Lemon Cake with curd (plant-based & gluten-free) featuring the glorious chickpea

Lemon cake, plants and the magic of chickpeas

A few years ago an interviewer asked me, in the context of plant-based and gluten-free baking, what were the 2 ingredients I could not live without. At the time I said coconut (and all of the ingredients you can get from one) and almonds (ditto). Almonds, I still love you. But if you asked me the same question today I would have to say coconut and chickpeas. I was late to the party with aquafaba and it is still only an occasional choice for me as an egg replacer. However, when it is the right choice, it is transforming. I will never forget making vegan meringues the first time and watching, with my small team peering into the oven in disbelief, as the leftover water from a tin of chickpeas turned into miraculous little clouds. And sometimes, aquafaba (always unsalted) is exactly the lift you need in a cake.

But my real love affair with chickpeas began when I started using gram flour as a component in a gluten-free flour blend. Selfridges asked me to make a range of cookies. Remembering my days at my market stall in Berwick Street, I became focussed on making cookies that were very child-friendly. In 2023, that means allergen-free. In my experience, parents with small children who are looking for a treat from a free from bakery or stall will gravitate towards cookies. So almonds were off the agenda and I needed a protein to give the cookies the structure and bite. Gram flour offered the perfect solution. From then on, any new recipe gets a try-out round with gram flour to see if it brings some magic. It is nourishing too - an indispensable ingredient in a baker’s toolkit. 

In my work as a content producer, I see many future technologies evolving around using chickpea proteins. I also recently read that the folks at Zoe are recommending its inclusion in bread for gut health. Today I am sharing a recipe for my gluten-free and plant-based lemon cake where chickpeas play a starring role.  This is a delicious lemon cake with wonderful texture and lots of citrus zing. Serve it with lemon curd and a citrussy glaze. Also perfect with a plant-based yoghurt or ice cream. This is really a celebration of the glorious chickpea and its many forms and properties.

The method is here in this video, the ingredients lists are below.  Bon appetit!

Preheat oven to 180℃ (160℃ fan assisted) 

For the cake

Flour blend =

100g brown rice flour, 60g gram flour (chickpea), 40g potato starch, 40g cornflour 

1 tsp Gf baking powder

¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

½ tsp xanthan gum

160g sugar (or sweetener)

100ml sunflower oil (or rapeseed/canola)

120 ml coconut milk (from tin not carton)

60 ml aquafaba (chickpea water, unsalted)

Zest & juice of 2 lemons

1 tsp good quality lemon extract

For the vegan curd

Zest & juice of 2 lemons

100g sugar

125ml coconut milk

1 tbls cornflour (starch)

1/8 tsp turmeric

For the glaze (adjust to the thickness you want by adding juice or sugar)

125g icing sugar

Juice of 1 lemon