Gluten-Free Vegan Matcha Strawberry Cake

This Gluten-Free Vegan Matcha Strawberry Cake is moist and fluffy and covered in a sweet and tangy strawberry frosting.

What is matcha?

Matcha is green tea powder.

I love using matcha in desserts, as it adds a beautiful colour and delicious earthy flavour. I’ve used it to make:

• brownies
• shortbread
• chocolate truffles
• panna cotta
• donuts

So, it definitely made sense to try it out in a sponge cake!

Where can you buy matcha?

You can buy matcha in most supermarkets (in the tea section), local health stores, online or in Asian supermarkets.

Why you’ll love this Gluten-Free Vegan Matcha Strawberry Cake:

• it’s undetectably vegan and gluten-free 
• it’s moist and fluffy
• it’s colourful and pretty
• it has an elegant flavour
• it has an amazing 2-ingredient strawberry frosting
• the slightly bitter matcha perfectly compliments the sweet-tart strawberry frosting
• it’s refined sugar free
• it’s easily customisable!

How to make this Gluten-Free Vegan Matcha Strawberry Cake

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

• Mix together all the ingredients in a glass mixing bowl.

Tip: Use a measuring jug to measure out the plant-based milk.

• Transfer into two 18 cm / 7 inch sandwich baking tins.

Tip: Line the tins with greased baking paper to make the sponges easier to remove afterwards.

• Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

• Transfer onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely before applying the frosting.

How to make the strawberry frosting

• Mix the coconut cream with strawberry jam and use an electric whisk to whip until fluffy.

Tip: To make this refined sugar free, use a refined sugar free strawberry jam such as this one.

• Apply the frosting to the cake using a palette knife for frosting.

How to decorate this Gluten-Free Vegan Matcha Strawberry Cake:

• fresh berries: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries etc
• chopped pistachios
• fresh cherries
• freeze-dried raspberries or strawberries.

How long does this Gluten-Free Vegan Matcha Strawberry Cake keep for?

This Matcha Strawberry Cake tastes best eaten on the day it’s made.

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 substitute the ground almonds (almond meal/almond flour) with ground walnuts
• for a nut-free version: substitute the ground almonds (almond meal/almond flour) with ground sunflower seeds 
• you can use plain flour instead of the gluten-free flour if you’re not gluten-free.

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 Matcha Strawberry Cake

This Gluten-Free Vegan Matcha Strawberry Cake is moist and fluffy and covered in a sweet and tangy strawberry frosting.

4.75 from 20 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: gluten-free matcha cake, vegan matcha cake, vegan matcha sponge

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 400kcal

Author: Rhian Williams

Ingredients

• 60 g (1/4 cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
• 230 ml (1 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
• 150 g (1 1/4 cup) ground almonds (almond meal) **
• 150 g (1 1/4 cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
• 2 heaped teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
• 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 1-2 teaspoons (1 teaspoons ) matcha powder to taste

For the strawberry frosting:

• 400 g (14 oz) tin of full-fat coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons strawberry jam (refined sugar free if necessary)

Instructions

For the cake:

• 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 lemon juice, maple syrup, vanilla and ground almonds
• Sift in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and matcha powder
• Mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it's looking too dry
• Transfer mixture between two small greased baking tins lined with baking paper (I used two 7inch/18cm tins) 
• Bake in oven for around 15 minutes until risen and an inserted skewer comes out clean
• Once out the oven, immediately remove cakes from baking tins and transfer onto a wire rack to cool

For the strawberry frosting:

• You'll need to keep your tin of coconut milk in the fridge overnight for the rich creamy bit to separate from the watery bit at the bottom. Make sure it is full fat coconut milk, otherwise this separation won't happen and you won't be able to make this cream!
• Open the tin upside down - the coconut cream will be at the bottom and you can just pour off the watery liquid (save this for adding to soups or smoothies)
• Place the thick, creamy part into a bowl
• Add the strawberry jam
• Use an electric whisk (or a manual one and a lot of elbow grease) to whip up the coconut cream until light and fluffy

To decorate:

• Once the sponges have cooled completely, place one sponge on a large plate or cake stand, and cover with half of the strawberry frosting
• Place other sponge on top and use remaining frosting to cover the top
• Decorate as desired
• Tastes best eaten on the day

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, substitute with 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar instead

**You can alternatively use almond flour

Nutrition Facts

Gluten-Free Vegan Matcha Strawberry Cake

Amount Per Serving

Calories 400 Calories from Fat 252

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 28g 43%

Saturated Fat 16g 80%

Sodium 81mg 3%

Potassium 180mg 5%

Total Carbohydrates 34g 11%

Dietary Fiber 3g 12%

Sugars 15g

Protein 7g 14%

Vitamin A 0.5%

Vitamin C 2.9%

Calcium 12.7%

Iron 17.1%

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

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