This Gluten-Free Vegan Matcha Cake has a moist and fluffy matcha sponge, covered with a rich and creamy matcha frosting. It's pretty and colourful, and has an elegant matcha green tea flavour. It's also refined sugar free, comes together in one bowl, and is easily customisable. Great for Christmas, birthdays or Easter!
My Matcha Strawberry Cake has been really popular since I posted it on my blog several years ago, so I thought it was time to make a more matcha-focused version for the hardcore matcha lovers!
Matcha is green tea powder. It's great in desserts as it adds a beautiful colour and a deliciously earthy flavour.
You can buy matcha in most supermarkets (in the tea section), local health stores, online or in Asian supermarkets.
How to make the cake
Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.
- Mix together all the ingredients in a 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 wire rack and leave to cool completely before applying the frosting.
How to make the matcha frosting
- Use an electric whisk to whip the coconut milk until thick and fluffy.
- Sift in the matcha powder.
- Add the maple syrup, and mix well.
Tips for making the coconut whipped cream
- 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.
- Use an electric whisk (or a manual one and a lot of elbow grease) to whip up the coconut cream until light and fluffy.
How to frost the cake
- Once the sponges have cooled completely, place one sponge on a large plate or cake stand.
- Cover with half of the matcha frosting.
Tip: Apply the frosting to the cake using a palette knife for frosting.
- Place the other sponge on top and use the remaining frosting to cover the top and sides of the cake.
- Sift over matcha powder to decorate.
How long does this Matcha Cake keep for?
This Matcha Cake tastes best eaten on the day it's made, 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 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.
- You can use plain flour instead of the gluten-free flour if you’re not gluten-free.
- If you prefer to add a strawberry flavour, make my Matcha Strawberry Cake instead!
More matcha recipes
- Matcha Muffins
- Matcha Strawberry Cake
- Matcha Shortbread Cookies
- Matcha Brownies
- Matcha Chocolate Truffles
- Matcha Baked Donuts
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 Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 60 g (¼ cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
- 230 ml (1 cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar * (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- 8 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 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 ½ teaspoons matcha powder to taste
For the matcha frosting:
- 400 g (14 oz) tin of full-fat coconut milk
- ½ teaspoon matcha powder to taste
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
To decorate (optional):
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 vinegar, 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 matcha 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.
- Use an electric whisk (or a manual one and a lot of elbow grease) to whip up the coconut cream until light and fluffy.
- Sift in the matcha powder, add the maple syrup and mix well.
To assemble:
- Once the sponges have cooled completely, place one sponge on a large plate or cake stand, and cover with half of the matcha frosting - for best results, use a palette knife to do this.
- Place the other sponge on top and use the remaining frosting to cover the top and sides of the cake.
- Sift over matcha powder to decorate, if desired.
- Tastes best eaten on the day, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days.
Notes
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Anonymous
So excited to try this!
Rhian Williams
Thank you! Hope you'll love it!