Traditional Constantinople Cake [Vegan]

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Traditionally served in small slices with Greek coffee, this Constantinople cake is the perfect way to celebrate an occasion or end a lovely meal. However, whenever you choose to enjoy it – you will not be disappointed!

Traditional Greek Constantinople Cake [Vegan]

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups unsweetened almond milk
2 tablespoons rosewater
1 cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons orange zest (1 medium orange)
10 pods cardamom pods: use crushed seeds or scant 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sesame (or vegetable) oil
1, 12-ounce jar of your favorite jam and/or 1 cup powdered sugar

Preparation

Warm almond milk, zests, rosewater, cinnamon stick, and crushed cardamom seeds together over low/medium heat and cook for 5 minutes.
Reduce heat to very low, cook for 5 minutes. Shut off heat and allow to cool for at least 25 minutes.
At about 10 minutes into cooling, you should see a thin skin start to form as the liquid thickens.
Stir to reincorporate if you like but do not remove! This should cook down to a bit over 1 cup which is what you will need for this recipe. Feel free to sweeten and drink any extra
When almond milk reduction is cooled, strain out spices/zest and stir in orange juice.
Let sit approximately 10 minutes and, right before adding to the recipe, stir in vanilla extract.
Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, salt in large bowl.
Add almond milk reduction and mix to combine completely. The batter will be very thick! Mix in oil until completely combined.
Scoop batter into 9-inch round baking pan, bottom lined with parchment paper, and bake at 350°F for 25 minutes. Turn cake out onto a cooling rack and allow to rest for at least 2 hours before decorating (or eating – cake needs time for flavors to finish coming together!).
Before topping with jam, use a serrated knife to level off the top of the cake or you’ll have jam sliding everywhere!
Top with unsweetened coconut flakes and garnish with fresh mint leaves. Or simply dust liberally with powdered sugar for an elegant, minimalist approach.

AUTHOR & RECIPE DETAILS

Tradtitional Greek recipes made vegan.

Kiki Vagianos wants to live in a world where no living thing suffers for her benefit and eco-friendly kitchen gloves come in cool designer prints. As recipe tester and pot washer at the hit blog The Greek Vegan, she divides her time between sink and stove and hopes someday to own stock in aforementioned gloves. You’ll find Kiki rediscovering and sharing hundreds of Greek vegan recipes drawn from the rich and varied thousands year old plant-based food culture.