Gluten-Free Vegan Vanilla Cake

This Gluten-Free Vegan Vanilla Cake is:

• moist and fluffy
• covered in a silky buttercream
• simple yet delicious!

A vanilla cake may sound boring, but the elegant pairing of the delicately vanilla-infused sponge with the velvety, vanilla-infused buttercream frosting is just magical.

The base of this Gluten-Free Vegan Vanilla Cake is my go-to sponge recipe: it comes together easily in one bowl, requires familiar ingredients and is really versatile. You can use any type of oil you like, any type of milk, and any type of liquid sweetener.

It’s honestly undetectably vegan, gluten-free and refined sugar free, tastes sweet and buttery, and has a moist and fluffy texture.

The next step is the buttercream frosting – it’s made using blended cashews and it’s luxuriously rich, melt-in-your-mouth creamy and perfectly sweet.

It’s easy to make, and the texture is great for spreading.

Once you’ve frosted your cake, you can decorate it with whatever you want! I went for freeze-dried raspberries, but other delicious toppings include fresh fruit, chopped nuts, dried fruit, edible flowers, or anything else you like!

As Gluten-Free Vegan Vanilla Cake is about as neutral as you can get, it’s really versatile and suits a wide range of occasions – it’s perfect for:

• birthdays
• Easter
• Mother’s Day
• baby showers
• weddings
• and anything else in between!

For more simple yet delicious cake recipes, check out my:

• Strawberry Cake
• Lemon Blueberry Cake
• Pineapple Upside Down Cake
• Coconut Cake
• Lemon Drizzle Cake
• Victoria Sponge 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 Vanilla Cake:

For the cake:

glass mixing bowl

measuring jug

18 cm / 7 inch sandwich baking tin

baking paper

cooling rack

For the frosting:

food processor

blender

hand-held stick blender

palette knife for frosting

Gluten-Free Vegan Vanilla Cake

This Gluten-Free Vegan Vanilla Cake is moist and fluffy, covered in a silky buttercream, and simple yet delicious!

4.48 from 42 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

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

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 329kcal

Author: Rhian Williams

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 60 g (1/4 cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
• 200 ml (4/5 cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
• 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 power (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
• 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

For the buttercream:

• 100 g (2/3 cup) cashew nuts - soaked in cold water overnight or in hot water for 15 minutes
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk (or sub water or any other plant-based milk)

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, vanilla, maple syrup 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
• Transfer mixture between two greased baking tins lined with baking paper (I used two 7inch/18cm springform baking tins)
• Bake in oven for around 15 minutes until risen and an inserted skewer comes out clean
• Once done, turn the cakes out onto wire racks and leave to cool completely before frosting

For the buttercream:

• Drain soaked cashews and add to a food processor or blender with all the other ingredients (a hand-held blender works too)
• Whizz until completely smooth, adding more milk or water if necessary

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 and around the sides of the cake
• Tastes best when fresh but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days

Notes

*You can alternatively use almond flour

Nutrition Facts

Gluten-Free Vegan Vanilla Cake

Amount Per Serving

Calories 329

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

Made the recipe?Tag @rhiansrecipes on instagram and use the hashtag #rhiansrecipes!

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