If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile you may have noticed I like to use whole foods in my recipes, staying away from overly-processed vegan substitutes.
But sometimes there are exceptions.
This Orange Poppy Seed Pound Cake is a veganized version of Martha Stewart’s Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake because sometimes a buttery, sweet, and moist slice of pound cake, exactly how you remember it, is exactly what you need.
Orange Poppyseed Pound Cake
makes (2) 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaves
A veganized version of Martha Stewart’s Lemon Poppyseed Pound Cake
2 sticks (1 cup) Earth Balance or other vegan butter
2 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp poppy seeds
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp finely grated orange zest
1/2 tsp orange extract
1/2 cup vegan sour cream
egg replacer for 5 eggs (I used Bob’s Red Mill brand)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp orange juice
1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp orange juice
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Oil 2 loaf pans (8 1/2 x 4 1/2).
1. In a medium bowl mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds. Set aside.
2. In a blender, mix together the egg replacer and water (according to package instructions) until thick and creamy. Set aside.
3. In a stand up mixer or an electric handheld mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, orange zest, orange extract, and vegan sour cream until light and fluffy. Slowly add egg replacer mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Mixture will appear to have separated at this point, but it will come back together.
4. Alternating wets (oil and orange juice) and dries (flour mixture) add in three batches, scraping down the sides as needed, ending with the flour mixture. Do not overmix.
5. Divide batter between prepared pans and smooth top. Bake until cakes are golden brown (about 45-50 minutes), and a tooth pick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.
6. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Flip out onto wire racks and allow loaves to cool completely.
7. To make orange glaze, combine powdered sugar and orange juice until smooth and pourable. Pour over cooled loaf pan. Glaze will harden as it cools. Keep at room temperature, tightly wrapped, for up to 3 days.
Thanks for stopping by! The Sweet Life is a vegan food blog combining my love for good food, beautiful pictures, and compassionate eating. I am a long time vegan, trained in both photography and French Patisserie, excited to share my passions. Take a look around and enjoy The Sweet Life
Luscious! Yep, sometimes you’ve just got to indulge.
I agree with Annie…this looks AMAZING! Luscious, scrumptious and heartily endorsed by little ole me! Cheers for this wonderful recipe and for the myriads of Omni’s that are going to mass consume this baby and never know its vegan
… that’s right up till the time I TELL them it is 
Cheers for this lovely cake 
I have to say that all of these recipes rival anything with eggs or other animal products in delicious-looking-ness.
I don’t eat red meat or pork – and getting my feet wet with vegan baking is a good way to eliminate even more. Ever since I made cupcakes using pumpkin to replace some of the ingredients, I was amazed at the moistness and richness.
Thanks!
Yes, vegan baking can be amazing! You probably saw it, but if not here’s my post about replacing eggs: http://www.thesweetlifeonline.com/2012/11/29/replacing-eggs/ for all kinds of baking. It may help you along the way. Good Luck!
This was the fist vegan baking I have done and it turned out perfectly. Everyone loved it – including the non-vegans in the family (and my dog who stole a loaf). This recipe inspired me bc I realized that vegan baking can be as delicious as anything with animal products.
This looks amazing, and I’m hoping to make it this week. I just have one question – do you think this would freeze? It’s just me, and I don’t know if I could finish it before it went bad. Thanks!
Yes it would freeze just fine. I made this and froze it for a month to serve it at Christmas and it was tasty as ever.
Have you tried using this recipe to make muffins? I’m wondering what the baking temp and time would be and if they would turn out the same? I’m wanting to bring this to a brunch and thought muffins might work better this time.
I haven’t tried it, but I imagine they would be delicious! You could keep the same baking temp and check them after about 20 minutes (they will probably take more like 28-32 or so) but check by inserting a toothpick into the center. Good luck!
I’d like to make these with lemon…mmm. Is orange/lemon extract necessary for this recipe, or do you think some extra zest could do the trick?
Lemon zest should work. Lemon is stronger than orange anyway, so I would probably just make it that way.