Monday, May 12, 2008

Lemon-ies

I was gifted with another batch of amazing lemons and was trying to decide what to do with them. I didn't really want cake but I wanted something along those lines. Something like brownies. That was the texture that sounded good. Chewy, dense inside, with a harder edge.

I set to work looking over a bunch of different brownie recipes. The end result was great on flavor, good on the edge texture but not that dense or chewy. For those of you who like cakey brownies and want to try a lemon flavor, I'll post the recipe. For people who like brownies like me, the right way, you'll have to wait. I'm thinking 1/4 cup more flour and 1/2 the amount of baking powder for more dense but I haven't tested this theory.

Cakey Lemon-ies

1 1/4 cups unbleached flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven 350 degrees. Lightly oil 8 inch square pan.

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, oil and vanilla. Add the wet to the dry and stir until well blended.

Pour into oiled pan and spread evenly. Bake for about 30 minutes.

Cool completely if you're going to frost. If not, wait 10 minutes.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

4 oz tofutti cream cheese, softened (1/2 the container)

2 tablespoons margarine, softened

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon lemon extract (optional)

Cream all the ingredients except the sugar with a hand mixer. Slowly add in the sugar a bit at a time. Done. If you want larger more obvious pieces of zest, wait until after the sugar is in to add it.

That's it. I really love how lemony these are, I just want them more chewy. If anyone tries the recipe let me know what you think.

5 comments:

LisaRene said...

Nice job concocting an original recipe. It's such fun to experiment :) I'd happily choose a lemon brownie over a chocolate one any day!

Alicia said...

It looks great! I'll do it with whole wheat flour and it will look brown and ugly like everything I bake :-). Nay, just kidding, but the recipe is really good!

Vegan Dad said...

Lemon cake! Yes!

aTxVegn said...

Not that I'm an expert vegan baker, but I was thinking half the baking powder and 1/4 cup LESS flour. More flour would be more cakey. I don't know how you feel about Earth Balance, but for some reason I think using that instead of oil would give you the edge you want. I love your idea of Lemon Brownies - I may have to play with this recipe myself!

sheila c said...

I am in love. These were just what I was looking for. Although I didn't use the frosting because I am allergic to soy and I know it was a vegan receipe i had to use a beaten egg white because I'm allergic to baking powder. These are awesome. I couldn't stop eating them. I can't say enough great things about these nice fresh tasting wonders, except for I am making them again today. Thank You so much. Sheila C.