Lemon, Basil and Coconut

100% Vegan Recipe

Okay, so I've done this thing where I've asked a random generator to give me a flavour profile. Then, I made cookies and cupcakes from it. I got my mother to taste them both and see which one she thought was better. Let's take a look at the flavour profile.

The first flavour was lemon. Lemon is a great springtime flavour and can be really refreshing. I usually like to zest lemons and put them in cakes even if there are other flavours there because they can make the cake nice and tart - adding to any sweetness.

The second was basil. Basil really struck me because I don't like it. It's a bit herby and I don't like when it's added to tomatoes either. When I looked it up though, it seems that lemon and basil do go together especially on fish and meat.

The third was coconut. I guess that's cool - I've been using coconut a lot lately and so - adding coconut into something shouldn't be so difficult. But with the lemon in there already, it was difficult to bring it out and so, I had to add quite a bit of it in.

Let's have a look at how this turned out then...

Cake vs Cookie

1: Lemon and Basil Cupcakes with Vanilla Coconut Buttercream

Part 1: The Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 100g Light Brown Sugar
• 100g Vegan Butter
• 1x Lemon
• 2x Tsp Ground Basil
• 2x Tbsp Apple Sauce
• 1x Tsp Baking Powder
• 100g Self Raising Flour

How To:

1. Preheat the oven to 200/C and line a cupcake tray with 12 cases
2. Cream together the butter and sugar
3. Zest the lemon and add this to the butter and sugar mixture along with your ground basil and apple sauce - mix it up again
4. Once combined, add the self-raising flour and baking powder and mix once more
5. Spoon the batter into the cupcake cases and bake for 18-20 minutes
6. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the tray and then transfer the cakes to the fridge on a separate plate

Part 2: Vanilla Coconut Buttercream

Ingredients:

• 100g Vegan Butter
• 200g Powdered Sugar
• 2x Tsp Vanilla Essence
• 50g Coconut Cream
• 2x Tsp Your Choice of Gel Food Colouring

How To:

1. Whip together the vegan butter, coconut cream and vanilla essence for five minutes until completely combined
2. Add in the sugar and gel food colouring and whip up again for another five minutes
3. Pop into a piping bag with a nozzle of your choice
4. Grab your cupcakes from the fridge and pipe your cupcakes
5. Put them back in the fridge for another 10 minutes

***

As you can see in the picture, I did add a coconut shortbread to my cakes and that was because I had extra biscuit dough - so I cut some leaf shapes and pushed them a little into the buttercream

***

2: Coconut Shortbread with Lemon and Basil Curd

Part 1: Coconut Shortbread

Ingredients:

• 50g Light Brown Sugar
• 120g Vegan Butter
• 190g Plain Flour
• 50g Desiccated Coconut

Tip: if you don't like desiccate coconut then swapping out a quarter of the vegan butter for coconut cream is a great idea. Then, you add about a teaspoon of vanilla essence to bring that out. Don't add too much coconut cream though because too much liquid can make your dough too wet.

How To:

1. Preheat your oven to 200/C and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper
2. Cream together your butter and sugar
3. Add your coconut and mix again
4. Mix in your flour until a dough forms
5. Chill for ten minutes
6. Once chilled, roll and cut your dough into your desired shapes and lay on the baking tray
7. Place the tray in the oven for 15-18 minutes
8. Once baked, transfer to a plate to cool

***

Part 2: Lemon and Basil Curd

Ingredients:

• 100g White Sugar
• 1.5 Tbsp Cornflour
• 1 Lemon
• 1x Tsp Ground Basil
• 1/2 Cup of Soya Milk

How To:

1. Heat the milk in a man on a low heat
2. Add the sugar and make sure it melts slightly into the milk
3. Zest the lemon into the mixture and then juice the same lemon into the mixture
4. Add the basil
5. Stir and turn the heat up
6. Add the cornflour and turn the heat up so that it bubbles
7. Grab a whisk and vigorously whisk the cornflour into the curd until it disappears entirely
8. The curd should thicken up
9. Take it off the heat, put it in a jar and place the jar (OPEN) in the fridge to cool

***

Part 3: Put Them Together!

How To:

1. Dip half the cookie in the curd and place on greaseproof paper upon a tray
2. Put them in the fridge to harden
3. Enjoy!

***

Eventually it was the cake that won according to my mum who tried them both. (Though she did like them both). But if you were going to bake these, the cupcakes are definitely quicker but the cookies are definitely sweeter and heavier (you can thank yourself for eating less of them 😂)