This Gluten-Free Vegan Olive Oil Cake is rich, fragrant and elegantly simple! Using olive oil creates a subtly fruity flavour and moist texture. It's easy to make, comes together in one bowl and is refined sugar free too. A versatile dessert that you could also enjoy for breakfast or brunch!

A slice of gluten-free vegan olive oil cake decorated with rosemary on a plate with a fork

What type of olive oil should you use for baking olive oil cake?

For baking, I recommend using a middle-of-the-range olive oil.
You should use an extra-virgin olive oil that is good quality and that has a good flavour.
If you use a cheap olive oil, it may be overly processed and not have enough flavour to make the cake taste fragrant.
However, as this recipe requires using 8 tablespoons of olive oil, using the best quality super fancy olive oil can get quite expensive.
So I recommend going for something that's still good quality, but it doesn't necessarily have to be the top of the range.

How to make this recipe

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

Mix together all the ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Tip: Make sure to use a measuring jug to measure out the exact amount of plant-based yogurt!

Raw gluten-free vegan olive oil cake batter in a glass mixing bowl

Transfer the batter into a 18cm / 7 inch springform baking tin lined with greased baking paper.

Tip: To prevent the sides of the cake from getting burnt, make sure that the baking paper is covering the bottom and the sides of the tin.

Raw gluten-free vegan olive oil cake batter in a round springform baking tin lined with baking paper

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

A baked gluten-free vegan olive oil cake in a round springform baking tin lined with baking paper

Leave to cool before slicing.

Tips for making this recipe

Make sure to use the right amount of baking powder – 2 heaped teaspoons! Use too little baking powder and your sponge won’t be fluffy, too much and it’ll have a bitter taste.
Make sure to use an all-purpose shop-bought gluten-free flour blend (or a homemade gluten-free flour blend), as opposed to just using any type of gluten-free flour you can find (such as almond flour, coconut flour, buckwheat flour etc).
To prevent the sides of the cake from getting burnt, make sure that the baking paper is covering the bottom and the sides of the tin.

Substitutions you can make to this recipe

You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
You can use any type of plant-based yogurt: almond, soy, cashew or coconut yogurt all work well.
If you can’t find plant-based yogurt, you can replace it with any type of plant-based milk, or use an equivalent amount of blended-up silken tofu.
You can use plain flour, wholemeal (whole wheat) flour or spelt flour instead of the gluten-free flour if you're not gluten-free.
You can replace the ground almonds with ground walnuts.
For a nut-free version: replace the ground almonds with ground sunflower seeds or use 30g (¼ cup) coconut flour instead of 150g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds.

Flavour substitutions you can make

You can add some lemon zest or orange zest or orange blossom water.

A slice of gluten-free vegan olive oil cake on a plate with a gold fork taking a bite out of it

How long does this keep for?

It tastes best eaten on the day it’s made, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days.

More gluten-free vegan cake recipes

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 Olive Oil Cake

This Gluten-Free Vegan Olive Oil Cake is rich, fragrant and elegantly simple! It's easy to make, comes together in one bowl and is refined sugar free too.

4.31 from 23 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: gluten-free olive oil cake, olive oil cake, vegan olive oil cake

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 45

Servings:

Calories: 301kcal

Author: Rhian Williams

Ingredients

▢ 60 g (¼ cup) olive oil
▢ 230 ml (1 cup) unsweetened plain plant-based yogurt * (I used coconut yogurt but you can use any plant-based yogurt)
▢ 2 tablespoons lemon juice **
▢ 8 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
▢ 150 g (1 ¼ cups) 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)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
Place the olive oil, yogurt, lemon juice, maple syrup and ground almonds in a large mixing bowl.
Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
Mix well, adding a tiny splash of plant-based milk if it’s looking too dry.
Transfer mixture into a greased baking tin lined with baking paper (I used a 7inch/18cm springform baking tin) - make sure that the baking paper is covering the bottom and the sides of the tin, to prevent the sides of the cake from getting burnt.
Bake in the oven for around 30 minutes until risen and golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean. 
Leave to cool before slicing.
Best eaten on the day it’s made, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a couple of days.

Notes

*You can use any type of plant-based yogurt: almond, soy, cashew or coconut yogurt all work well. If you can't find plant-based yogurt, you can replace it with any type of plant-based milk, or use an equivalent amount of blended-up silken tofu.

**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, replace with 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar instead.

***You can alternatively use almond flour.

Nutrition Facts

Gluten-Free Vegan Olive Oil Cake

Amount Per Serving

Calories 301 Calories from Fat 162

% Daily Value*

Fat 18g28%

Saturated Fat 2g10%

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 6g

Sodium 40mg2%

Potassium 74mg2%

Carbohydrates 33g11%

Fiber 4g16%

Sugar 15g17%

Protein 6g12%

Vitamin A 0.2IU0%

Vitamin C 5mg6%

Calcium 120mg12%

Iron 1mg6%

* 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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