When it comes to egg-free baking, there are a lot of routes you can take—yogurt, a combo of vinegar and extra baking soda, soaked flaxseeds, and aquafaba (or the liquid from a can of chickpeas). This recipe relies on the former, plus a little technique inspired by mayonnaise cakes from the American South. The sugars are rubbed with lemon zest—imparting the first layer of citrusy goodness—are whipped with the aquafaba until it starts to thicken and then the oil is slowly drizzled in to create a sugary emulsion (similar to mayo!). Combined with a blend of all-purpose and semolina flours, plus a touch of cornstarch and a heaping spoonful of sumac, the resulting cake is tangy to the max, tender, and stays moist for days of snacking—though it might not last that long.

Need a recipe for that can of chickpeas? Try my Blistered Asparagus with Chili-Sumac Chickpeas & Whipped Feta—a dish born during the recipe development for this cake since I had a glut of chickpeas after testing!

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Ingredients

For the cake

1¾ cups (210g) all-purpose flour
⅓ cup (60g) fine semolina flour
1 tablespoon (8g) cornstarch
1 tablespoon Wild Heimang Sumac
1¼ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup (144g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (48g) Madhur Jaggery
¾ teaspoon Surya Salt
Zest of 2 lemons, preferably Meyer
⅓ cup (80g) aquafaba (liquid from canned chickpeas)
⅔ cup (158ml) canola oil, or other neutral oil
¾ cup (170g) plain, full-fat Greek yogurt
¼ cup (59ml) lemon juice
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

For the glaze

1 cup (25g) freeze-dried raspberries or strawberries
1¼ cups (150g) powdered sugar, sifted
Pinch of Surya Salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Wild Heimang Sumac, for finishing

Methods

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper and set aside.
Combine the all-purpose flour, semolina flour, cornstarch, sumac, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl, mix well, and set aside.
Place the granulated sugar, jaggery, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and zest the 2 lemons into the sugar. Rub the zest into the sugar, using your fingertips, until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the aquafaba, fit the stand mixer with the whisk attachment, and beat on high until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens to the consistency of heavy whipping cream, 5 to 7 minutes. (Alternatively, you can use a large bowl and an electric hand mixer.)
Meanwhile, measure the yogurt into a measuring cup, add the lemon juice and vanilla extract, and until smooth. Set aside.
When the sugar-aquafaba mixture reaches the right consistency, slowly drizzle the oil into the bowl with the machine still whisking, scraping down the sides as needed, until all the oil is incorporated and it emulsifies and looks like loose mayonnaise.
Add half of the yogurt mixture and beat on medium speed until incorporated. Then add half the dry ingredients and beat on medium speed until just combined, followed by the last half of the wet ingredients. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the last half of the dry ingredients by hand until fully incorporated (this will prevent overmixing and a tough cake). Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake until cooked through, deep golden on top, and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake, 35 to 40 minutes (egg-free cakes are notoriously finicky, so don’t open the oven until at least 30 minutes in to prevent a sunken middle).
Let the cake cool for 1 hour in the pan, then run a paring knife around the edge of the pan to free it, and transfer the cake, leaving the bottom parchment intact to a baking rack to cool completely.
When the cake is cool, make the glaze. Add the freeze-dried berries to a spice grinder and grind into a fine powder, then sift through a fine mesh sieve into a medium bowl, discarding any seeds left behind. Add the powdered sugar and salt to the bowl and mix well, then add the lemon juice and 2 tablespoons water, slowly working the liquid in to create a thick, ribbony glaze. If the glaze is a little too thick, add 1 teaspoon of water at a time until it coats the back of a spoon and if you run your finger through it, the line stays separate.
To assemble, remove the parchment paper from the bottom of the cooled cake and transfer it to a serving plate. Pour the glaze into the center of the cake and using an offset spatula, gently spread the glaze, moving the spatula in small concentric circles, until it just reaches the edge of the cake (gravity will pull the glaze in drips down the cake). Sprinkle the top with sumac and let sit until the glaze looks matte on top, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Slice and serve with masala chai or coffee. Cake can be covered and stored at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Asha's Lemon-Sumac Snacking Cake

Asha Loupy

Makes: One 9-inch cake

Ingredients

For the cake

1¾ cups (210g) all-purpose flour
⅓ cup (60g) fine semolina flour
1 tablespoon (8g) cornstarch
1 tablespoon Wild Heimang Sumac
1¼ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup (144g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (48g) Madhur Jaggery
¾ teaspoon Surya Salt
Zest of 2 lemons, preferably Meyer
⅓ cup (80g) aquafaba (liquid from canned chickpeas)
⅔ cup (158ml) canola oil, or other neutral oil
¾ cup (170g) plain, full-fat Greek yogurt
¼ cup (59ml) lemon juice
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

For the glaze

1 cup (25g) freeze-dried raspberries or strawberries
1¼ cups (150g) powdered sugar, sifted
Pinch of Surya Salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Wild Heimang Sumac, for finishing

Methods

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper and set aside.
Combine the all-purpose flour, semolina flour, cornstarch, sumac, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl, mix well, and set aside.
Place the granulated sugar, jaggery, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and zest the 2 lemons into the sugar. Rub the zest into the sugar, using your fingertips, until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the aquafaba, fit the stand mixer with the whisk attachment, and beat on high until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens to the consistency of heavy whipping cream, 5 to 7 minutes. (Alternatively, you can use a large bowl and an electric hand mixer.)
Meanwhile, measure the yogurt into a measuring cup, add the lemon juice and vanilla extract, and until smooth. Set aside.
When the sugar-aquafaba mixture reaches the right consistency, slowly drizzle the oil into the bowl with the machine still whisking, scraping down the sides as needed, until all the oil is incorporated and it emulsifies and looks like loose mayonnaise.
Add half of the yogurt mixture and beat on medium speed until incorporated. Then add half the dry ingredients and beat on medium speed until just combined, followed by the last half of the wet ingredients. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the last half of the dry ingredients by hand until fully incorporated (this will prevent overmixing and a tough cake). Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake until cooked through, deep golden on top, and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake, 35 to 40 minutes (egg-free cakes are notoriously finicky, so don’t open the oven until at least 30 minutes in to prevent a sunken middle).
Let the cake cool for 1 hour in the pan, then run a paring knife around the edge of the pan to free it, and transfer the cake, leaving the bottom parchment intact to a baking rack to cool completely.
When the cake is cool, make the glaze. Add the freeze-dried berries to a spice grinder and grind into a fine powder, then sift through a fine mesh sieve into a medium bowl, discarding any seeds left behind. Add the powdered sugar and salt to the bowl and mix well, then add the lemon juice and 2 tablespoons water, slowly working the liquid in to create a thick, ribbony glaze. If the glaze is a little too thick, add 1 teaspoon of water at a time until it coats the back of a spoon and if you run your finger through it, the line stays separate.
To assemble, remove the parchment paper from the bottom of the cooled cake and transfer it to a serving plate. Pour the glaze into the center of the cake and using an offset spatula, gently spread the glaze, moving the spatula in small concentric circles, until it just reaches the edge of the cake (gravity will pull the glaze in drips down the cake). Sprinkle the top with sumac and let sit until the glaze looks matte on top, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Slice and serve with masala chai or coffee. Cake can be covered and stored at room temperature for up to 4 days.