Gluten-Free Vegan Cherry Cake

This Gluten-Free Vegan Cherry Cake is moist and fluffy, and filled with juicy cherries. The recipe is versatile and easily customisable, it comes together in one bowl and is refined sugar free too. It's great for dessert, or even breakfast or brunch!

Can you use frozen cherries?

• Yes, you can use either fresh or frozen cherries.
• If using frozen cherries, be careful when mixing them into the batter. Otherwise, the juice from the cherries could bleed into the rest of the batter and spoil the colour of your cake.

How to make this recipe

Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.

• Mix together all the ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Tip: Make sure to use a measuring jug to measure out the exact amount of plant-based milk!

• Transfer the batter into a 18cm / 7 inch springform baking tin lined with greased baking paper.

Tip: To prevent the sides of the cake from getting burnt, make sure that the baking paper is covering the bottom and the sides of the tin.  

• Evenly sprinkle flaked almonds over the top of the batter, if desired.

• Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

• Leave to cool before slicing.

Substitutions you can make to this recipe

• You can use any type of oil: coconut oil, olive oil or vegetable oil.
• You can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, cashew milk, oat milk etc.
• You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
• You can replace the ground almonds (almond meal/almond flour) with ground walnuts.
• For a nut-free version: replace the ground almonds (almond meal/almond flour) with ground sunflower seeds or use 30g (¼ cup) coconut flour instead of 150g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds.
• You can use plain flour, wholemeal (whole wheat) flour or spelt flour instead of the gluten-free flour if you're not gluten-free.

Flavour substitutions you can make

• If you're not into cherries, you can replace them with raspberries, blueberries, blackberries or strawberries.
• You can add some almond extract for extra almond flavour.
• You can add some orange zest or orange blossom water.
• You can add some chocolate chips.
• You can replace the flaked almonds with coconut flakes.

Serving suggestions

• Coconut whipped cream.
• Vegan vanilla (or chocolate) ice cream.
• Custard - this custard powder is my favourite as it's made with just few simple ingredients and it's vegan, gluten-free and completely free from sugar.

How long does this cherry cake keep for?

It tastes best eaten on the day it's made, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days. 

More gluten-free vegan cake recipes

• Lemon Blueberry Cake
• Chocolate Chip Cake
• Chocolate Cake
• Orange Cake
• Strawberry Cake
• Black Forest Cake
• Red Velvet Cake
• Lemon Yogurt Cake
• Ginger Cake
• Blood Orange Cake
• Almond Loaf Cake
• Matcha Cake
• Jam Marble Cake

If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I'd really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

Gluten-Free Vegan Cherry Cake

This Gluten-Free Vegan Cherry Cake is moist and fluffy, and filled with juicy cherries.

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: British

Keyword: cherry cake, gluten-free cherry cake, gluten-free vegan cake, vegan cherry cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 296kcal

Author: Rhian Williams

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• ▢ 60 g (¼ cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
• ▢ 200 ml (⅘ cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons lemon juice *
• ▢ 8 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ Pinch salt
• ▢ 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) **
• ▢ 150 g (1 ¼ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
• ▢ 2 heaped teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• ▢ 150 g (⅔ cup) cherries , pitted and halved (fresh or frozen) ***

For topping (optional):

• ▢ Flaked almonds

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
• Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other oil).
• Once melted, add the milk to the same bowl with the lemon juice, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and ground almonds.
• Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
• Mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it's looking too dry.
• Add the cherries and fold in gently - make sure you don't crush them.
• Transfer mixture into a greased baking tin lined with baking paper (I used a 7inch/18cm springform baking tin) - make sure that the baking paper is covering the bottom and the sides of the tin, to prevent the sides of the cake from getting burnt.
• Evenly sprinkle the flaked almonds over the top of the batter, if desired.
• Bake in the oven for around 30 minutes until risen and golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
• Leave to cool before slicing.
• Best eaten on the day it's made, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days.

Notes

*The lemon juice is crucial as its acidity needs to react with the alkali bicarbonate of soda to make the sponge fluffy. If you don't want to use lemon juice, replace with 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar instead.

**You can alternatively use almond flour.

***If using frozen cherries, be careful when mixing them into the batter. Otherwise, the juice from the cherries could bleed into the rest of the batter and spoil the colour of your cake.

Nutrition Facts

Gluten-Free Vegan Cherry Cake

Amount Per Serving

Calories 296 Calories from Fat 162

% Daily Value*

Fat 18g28%

Saturated Fat 7g35%

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.4g

Monounsaturated Fat 1g

Sodium 71mg3%

Potassium 116mg3%

Carbohydrates 33g11%

Fiber 4g16%

Sugar 16g18%

Protein 6g12%

Vitamin A 12IU0%

Vitamin C 3mg4%

Calcium 118mg12%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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