Vegan Lemon Shortcake

This vegan lemon shortcake is light and sweet with a really zesty lemon filling.

The shortcake is made with cashews, which make it soft and, along with the vanilla extract, give it a distinctive creamy flavour. Using cashews also means the recipe uses a bit less fat than it would otherwise.

The lemon butter can be made several days in advance if you like and stored, covered, in the fridge. You’ll need to bring it up to room temperature before using it, though.

The cashews will also need to be soaked in advance, but once you have the ingredients assembled, this is as quick to make as jam tarts.

This recipe will make enough for nine good-sized squares in a 7″ square tin.

Ingredients

for the lemon butter

• zest and juice of one unwaxed lemon
• 100 g caster sugar
• 25 g vegan margarine
• 15 g cornflour

for the shortcake

• 45 g cashew nuts (soaked)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 85 g caster sugar
• 60 g vegan margarine
• 75 g white/unbleached self-raising flour
• 75 g white/unbleached plain flour
• a few flaked almonds (optional) and a spoonful of caster sugar for sprinkling

method

1. You will need to soak the cashews for a few hours, or overnight. Do this by placing them in a small jug or bowl and covering them with water – allow a centimetre or so of water above the top of the cashews as they will absorb most of it.
2. Make the lemon butter before the shortcake. Measure the lemon juice and make the quantity up to 90 ml with water (a medium-sized lemon usually yields about 50 ml of juice). Pour the juice into a pan and whisk in the cornflour before adding the zest, margarine and sugar.
3. Warm the mixture gently, stirring frequently, to boiling point. Allow it to boil gently, still stirring, until it has thickened and clarified. Set aside. (The mixture will cook a bit further in the oven but should be about as thick as shop-bought lemon curd before you add it to the shortcake.)
4. Set the oven to 180°C/360°F and lightly oil/line the base of a 7″ square or similar-sized baking tin.
5. Next, drain the cashews and place them in a small blender or processor with 25 ml of water and the vanilla extract. Blend until the mixture becomes a smooth thick cream. It might take a minute or two. Set aside.
6. In a large bowl, beat the margarine and caster sugar until they have a light, fluffy appearance. Add the cashew cream and continue beating until well combined.
7. Sift in the flours and fold until the mixture has come together to form a soft pastry dough.
8. Transfer half of the dough to a floured board and sprinkle more flour on top (the mixture will be really soft so you will need a fair bit of flour to stop it sticking to board and rolling pin).
9. Roll lightly until it is roughly the size of the base of the baking tin. Carefully lift the dough, using the rolling pin (or a fish-slice and your hands, or whatever works!) and place it in the bottom of the tin. If necessary press it into the corners so that the whole of the base is covered.
10. Dot the surface with the lemon butter and spread this evenly across the whole of the base.
11. Roll the second half of the shortcake dough and transfer it to the tin, covering the lemon layer. This is a soft dough and if it breaks up, it won’t matter too much – you can transfer it in four squares and use a knife to pat the edges together if you prefer.
12. Sprinkle over the flaked almonds (if using) and a little extra sugar before baking for around 35-40 minutes until it is lightly golden on top.
13. Allow the cake to cool completely before attempting to cut.
14. It will store for a few days in an airtight tin.

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