mix
8. Grease your baking bowl with vegan butter and place your cake mix inside
9. Bake your cake for 40 minutes
10. Take cake out and let cool for 30 minutes
11. Sprinkle the rest of your dried thyme leaves, lemon zest and honey over your cake for garnish