Vegan Almond Poppy Seed Cake. Gluten free Cake

Vegan Almond Poppy Seed Cake. Gluten free Cake. Spongy Moist Cake with no Gum. Use as Sponge Cake without poppy seeds. Gluten-free Grain-free Oil-free Recipe. Pin this for later. 

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I have been trying to make a simple soft spongy cake that is gluten-free and vegan and works well in terms of texture and flavor. After trying some gluten-free blends on the market, making my own blends and such, I finally narrowed it to what I like the cake. The moisture and flavor from Almonds. 

I made similar cakes with a combination flours with almond flour, oat and rice flours and that works out well too. The flavor though isn’t neutral enough for me. Also, that cake worked incredible well when it was steamed but was not as moist when baked, though the mixed flour cake works really well with a frosting to add some moisture back. When I saw Brandi’s only almond flour cake using aquafaba, I had bookmarked it to try it. Since I am not a fan of good amounts of applesauce or maple (also because I never have applesauce around when I need it), I played around making many versions. I have made variations of this cake, sometimes with some additional rice/oat flours, different wet ingredients and it comes out beautifully every which way. That is how I bake while testing, just putting things in the bowl and going by texture of the batter for simple and predictable recipes.  

The Poppy seeds and almond extract add a phenomenal flavor. This recipe makes a 6 inch pan. I tend to make smaller sizes for gluten-free vegan baked goods. Things get moody quickly and smaller sizes just reduce the chances of getting gummy flats or stony hard pucks. If you bake gf vegan, you know what I am talking about :). Use an icing of choice, which isn’t really needed with the amazing flavor of this almond poppy seed cake. 

This soft cake can also be made as a plain vanilla sponge to use in layered cakes or bake it into cupcakes. Make this Vegan Gluten-free Cake that is also grain-free. If you make the cake, please do tag me on Instagram or elsewhere and let me know how it worked out in the comments! Also let me know if you made Brandi’s version which uses aquafaba and applesauce. Thanks for all the trials and errors Brandi! 

You can possibly use 2 tbsp aquafaba + 2 tbsp non dairy milk in the recipe. I haven’t tried it. Let me know if you do. Happy Weekend Baking!

More gluten-free vegan baked options from the blog

• Zucchini Bread Loaf.  GF Gum-free Yeast-free
• Pumpkin Banana Cranberry Bread – GF Yeast-free
• Almond Butter Blondies GF
• Banana Walnut Loaf – GF Gum-free Yeast-free
• Coconut Flour Brownies  GF Gum-free
• Lentil Sandwich Bread – GF Gum-free Yeast-free

Mix your wet and dry to make a smooth batter. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake until a toothpick from the center comes out clean. 

Vegan Almond Poppy Seed Cake. Gluten free Cake

4.72 from 25 votes

By: Vegan Richa

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 30 minutes mins

Total: 40 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Course: cake, Dessert

Cuisine: American, Gluten-free, Vegan

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Vegan Almond Poppy Seed Cake. Gluten free Cake. Spongy Moist Cake with no Gum. Use as GF Sponge Cake without poppy seeds. Vegan Gluten-free Grain-free Oil-free Recipe Makes 1 6 inch pan

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Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

Wet:

• ▢ 1/4 cup non dairy milk, or 2 tbsp non dairy milk + 2 tbsp non dairy yogurt
• ▢ 2 tbsp flax seed meal
• ▢ 2 tbsp maple syrup
• ▢ 3 tbsp sugar, raw or other
• ▢ 1 tsp vinegar, white or apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢ 1/4 tsp almond extract, optional

Dry:

• ▢ 1 cup almond flour, I use Bob's Red Mill
• ▢ 1/4 cup starch, I use 3 tbsp potato starch + 1 Tbsp tapioca/corn
• ▢ 1/8 tsp salt
• ▢ 1 tsp baking powder
• ▢ 1/4 tsp baking soda
• ▢ 2 to 3 tsp poppy seeds

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Instructions 

• Prepare a 6 inch cake pan by greasing or lining with parchment.
• In a bowl, mix the flax in the non dairy milk and let it sit for 5 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 deg F / 170ºc.
• Add the maple, sugar, vanilla, vinegar. Add 1/4 tsp almond extract for stronger almond flavor or add lemon zest for lemon poppy seed cake. Mix well until sugar is mixed in.
• In another bowl, mix the almond flour, starches, salt, baking powder and soda, poppy seeds. Break the almond flour lumps if there are any, with your hand or a spatula..
• Add to the wet and mix well until smooth.* Transfer the batter to a greased 6 inch pan.
• Bake at 350 degrees F / 170ºc for 30 minutes or until a toothpick from the center comes out clean.
• Cool for 15 mins, then remove from the pan. Cool completely before slicing. Preferably refrigerate for 15 to 20 mins and then slice. Use an icing of choice. A simple lemon sugar icing works really well.

Notes

To bake into cupcakes: transfer the batter to lined muffin pan. Bake for 23 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely and frost with frosting of choice.

For additional moisture in the cake, add 2-3 tsp oil in the wet.

* The batter should be like a thick cake batter, flowy but not runny. If the batter is too dry (stiffer than muffin mix), you can add some liquid. Make a flax egg with water or non dairy milk and fold in. Direct liquid addition will not incorporate well. If the batter is a bit runny, you can add a bit of almond flour, or just bake longer.

Nutritional values based on one serving

Nutrition

Calories: 292kcal, Carbohydrates: 31g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 176mg, Potassium: 200mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 16g, Calcium: 176mg, Iron: 1.6mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you make this recipe? Rate and comment below!