Vegan Coconut-Key Lime Sheet Cake w/ So Delicious Coconut Whip Topping.

It’s not often that I will work with key limes. I find them tedious to juice, but ultimately am always glad that I took the time to work with them because dang….. they are the best limes. This cake came into my life by a friend’s Facebook “like” of a non-vegan Epicurious recipe. After looking the recipe over and having a pretty good stock of Follow Your Heart’s VeganEgg, I decided that the great Coconut-Key Lime Sheet Cake test of 2016 should commence immediately.

First, you should know that this recipe will give you life. It is a rich, dense, flavorful and unique cake, but you should be warned that this recipe is time consuming. If you decide to take it on, read through the recipe and make sure you have everything set up the way you like. If you love cake, coconut and key lime, you won’t be sorry. 🙂

Ingredients:

For the cake:

1 1/2 c unsweetened shredded coconut (for this I used Bob’s Redmill finely shredded coconut–the topping is a different variety)

1 3/4 c unbleached cake flour (I used King Arthur brand. For a fluffier cake, try unbleached all-purpose flour–although I have not tested with AP flour)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp Hawaiian salt or sea salt

1/3 c virgin coconut oil, melted, but not hot

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 can full fat coconut milk, divided into two, 2/3 c portions

1 1/2 c cane or coconut sugar

1 1/2 sticks Earth Balance buttery spread (I used soy free)

6 tbsp Follow Your Heart VeganEgg, vigorously whisked or blended with 3/4 c cold water

1 tbsp key lime zest

1/3 c fresh key lime juice

For the Key Lime Curd:

1 Follow Your Heart VeganEgg prepared according to package instructions for one egg

Zest of two key limes

juice of two key limes

3 tbsp Earth Balance buttery spread

1/4 c cane or coconut sugar

For the Whipped Topping:

1 tub So Delicious CocoWhip in regular or lite

about 1 tsp key lime zest

1 c large flaked coconut, toasted

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease and flour a 13×9″ pan.

Toast the finely shredded coconut for your cake. You can do this in a pan, the oven or toaster oven. Whichever method you choose, just keep a close eye because coconut burns quickly. My preferred method is to toast in a dry pan on the stovetop for 3-5 min.

Whisk toasted coconut, baking powder, salt, and 1 3/4 c flour in a medium bowl. Mix coconut oil, vanilla, and 2/3 c coconut milk in another medium bowl.

In the bowl of your standing mixer (use paddle attachment), cream together the Earth Balance sticks and sugar until fluffy. Scrape down sides as needed. With the mixer running on low, slowly add the VeganEgg mixture. Next, you’re going to alternate adding your dry and wet ingredients (with the mixer on low), starting with the flour mixture. Add some of that (about a 1/3), then add some of the coconut milk mixture. Add a bit more dry, then wet and ending with dry.

Pour your cake batter into the prepared pan,smoothing it out with a spatula if necessary.

Bake 25-30 min, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

*note: after soaking your cake in the liquid mixture below. It may be difficult to remove from the pan. You can let your cake cool a bit, remove it from the pan and brush the mixture over the cake, or leave it in the pan and pour it over the top–the choice is yours!

Next, mix the key lime juice, zest and remaining 2/3c coconut milk. Using a skewer, poke holes in your cake about every two inches. Slowly, start pouring (or brushing) some of the key lime juice mixture over your cake. You probably won’t need to use it all–you just want to coat the top of the cake.

You can now set your cake aside to let it absorb the lime-coconut mixture and prepare your lime curd.

Mix VeganEgg according to package directions. In a microwave safe bowl, combine Earth Balance, lime zest, juice and sugar. Microwave starting at 30 seconds, up to one minute to melt and combine. Combine all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor and mix until everything is smooth. Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes, but longer is better.

For the whipped topping, all you need to do is toast your coconut flakes using one of the above mentioned methods and set them aside to cool completely. Then zest some key lime into your So Delicious CocoWhip.

To assemble the cake, spread or pour a layer of lime curd on top of the cake. Top with So Delicious CocoWhip and finish with toasted, flaked coconut.

I’m sure you can tell these photos were taken under different lights and with my iPhone. This really is a spectacular tasting cake, so I apologize that the photos may not do it justice. It was shared with friends and enjoyed. Personally, I ate a bit too much! I’m not a professional blogger, recipe tester, chef or photographer (obviously)–I’m just a passionate, plant based home cook–I don’t work for any of the companies whose products are featured above. The links in this recipe and in all of my recipes are simply there to help those who may not be familiar with certain vegan products or brands, so they can follow the links to find out more. These are the products that I use in my actual kitchen and I think they’re the best. 🙂