• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Rhian's Recipes

  • About
    • Contact
    • Work With Me
  • Recipes
  • Thanksgiving & Xmas Recipes
  • Gift Guide
  • Cookbook
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Subscribe
  • Thanksgiving & Xmas Recipes
  • Gift Guide
  • Cookbook
  • Blogging Tips
×
Home » Recipes » Baking & Desserts

Gluten-Free Vegan Wedding Cake

Modified: Jul 15, 2021 · Published: Oct 6, 2017 by Rhian Williams

Photo of the author Rhian Williams
Modified: Jul 15, 2021 · Published: Oct 6, 2017 by Rhian Williams · This post may contain affiliate links · 34 Comments
Jump to Recipe

This Gluten-Free Vegan Wedding Cake is easy to make, deceptively impressive and seriously delicious.

Gluten-Free Vegan Wedding Cake

Whether you're just looking for some inspiration for your special day, in charge of baking a gluten-free vegan wedding cake for your friend, or in need of something to ask your caterer to make for you, I really hope this recipe will come in useful!

Gluten-Free Vegan Wedding Cake

For the sponge, I used my go-to gluten-free, vegan and refined sugar free sponge cake recipe, which I love because it comes together easily in one bowl and requires simple, familiar ingredients. It's also very versatile, as you can use any type of oil you want, any type of liquid sweetener, and any type of milk.

Gluten-Free Vegan Wedding Cake

Although I've used this sponge recipe to create all sorts of cake flavours such as chocolate, matcha, red velvet and coffee, I decided to go with a simple, vanilla-flavoured one as the base for this cake. I also added some lemon juice for a little brightness, and it also works well to balance out the richness of the cashew buttercream.

Gluten-Free Vegan Wedding Cake

Although I usually use sweet potato or coconut whipped cream for frosting cakes, I decided to go with cashew nuts for the buttercream frosting for this cake. I added some cacao butter to the icing too, which creates an elegant white chocolate-like flavour.

You'll also love the texture of this buttercream - it's super rich, melts in your mouth just like real buttercream, and is just perfect for spreading around the edges to create one of those 'naked' wedding cakes that seem to be so trendy nowadays.

Although cashew nuts and cacao butter can be expensive, and they make for a much richer frosting than, say, sweet potato purée, if you're not going to splash out on your wedding day, when else can you?

Gluten-Free Vegan Wedding Cake

I also decided to spread some strawberry jam in between the layers of the sponge - where's nothing better than a simple vanilla sponge sandwiched with some sticky jam and smooth buttercream.

This, paired with the luxuriously creamy texture of the blended cashews means the cake ends up tasting a lot like these Strawberry Chocolate Truffles --> SO good.

If you're not into strawberry, you can use any other flavour of jam you like. And if you'd like to keep the cake refined sugar free, be sure to use a naturally sweetened jam, or you could even make your own!

Gluten-Free Vegan Wedding Cake

Although this cake might look a little fancy, it's seriously much easier than most other celebration cakes as I've gone for a 'naked' style cake, which means all you need to do is roughly coat all the outer edges using a spatula or knife, rather than fussing about with fondant icing and such.

I then decorated with a handful of edible flowers (which I luckily managed to find in my local supermarket!) and some adorable little wild strawberries, which I had growing in my garden. You can really decorate with whatever you like though, anything like dried fruit, freeze-dried fruit, rose petals, fresh fruit, cacao nibs, nuts or seeds would work well.

Gluten-Free Vegan Wedding 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 Wedding 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

palette knife for frosting

Gluten-Free Vegan Wedding Cake

Gluten-Free Vegan Wedding Cake

This Gluten-Free Vegan Wedding Cake is easy to make, deceptively impressive and seriously delicious.
4.70 from 10 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Global
Keyword: gluten-free wedding cake, refined sugar free wedding cake, vegan wedding cake
Prep Time: 45 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour
Servings: 20
Calories: 303kcal
Prevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

For the sponge:

  • 120 ml (½ cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
  • 400 ml (1 ⅔ cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
  • 4 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 190 ml (⅘ cup) maple syrup (or sub any other liquid sweetener)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Pinch salt
  • 300 g (2 ½ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) *
  • 300 g (2 ½ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
  • 4 heaped teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
  • ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

For the buttercream:

  • 200 g (1 ⅔ cup) raw cashew nuts soaked in cold water overnight or in hot water for 15 minutes
  • 50 g (1.7 oz) cacao butter
  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 12 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk (or sub water or any other plant-based milk)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To frost and decorate the cake:

  • 10 tablespoons strawberry jam  (ensure refined sugar free if n)ecessary
  • Suggested decorations listed below **

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, 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.
  • Transfer mixture into greased baking tins lined with baking paper (I used two 7inch/18cm baking tins and then used four metal rings lined with greased baking paper, which each measured 4.5inch/11.5cm, 3.5inch/9cm, 2.5inch/6cm and 2inch/5cm. Or you can use baking tins if you have ones of varying sizes).
  • Bake in oven for around 15 minutes until risen and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
  • Turn all the cakes out onto wire racks to leave to cool completely before frosting.

For the buttercream:

  • Drain soaked cashews and add to a food processor or blender along with all the other ingredients***.
  • Whizz until completely smooth.
  • Taste and adjust flavour if necessary, adding more maple syrup, salt or vanilla if you wish.
  • Put the mixture (keep it in the food processor but you can transfer to a bowl if you wish) into the fridge and leave to harden slightly before using to frost the cake.

To frost and decorate the cake:

  • Cut the smaller cakes in half horizontally using a cake slicer or a bread knife.
  • Place half of the biggest cake onto a large plate or cake stand.
  • Split the buttercream into even thirds.
  • Using a spatula or knife, spread a third of the buttercream over the bottom layer of cake.
  • Next, spread over 5 tablespoons of the jam.
  • Finally, place the other half of the cake on top.
  • Next, place the bottom layer of the second biggest cake on top, and spread half of another third of the buttercream onto this layer of cake.
  • Then, spread over 2 tablespoons of the jam.
  • Now, place the other half of that cake on top.
  • Repeat this process for the remaining cakes, going in order of decreasing size. Divide up the remainder of the second third of the buttercream and the remaining jam between these cakes.
  • Once these are all done, use a spatula or knife to spread the remaining third of the buttercream around the tops and sides of all of the cakes.
  • Decorate however you wish - see notes for some suggested decorations.
  • Best when fresh, but keeps in the fridge for up to a couple of days.

Notes

*You can alternatively use almond flour.
**Suggested decorations:
  • Edible flowers
  • Wild strawberries
  • Fresh fruit
  • Dried fruit
  • Freeze-dried fruit
  • Rose petals
  • Cacao nibs
  • Nuts
***If your food processor isn’t very powerful, it may have trouble with the cocoa butter. In this case, melt the cacao butter first using a bain-marie before adding to the food processor.
Nutrition Facts
Gluten-Free Vegan Wedding Cake
Amount Per Serving
Calories 303 Calories from Fat 171
% Daily Value*
Fat 19g29%
Saturated Fat 6g30%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 3g
Sodium 71mg3%
Potassium 126mg4%
Carbohydrates 32g11%
Fiber 3g12%
Sugar 14g16%
Protein 7g14%
Vitamin A 1IU0%
Vitamin C 2mg2%
Calcium 103mg10%
Iron 2mg11%
* 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.

More Baking & Dessert Recipes

  • A collage of four vegan pumpkin dessert photos
    16 Vegan Pumpkin Dessert Recipes (Gluten-Free)
  • A collage of four vegan apple dessert recipes photos
    14 Vegan Apple Dessert Recipes (Gluten-Free)
  • Gluten-free vegan apple cobbler in a bowl with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a spoon
    Gluten-Free Vegan Apple Cobbler
  • A slice of gluten-free vegan chocolate chip cake on a plate with a fork
    Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Chip Cake
  • Share
  • Tweet

Reader Interactions

Comments

    4.70 from 10 votes (7 ratings without comment)

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




  1. Lauren

    October 08, 2017 at 1:06 pm

    5 stars
    I love this! My fiance and I were thinking of having a naked cake with edible flowers on it, I didn't think it'd be that easy!

    Reply
    • Rhian Williams

      October 08, 2017 at 1:56 pm

      Great! So glad you've found this helpful 🙂

  2. Lisa

    April 07, 2018 at 7:26 am

    Hello! I'm writing from Italy, your cakes are amazing! I would love to prepare this cake for my best friend wedding this May, but may I ask you information about the diameter of the cakes?
    Thank you in advance,
    Lisa

    Reply
    • Rhian Williams

      April 07, 2018 at 12:02 pm

      Hi Lisa, thank you so much for your message! The cake diameters are in the recipe instructions!

  3. Lisa

    April 07, 2018 at 1:55 pm

    Thanks, I'll need a cake for 40 people, so I was thinking about 5 kg of cake. May I kindly ask you some tips?
    For the ingredients I was thinking to double the doses, but for the choice of diameters I'm confused, could you give me your opinion about it?
    Maybe 40 cm, then 28 cm, 20 cm, 10 cm and 5 cm on the top of the cake?
    I'm also worried about the cream: may you give me some advice on the technique to decorate the cake in a smooth and uniform way? I mean without stripes, and it's better to first decorate the side of the upper cake and then the top of the lower or how?
    Please excuse me for the mountain of questions and for my english!
    Thank you in advance,
    Lisa

    Reply
    • Rhian Williams

      April 07, 2018 at 2:36 pm

      Hi - no problem at all, I've just sent you an email as I think it's easier to talk that way than via blog comments!

  4. Emilie

    June 30, 2018 at 6:33 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Rhian! I am about to make 2 vegan vanilla cakes that are tiered for a party and am strongly considering your recipe. How does this cake hold up in the heat? I live in Hawaii. How does the frosting hold up in warm weather? How does this cake freeze? Feel free to also write me through email 🙂

    Reply
    • Rhian Williams

      July 01, 2018 at 4:47 am

      Thank you! Just emailed you!

  5. Tam-y-ko Ellis (Tammy)

    July 02, 2018 at 5:48 pm

    5 stars
    Hello from Barbados Rhian!

    Your receipe sounds delish! I have to make a 3 tiered wedding cake and like Emilie I'm worried about how the cake will hold up in our tropical heat. Would you be so kind as to email me those same answers. Oh and does your gluten free flour mix have in xanthan gum?

    Thanks in Advance,
    Tammy 😊

    Reply
    • Rhian Williams

      July 03, 2018 at 8:46 am

      Thank you so much Tammy! I've just sent you an email!

Newer Comments »

Primary Sidebar

Photo of Rhian Williams

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

More about me →

Popular Recipes

  • A slice of gluten-free vegan yogurt cake on a plate with a fork
    Gluten-Free Vegan Yogurt Cake
  • A slice of gluten-free vegan olive oil cake decorated with rosemary on a plate with a fork
    Gluten-Free Vegan Olive Oil Cake
  • Three vegan blueberry muffins with a bite taken out of one with a bowl of fresh blueberries in the background
    Vegan Blueberry Muffins (Gluten-Free)
  • Flaxseed Pancakes (Vegan + Gluten-Free)
  • A sliced vegan baked cheesecake topped with wild strawberries and strawberry flowers
    Vegan Baked Cheesecake (Gluten-Free)
  • A loaf of quinoa bread topped with seeds with two slices next to it
    Quinoa Bread (Vegan + Gluten-Free)
  • A slice of gluten-free vegan apple cake on a plate with custard being poured on top
    Gluten-Free Vegan Apple Cake
  • Wok-fried tenderstem broccoli, pak choi and sliced garlic on a black plate
    Wagamama Wok-Fried Greens (Vegan + GF)

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • About
  • Privacy Policy & Disclosure
  • Copyright Notice

Newsletter

  • Subscribe for free updates

Contact

  • Contact
  • Work With Me

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2025 · Foodie Pro Theme On Genesis Framework ·

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.