Vegan Lemon Cake Topped with Coconut Cream Frosting - An Easter Celebration

Hello Friends, 

Happy spring and Happy Easter week. Nature inspired me to dedicate my culinary creations to the energies of spring, flowers and the roots of Easter. 

Over the last year, I have spent much time in nature. I sit. I think. I become a part of the earth. This time spent has changed my life and my outlook on life. 

Most of the time we want to see the sunny side of nature, the beauty, the flowers, everything so pretty. We forget that nature has a dark side. A dark side that also makes us confront our inner demons. The more you expose that part of your inner world, the more you grow and change. 

My body is so linked to nature that my soul yearned for a rebirth. And why much of it has rebirthed, specifically the last few years because of living in Germany. 

Rediscovering your roots and heritage changes the way you see the world. And when this happens, you want to preserve or celebrate your ancestral lineage. I feel the same way with antique dish ware. I picked up some antique plates and bowls at an estate sale recently, which inspired my gravy boat to be my new flower vase. 

Summer used to be my favorite season, but now it is spring. It's the season of rebirth. Everything is so beautiful and my energy within is ignited. 

Whenever I think of Easter, I think of pink and yellow. Maybe it's because of peeps, but when in nature, pink and yellow flowers are the dominate colors at this time of year. It's quit amazing the artistry of nature. 

The color yellow signifies joy, happiness and energy. It represents sunshine and the warming effect inspires our mental and physical energy. 

Pink is a sweet, romantic color. It signifies feminine energy and is playful, cute and nice. It also represents inner peace, harmony, affection and friendship. 

Knowing this, it is clear to see why pink and yellow are the dominate colors in spring. Everything is so cute from the birth of the flowers to spring chickens and ducks running around the town. 

Easter is known for its Christian connection, but prior to the spread of Christianity, most cultures celebrated Easter through pagan rituals. The Goddess of Easter, "Ostara," roots to Germanic tribes and represents the beginning of spring. The Goddess is accompanied by a baby chicken and bunny to symbolize fertility and colored eggs to represent the color of the sun. 

Today, her name lives on as Easter and surprisingly, "oestragen," which sounds alot like the female hormone, estrogen.

Other cultures have goddesses that represent spring like the Norse Goddess Freya, and Greek Goddess Aphrodite. Every culture was rooted to the earth in some ways.

Our pagan Anglo-Saxon ancestors celebrated the Vernal Equinox by placing painted eggs at grave sites. They also created hot cross buns to celebrate the solar crosses, four seasons and Goddess Brigid. Later the 12th Century Christian monks in England created the 'hot cross bun' which 15th Century Queen Elizabeth I found these buns to be so sacred that she forbid them to be eaten any other day than Good Friday. 

The Saxons gave us the name Easter via Eostre from Goddess Oestre, The Goddess of Easter. 

I feel we are losing this sacred knowledge. Spirituality is on the brink of something that I can't quit put my tongue on yet. Because of re-learning history, it changed the way I think about things. 

I am more thankful for these holidays now than ever before. I believe that nature is our guide and the more we learn and celebrate nature, the more we are connected to the rhythm of life. 

Nature is in bloom and so should our souls. The crows are building their nests. The eagles soar high above my apartment. And the tulips are budding. 

This week I am celebrating Easter via the energies of nature. I present to you this dairy-free lemon cake with coconut cream frosting. It's light. It's airy. It's sweet. It's the sweet part of life that we should enjoy without diving into a comatose state. Enjoy & Happy Easter to those who celebrate it. 

Vegan Lemon Cake Topped with Coconut Cream Frosting
Prep Time: 7 minutes
Cook Time: 27-30 minutes
Equipment: 6 inch round spring foam pan

Ingredients:
1 2/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
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1 lemon zested
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 lemon juiced + 1 tbsp
1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 cup almond milk 
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1 can of coconut milk refrigerated overnight
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp powder sugar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Place the first four dry ingredients into a bowl and mix. Place the second batch of ingredients (wet) into a separate bowl. Place the wet into the dry ingredients and stir until combined. 

Grease the pan and pour in the batter. Cook for 27 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick or knife comes out clean from poking the center of the cake.

While baking, prepare the frosting. Gently open the can and scoop out the solidified cream. Place it into a bowl and mix with the other ingredients, gradually adding the powder sugar. I used an egg beater but you can also use a whisk. 

Let the cake cool completely before frosting. Enjoy!

What's your favorite Easter dessert or treat? Come back this week to find more "all-natural" desserts inspired by nature. Click the Yummly button to save all MBSF recipes to your recipe box!

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