Summer Peach Tea Cake with Aquafaba Meringue

With Summer here in Australia and all this beautiful juicy stone fruit around, I thought I would bake up a summer inspired cake and share it with you all. I’ve used peach and pineapple as the fruits inside my cake but any stone fruit, berries or apples would be just as delicious. I’ve also infused the cake with some fruity tea blends! I used a peach and pineapple flavour as it makes this cake so summery, but you can swap it out for any flavoured tea - raspberry or lemon tea would also be super yum!

And vegan meringue - yes that’s right. No more wasting your chickpea water!! aka ‘aquafaba’. This ingredient is the secret to a meringue without egg whites! Aquafaba is gaining plenty of attention in its ability to replace eggs in mayonnaise and cocktails too. But it can also be added to baking instead of eggs (e.g cookies, cakes, pancakes - yes I have some experimenting to do with this ingredient!). Amazing because it’s basically free since it’s usually discarded when cooking. I’ve made this meringue to top my cake but you can leave this part out if you prefer just a simple tea-cake.

Peach and Pineapple Summer Tea Cake Recipe

Topped with a vegan aquafaba meringue

Ingredients:

3 bags of Peach and Pineapple Tea

2 tbsp Flax Meal

1.5 cup Plain Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 cup Coconut Sugar

1/3 cup Vegan Butter

1 cup Soy Milk

Rind of 1 Lemon

1/2 Fresh Peach, thinly sliced

Meringue icing:

Aqua Faba (liquid of 1 400g can of chickpeas)

3/4 cup Castor Sugar

1/3 tsp Cream of Tartar

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Topping:

1/2 Peach, thinly sliced

1/2 cup Fresh Pineapple, diced

Handful of Raspberries

Handful of Edible Flowers

Pinch of Lemon Rind

How to make:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees fan forced and line a 23cm cake pan with baking paper.
Place the teabags and 1/2 cup of boiling water in a mug, allow to steep for approximately 10 minutes.
Place the flax meal and 1/3 cup of water in a bowl, stir, set aside.
Sieve together the flour and baking powder.
In a seperate bowl, add the vegan butter and coconut sugar and beat together on a medium setting with a hand mixer until mixed.
Add the soy milk, flax mix, strained tea and lemon rind. Mix together on a low setting. Add the dry mix to the bowl and mix again on a low setting until just combined.
Pour cake mix into the baking tin and top with the slices of peach.
Place in the oven to bake for 40-50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack for at least 1 hour.
Make the meringue: Turn oven onto fan grill at 200 degrees celcius and drain the chickpeas using the liquid (aqua faba), place the drained chickpeas in an airtight container in the fridge - use for your lunch or dinner!
Add the aqua faba to a deep mixing bowl with the cream of tartar, mix together using the whisk attachment on a hand mixer.
Add the sugar and vanilla and whisk on a high setting for approximately 10 minutes or until stiff peaks form.
Spoon the meringue onto the cake and place under the grill for 3-5 minutes with the door partially open. Check on your cake every minute - remove once top starts to brown in parts, you may need to rotate tray to cook evenly.
Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes, top with fresh summer fruits, edible flowers and lemon rind.

I hope you enjoy this cake recipe! Make sure its consumed right away (or at least whip up the meringue icing when you’re ready to serve the cake, as this part doesn’t keep long). Once its topped with the fresh fruits it will need to be stored in the refrigerator.