Vegan Baklava Cake

This easy baklava cake is a moist delicious cake with a nutty baklava-style filling used as a topping and a swirl! It’s decadent and delicious without being overly sweet! GF Oil-free options included.

I LOVE Baklava! The decadent Middle Eastern dessert made up of layers of golden buttery flaky filo pastry sandwiched together with chopped nuts and a sticky sweet syrup. I took all those delicious flavors and the filling and put it in a cake!

This baklava cake is the shortcut to baklava bliss and the perfect centerpiece for all your coffee dates and upcoming holidays! Not only does it look beautiful but it also tastes amazing!

This cake really has the best of both worlds! Moist delicious cake and the nutty baklava style filling used as a topping or a swirl! It’s decadent and delicious! This is the perfect cake for tea time. Sweet but not too heavy.

After baking, we brush the still warm cake with zesty syrup to make it extra moist! So delicious!

You can make this cake using a loaf pan or in a brownie pan and slice the cake in squares like in the pics above. I have included instructions for both. I prefer the square pan as it baked faster. Longer bake time with loaf pans means that nuts could start to burn.

More cake recipes:

German Chocolate Loaf Cake

Vegan Mango Cake

Vegan Date Nut Cake (Eggless)

Vegan Chocolate Gingerbread Cake

Vegan Gluten free Chocolate Cake

INGREDIENTS:

• wet ingredients are a mix of non dairy milk, applesauce
• vanilla extract and almond extract lend a delicious flavor to the cake batter
• vinegar in combination with baking powder and baking soda helps to give the cake the perfect rise
• for making this cake moist, we add a small amount of oil but you can use applesauce for oil-free
• the dry ingredients are sugar and all-purpose flour
• for the baklava nut layer I went with a blend of almonds, walnuts, pistachios
• dates and maple syrup are added for sweetness
• I like to add the zest of a lemon to the filling, you can also use orange zest
• the finished bake is drizzled with a simple syrup made from maple syrup, lemon juice and vanilla extract

TIPS:

• instead of applesauce, you can use non-dairy yogurt
• if you want, use orange zest instead of lemon zest
• I like to add just cinnamon, but you could also add some cardamom or nutmeg to the nut layer
• for an oil-free cake, use 2 tablespoons applesauce instead of oil

How to make Baklava Cake:

Make the cake batter: add all the wet ingredients to a bowl and mix well.

Add the dry ingredients and mix flour with the baking powder and soda right above the wet ingredients first and then mix the dry into the wet. Alternatively mix the dry ingredients in another bowl and then add to the wet

Mix until just about combined. If the mixture is too runny, add in 1-2 tablespoons of more flour.

Prep the nut layer:

Add the almonds, walnuts, pistachios to a food processor and process until nuts break down into a coarse mixture.

Then add in the dates, lemon zest, and salt, and process again until the dates break down. Then add in the maple syrup and process for 15 seconds so that the maple combines and the mixture becomes a sticky dough. Set aside.

Make the dressing syrup: mix all the syrup ingredients and bring to a boil then take off the heat and set aside.

Bake: Line an 8 by 8 or 9 by 9 inch brownie pan or use a 9×5 inch loaf pan , and line with parchment paper. Add the batter and even it out. (add half of the batter to the loaf pan)

Distribute the nut mixture on top of the batter for a brownie pan and add half of the nut mixture over the batter if using a loaf pan.  Spread it out evenly.

Then add the rest of the batter and top it with the rest of the nut mixture for the loaf pan.

Put the pan into the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 c) and bake.

After 15-20 minutes, cover the pan with parchment so that the nut layer on top doesn’t burn, and continue to bake for another 10-15 mins for the brownie pan, and 25-35 minutes for a loaf pan.

Check the cake by inserting a toothpick in the middle and continue to bake if the toothpick doesn’t come out almost clean from the center.

Once the cake is baked, remove it from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes. Then brush the syrup mixture all over. Let the cake cool for another 15 minutes and remove it from the pan.

Cover with the parchment and let it cool for another 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

This cake is best served still warm, if you want with more syrup on the side. You could also serve this cake with whipped coconut cream, or pistachio ice cream, vanilla ice cream.

Storage: store in an airtight container in the fridge for upto a week. If you plan to eat it the next day, you can store it at room temperature.