This delicious and very pretty cake was contributed by Dynise Balcavage from The Urban Vegan: 250 Simple, Sumptuous Recipes from Street Cart Favorites to Haute Cuisine.* It's a lovely dessert to serve at for winter holiday meals, but you need not wait for a special occasion to make and enjoy it.
Serves: 8
- ½ cup Earth Balance margarine, softened, divided
- ¾ cup vegan brown sugar
- 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries
- 1 ½ cups flour (I use half whole wheat pastry flour, half white spelt)
- 1 cup vegan sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon soy flour
- 1 cup soy milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon lemon oil or 1 tablespoon lemon zest, chopped very fine
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt together 1⁄4 cup of the Earth Balance and all the brown sugar. Pour into oiled cake pan and arrange cranberries evenly on top.
In a large bowl, mix flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and soy flour. In a medium bowl, mix milk, vanilla, lemon oil or zest, and remaining 1⁄4 cup Earth Balance). Using a mixer, blend the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well.
Spoon the cake batter over the cranberry mixture and bake for about 45 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Remove cake and run a knife along the circumference of the pan to separate the cake from the pan's edge.
Allow cake to cool for at least 15 minutes-ideally 30 minutes. Place plate on top of cake and quickly invert and remove pan.
- Return to A Colorful Vegan Christmas (Vegetarians Welcome!) for a complete listing of holiday dinner recipes, menus, and desserts.
Visit Dynise Balcavage at The Urban Vegan.
- Here are more recipes to enjoy a Vegetarian and Vegan Friendly Thanksgiving.
- Find more ways to make Special Occasions and Entertaining easier and healthier.
- Explore more of VegKitchen's Easy Vegan Cakes and Pies.
- Sweet tooth still craving? Here are more Vegan Baking and Sweets.
- Here are more Fruity Baked Goods.
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PeaceMouse says
Awesome site- I just found out about half a year ago that I am severely allergic to Eggs and Meat, so I had to go Vegetarian. I was having a hard time finding recipes and substitutes for my cooking which is like my life, and then I stumbled on this site and a few others- just wanted to say how awesome it is that I don't have to give up my cooking : ) The recipes are great!
Nava says
Thanks, PeaceMouse, and thank you for continuing to visit.
Erin says
Tried it without the soy flour; don't know if that was detrimental to it or not but...
I guess mine didn't turn out to well for one reason or another. The recipie works like a charm though--adding all of the ingredients in the blender then pouring it over the chranberries and warm brown sugar. The cake rose very well and it didn't stick to the sides at all. I did need help from my mom to invert it, but such things are expected from upsidedown cakes. Over all, a very fun and easy recipie. I think our flour was a bit too old and made the cake taste weird though! Happy Vegan Thanks Giving! ^^
Chrissty says
This looks lovely but would you have an alternative to the margarine to reduce the fat? Thanks for this beautiful recipe & photo!
Nava says
Chrissty, this was contributed by Dynise Balcavage, so I can't guarantee how it would come out with a substitution, but if it were me, I'd use 1/2 cup applesauce plus 1 to 2 tablespoons of safflower or other light-flavored oil. Hopefully that will work!
joe says
I'd like to try this but no luck on soy flour. Is it essential?
Nava says
Joe, I'm not sure why the author of this recipe calls for soy flour, but since it's just a tablespoon, I'm sure it can be omitted.
Martine says
Are you supposed to use fresh cranberries or are dried ones ok?
Nava says
Martine, this is intended to use fresh cranberries (I clarified and updated). If you want to use dried, maybe soak them in hot water for an hour, and reduce the amount of sugar by half.
Kristen says
I made this last night and it came out perfectly and was delicious - nice and tart with a beautiful topping. Thanks for sharing!
Aimee B. says
This was really lovely. I ended up replacing the soy flour with extra all-purpose and doubled the vanilla. I halved the recipe and baked it in my toaster oven for about 26 minutes. Definitely a keeper.