Vegan Pound Cake

In anticipation of more strawberries from the CSA today, I decided I wanted to make shortcakes for dessert. So I set about looking for pound cake recipes. Most that I found called for silken tofu which I just used the last of in a smoothie the other day, so that was out. Most also called for lemon extract, which again I did not have. What to do, what to do?? Improvise!!

Working from several recipes and ingredients I had on hand I devised my only little recipe for

Orange Tofu Pound Cake:

1/3 cup softened Earth Balance
3/4 cup unrefined sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 package firm tofu
juice of 1 orange (plus 1 1/2 tsp orange zest)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

Preheat oven to 350. In your food processor or blender process tofu with orange juice until smooth. In bowl of a stand mixer (or with a hand held mixer) cream together Earth Balance and sugar (unrefined sugar doesn't cream as well as white granulated sugar, but it was all I had). With machine running add baking powder, vanilla, tofu mixture, orange zest and water. Slowly sift in flour until batter forms. Lightly oil 5x6 baking dish and fill with batter. Bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes, until top is golden brown and skewer inserted in center comes out clean.

Thankfully the CSA came through with 4 pints of strawberries this week!! After washing them I sprinkled them with unrefined sugar and allowed them to macerate while we at dinner. Then I served them over slices of Orange Tofu Pound Cake. The creamy topping you see on them is just the other half of the tofu from the pound cake processed in the food processor with 1/4 cup of maple syrup and 1 Tbs powdered sugar.

Yum yum, strawberry shortcake is a sure sign that summer is on it's way!!!