Stinging Nettle and Lemon Cake (GF DF VG)

Name: Stinging Nettle and Lemon Cake (GF DF VG)
Total time: 18000 s
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 4 cups stinging nettle tops; 200 ml plant milk; 1 lemon, zest and juice; 80 ml vegetable oil; 120 g sugar; 260 g plain GF flour; 1 tsp sodium bicarbonate; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp salt; 200 g icing sugar; 1 lemon, juice; 1 tsp vanilla extract; Edible flowers (dandelions, fruit blossoms, three cornered leek flowers, etc; 1/2 cup (120 ml) water; 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar; 1 lemon, juice

Genna @genlato_

Bristol

Another foraged recipe, and another adventure into gluten free and vegan baking. I wasn’t sure how this was going to turn out, as most of my gluten free cakes rely on eggs. But many of my friends are vegan and I didn’t want them to miss out on this celebration of spring. And I was pleasantly surprised by the result!

It may not have the rise, but the texture is all cake - soft and bright and moist and beautifully green! Give it a try 💚

Tips for foraging nettles (and other green things!): http://blog.cookpad.com/us/green-foods-you-can-forage-in-spring/

It may not have the rise, but the texture is all cake - soft and bright and moist and beautifully green! Give it a try 💚

Tips for foraging nettles (and other green things!): http://blog.cookpad.com/us/green-foods-you-can-forage-in-spring/

Genna @genlato_

Bristol

It may not have the rise, but the texture is all cake - soft and bright and moist and beautifully green! Give it a try 💚

Tips for foraging nettles (and other green things!): http://blog.cookpad.com/us/green-foods-you-can-forage-in-spring/

It may not have the rise, but the texture is all cake - soft and bright and moist and beautifully green! Give it a try 💚

Tips for foraging nettles (and other green things!): http://blog.cookpad.com/us/green-foods-you-can-forage-in-spring/

Saved

Ingredients

1.5 hours

Cake
4 cupsstinging nettle tops
200 mlplant milk
1lemon, zest and juice
80 mlvegetable oil
120 gsugar
260 gplain GF flour
1 tspsodium bicarbonate
1 tspbaking powder
1 tspsalt
Icing + Decoration
200 gicing sugar
1lemon, juice
1 tspvanilla extract
Edible flowers (dandelions, fruit blossoms, three cornered leek flowers, etc
Optional lemon syrup
1/2 cup (120 ml)water
1/2 cup (100 g)granulated sugar
1lemon, juice

Saved

Steps

1.5 hours

1

Preheat the oven to 170 C. Line a loaf tin or cake tin with parchment paper.
2

Fill a kettle with water and set to boil. Using rubber gloves, carefully wash nettle tops with cold water in a big bowl, then drain. In the bowl, cover the nettles with boiling water and let sit for 5-10 minutes. This removes the sting.
3

Once blanched, drain the nettles and rinse again with cold water. The nettles are now safe to touch, and you can remove any chunky stems, leaving only the tender tips and leaves. Squeeze out any excess water.
4

Using a stick blender or food processor, blend the nettles with the lemon juice and plant milk. Once smooth, add in the vegetable oil and blitz again.
5

In another bowl, add all the dry ingredients (flour, bicarb, baking powder, sugar, salt) and lemon zest. Add the nettle puree and stir together.
6

Pour into your baking tin and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
7

Optional: make a lemon simple syrup (see ingredients) by heating water and sugar together in a pan over medium heat. Stir continuously to help sugar dissolve and remove from heat when it reaches a boil (about 3 min). About 5 minutes after removing your cake from the oven, poke a holes all over your cake and drizzle over your syrup so it soaks in. Leave to cool completely.
8

While waiting for the cake to cool, make your icing. Whisk icing sugar, and half of the lemon juice and vanilla extract together in a bowl. Keep adding lemon juice a little bit at a time until you reach your desired icing thickness. If it’s still too thick, add a drop of plant milk at a time. If it’s too thin, add more icing sugar.
9

Once your cake is completely cooled, decorate with icing and edible flowers.

Saved

Cooksnaps

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Genna @genlato_

on May 06, 2025 20:03

Bristol

Hello! I’m Genna 👋 Born and raised in California, currently living in the UK 🇺🇸🇬🇧My home cooking is inspired by sustainable living, using whole food and high quality ingredientsn 🌱 I’ve recently started growing my own food in my garden, and I love learning about ethical and sustainable food systems! I enjoy both baking and cooking, and will always take on a challenge to adapt recipes to different dietary requirements or preferences.