This Gluten-Free Vegan Jaffa Cake is the best sweet treat! It's:
- easy to make
- full of orange flavour
- smothered in a decadent chocolate ganache!
I love the combination of chocolate and orange, so Jaffa Cakes have always been one of my favourites. I was keen to try my hand at some gluten-free vegan Jaffa Cakes, but thought they would be too time-consuming and finicky to make.
But, I thought, a giant Jaffa Cake would be manageable...it would just be like making a normal sponge cake, but with all the flavours of a Jaffa Cake - win, win!
But then the idea of making a sponge first, followed by a layer of orange-flavoured jelly, then waiting for that to set, and finally coating it in melted chocolate and waiting for that to set too didn't particularly appeal to me.
This is when I thought of the idea of using marmalade in place of the orange jelly - it has the same flavour and similar texture without all the fuss of making a thin sheet of jelly.
And to top the cake, instead of a hard crackly layer of dark chocolate, which would be inconvenient to cut, I decided to go for a rich chocolate ganache.
The chocolate ganache keeps its silky-smooth texture even days after it's made, and is really easy to make too. If you'd like the cake to be refined sugar free, you can buy a naturally sweetened marmalade or orange spread, and refined sugar free dark chocolate.
For the sponge, I went for my go-to recipe that requires just one bowl and familiar ingredients, and is easily customisable to what you have on hand. It's also moist and fluffy, and makes the perfect base for the citrusy marmalade and indulgent chocolate ganache.
And to make it look more like a real Jaffa Cake, you can even create a pretty feathered pattern on the top of the cake using a chopstick or skewer if you want.
I hope you'll love this Gluten-Free Vegan Jaffa Cake! For more cakes, check out my:
- Coconut Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Cake
- Apple Cake
- Chocolate Mousse Cake
- Brooklyn Blackout Chocolate Cake
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Orange 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 on Instagram! Thank you.
Helpful tools to make this Gluten-Free Vegan Jaffa Cake:
glass mixing bowl
measuring jug
18 cm / 7 inch sandwich baking tin
baking paper
cooling rack
Gluten-Free Vegan Jaffa Cake
Ingredients
For the sponge:
- 30 g (⅛ cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
- 115 ml (½ cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 75 g (⅔ cup) ground almonds* (almond meal)
- 75 g (⅔ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
- 1 heaped teaspoon baking power (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
To assemble:
- 3 tablespoons marmalade (refined sugar free if necessary)
- 40 g (1.5oz) dark chocolate** (ensure vegan/gluten-free if necessary)
- 6 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
Instructions
For the sponge:
- 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 along with the vinegar, 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
- Place the mixture into a greased baking tin lined with baking paper (I used a 7inch/18cm baking tin)
- Bake in oven for around 15 minutes until risen slightly and an inserted skewer comes out clean
- Once out the oven, leave the sponge to cool completely before applying the next layer
To assemble:
- Once the sponge has cooled completely, place on a large plate or cake stand, and cover the top and sides with the marmalade
- Melt the chocolate either over a bain-marie or in the microwave, add the milk and mix well
- Pour the chocolate mixture over the top of the cake and spread it around the sides, ensuring that the marmalade has been covered
- Keep the cake in the fridge for a few hours until the chocolate has set before cutting
- Tastes best when fresh, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days
Notes
Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you purchase any of these products, a small percentage will come to me with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.
Mel
I miss jaffa cakes so much since going gluten-free - will have to try this thanks!
Rhian Williams
Thank you!
Maraika
Great easy recipe. You can make the cake part ahead of time and freeze. Or freeze several, and just add topping on the day of serving. Thanks very much for sharing.
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much, so glad you like it! That's great to know about the freezing, thank you for sharing.