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    Recipes » Recipes » Baking & Desserts

    Gluten-Free Vegan Red Velvet Cake

    Last updated - July 13, 2021; Published - March 16, 2019 By Rhian Williams 91 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe
    A collage of two Gluten-Free Vegan Red Velvet Cake photos

    This Gluten-Free Vegan Red Velvet Cake is moist and fluffy, naturally colour and healthier than the traditional version! It has a balance of sweet, salty, sour and chocolatey flavours and is covered in a tangy vegan cream cheese frosting. It's also refined sugar free and super easy to make!

    A gluten-free vegan red velvet cake topped with freeze-dried raspberries and cacao nibs with a slice being lifted up

    Traditional Red Velvet Cake is made using buttermilk, but it's really easy to make a vegan "buttermilk".

    How do you make vegan "buttermilk"?


    1. Mix almond milk with vinegar in a measuring jug.
    2. Let it sit for 10 minutes.

    Tip: This trick works with any kind of non-dairy milk, as the vinegar curdles the milk so that it resembles buttermilk.

    How do you make naturally coloured Red Velvet Cake?


    To create a red colour without food colouring, I used beetroot powder.

    You can buy beetroot powder in local health stores, as well as online.

    If you can't get hold of it, it's not a problem if you leave it out - you'll just end up with a slightly differently coloured cake, but the taste will be the same and still delicious!

    How to make the cake

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

    • Mix together all the ingredients in a glass mixing bowl.
    Raw gluten-free vegan red velvet cake batter in a mixing bowl
    • Transfer the batter between two 18 cm / 7 inch sandwich baking tins.

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

    Raw gluten-free vegan red velvet cake batter in two circular baking tins
    • Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
    Two gluten-free vegan red velvet cake sponges in circular baking tins
    • Place the sponges on a cooling rack until completely cooled before applying the frosting.
    Two gluten-free vegan red velvet cake sponges on a silver wire rack

    How to make the vegan "cream cheese" frosting

    • Place coconut cream, lemon juice, maple syrup and vanilla in a bowl and use an electric whisk to whip up until fluffy.
    A gluten-free vegan red velvet cake sponge on a cake stand with vegan cream cheese frosting being spread on it with a palette knife
    • Use a palette knife for frosting to apply the frosting in between and on top of the layers of sponge.
    A gluten-free vegan red velvet cake topped on a cake stand with a slice taken out of it

    How long does this Red Velvet Cake keep for?

    This Red Velvet Cake is best enjoyed fresh, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days.

    Substitutions you can make

    • 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 vinegar with lemon juice.
    • 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 instead of the gluten-free flour if you’re not gluten-free.
    • You can omit the beetroot powder - it's used for adding red colouring but the recipe still works without it.
    A slice of gluten-free vegan red velvet cake on a white plate against a grey background

    More gluten-free vegan cake recipes

    • Tropical Carrot Cake
    • Chocolate Truffle Cake
    • Tropical Carrot Cake
    • Lemon Blueberry Cake
    • Cherry Bakewell Cake
    • Chocolate Cake
    • Black Forest Cake
    • Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake
    • Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake
    • Lemon Pound Cake
    • Orange Drizzle 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.

    Watch how to make this recipe

    A gluten-free vegan red velvet cake with a slice being lifted up

    Gluten-Free Vegan Red Velvet Cake

    This Gluten-Free Vegan Red Velvet Cake is moist and fluffy, naturally coloured and much healthier than the traditional version! 
    4.14 from 73 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: gluten-free red velvet cake, refined sugar free red velvet cake, vegan red velvet cake
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 15 minutes
    Total Time: 35 minutes
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 400kcal
    Author: Rhian Williams

    Ingredients

    For the cake:

    • 200 ml (⅘ cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
    • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
    • 60 g (¼ cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
    • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
    • 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)
    • 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
    • 3 teaspoons beetroot powder (optional - adds red colour but not completely necessary for the recipe to work)

    For the frosting:

    • 400 g (14 oz) tin of full-fat coconut milk **
    • 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) lemon juice
    • 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

    Instructions

    For the cake:

    • Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
    • Measure out the milk and, leaving it in the measuring container, add the tablespoon of vinegar and stir - leave to sit for around 10 minutes, while you make the rest of the cake.
    • 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 teaspoon of vinegar to the same bowl along with the maple syrup, vanilla, salt and ground almonds.
    • Sift in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa powder and beetroot powder.
    • Add the milk and vinegar mixture and mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it’s looking too dry.
    • Divide mixture between two greased baking tins lined with baking paper (I used two 7inch/18cm baking tins).
    • Bake in oven for around 15 minutes until risen slightly and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
    • Once out the oven, transfer cakes from baking tins onto a wired rack to leave them to cool completely before applying the frosting.

    For the 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 lemon juice, maple syrup and vanilla extract.
    • 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 frost and decorate the cake:

    • Place one half of the cake onto a plate or cake stand, and spread just less than half of the frosting onto it.
    • Place the other half of the cake on top of that and use rest of the frosting to spread on top.
    • Decorate with freeze-dried raspberries and cacao nibs if desired.
    • Keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days.

    Video

    Notes

    *You can alternatively use almond flour.
    **You can alternatively use 200g (7oz) coconut yogurt.
    Nutrition Facts
    Gluten-Free Vegan Red Velvet Cake
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 400 Calories from Fat 252
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 28g43%
    Saturated Fat 16g80%
    Sodium 76mg3%
    Potassium 201mg6%
    Carbohydrates 35g12%
    Fiber 3g12%
    Sugar 16g18%
    Protein 6g12%
    Vitamin C 2mg2%
    Calcium 127mg13%
    Iron 3mg17%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Made the recipe?Tag @rhiansrecipes on instagram and use the hashtag #rhiansrecipes!

    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.

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Lisa .

      February 14, 2021 at 8:38 pm

      Will eithe Teff flour or millet flour be good substitutes for the almond flour?

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        February 15, 2021 at 5:45 pm

        I don't know as I haven't tested it, so I can't say. Would love to hear how you get on if you try it, though!

    2. Ines

      April 23, 2021 at 8:54 pm

      Hi Rhian, I love your cakes! Thank you so much for sharing. I will try this cake on the weekend but I can’t find any ready to buy gluten free flour mix, can you please advise a home blend? I hav almond flour, coconut flour, rice flour at disposable. Many thanks for your help and will definitely share the result! Cheers from Portugal 🙂

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        April 23, 2021 at 9:34 pm

        Thank you so much! Instead of gluten-free flour, you can use 140g rice flour and 10g tapioca flour. I hope that helps!

    3. Parth

      February 22, 2022 at 10:51 am

      5 stars

      Reply
    4. Stu Hayes

      July 22, 2022 at 11:48 pm

      I have 3 - 6 inch pans. How do I adjust for the baking time in the oven? Thanks.

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        July 23, 2022 at 12:20 pm

        sorry do you mean that you have 3 pans that measure 6 inches each, or pans that are between 3 to 6 inches?

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    Photo of Rhian Williams from Rhian's Recipes

    Hi, I'm Rhian! I make easy, undetectably vegan + gluten-free recipes, including healthy comfort food and naturally sweetened desserts using plant-based ingredients.

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