Vegan Christmas Spice Cake (oil-free, gluten-free)
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr 20 mins
Servings: 12 slices
This Vegan Christmas Spice Cake is inspired by one of my mom’s classic Christmas recipes but healthier! It's plant-based, gluten-free and made with coconut sugar. I like to drizzle the cake with a cashew icing but you can also serve as is!
Equipment
- 1 silicone Bundt pan
- BLENDER
Ingredients
Dry
- 3¼ cups oat flour gluten free if desired
- 2¼ cups almond flour
- 1½ cups coconut sugar see Notes for tip!
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1½ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1½ teaspoons ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¾ teaspoon sea or Himalayan salt
Wet
- 2 tablespoons whole psyllium husk
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce
- 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses regular will work as well
Cashew Cream Drizzle
- 1 cup cashews soaked in water for 2-3 hours
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 to 10 tablespoons unsweetened almond or soy milk (see directions)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon sea or Himalayan salt
Garnishes
- 1 cup pecans
- 1 cup pomegranate seeds
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Add the psyllium husk to a bowl with 1 cup of water (from "Wet" portion of recipe), mix and set aside for 5 minutes. It will become gelatinous and thick.
- Measure the flours and sugars by spooning each into dry measuring cups and running the straight edge of a knife across the top to level out the surface. Add the flours/sugar to a large glass bowl. Add remaining dry ingredients (baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt) to the bowl and mix together using a whisk until well combined. Set aside.
- Add all wet ingredients, including the psyllium husk/water mix, to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Add the blended wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. Use a whisk to break up any lumps.
- Transfer the batter to a silicon Bundt pan.
- Place the Bundt pan on the middle rack of the pre-heated oven and bake for 70-80 minutes. Resist opening the oven to check before the 60 minute mark! The cake is done with the sides have pulled away from the pan and the surface is firm to touch.
- Remove the cake from the oven and place on a cooling rack and let it cool completely in the pan. The surface of the cake might sink a little, this is ok! Once completely cooled, flip the cake onto a serving tray. Pull the sides of the silicone bundt pan to release the cake. I also like to squeeze the center part of the bundt pan to make sure the inner circle of the cake also releases completely. The cook should easily pop out. Now drizzle with ½ the Orange Cashew Drizzle and garnish with toasted pecans (instructions below) and pomegranates. Use the remainder to drizzle over individual slices once served.
Orange Cashew Drizzle:
- Drain cashews and add to a blender along with all other ingredients. More almond milk will give you a thinner icing, and less almond milk will result in a thicker, spreadable icing. I usually use 7 to 8 tablespoons. For these pictures I used even more to have a "drizzle" effect. Blend on high until the mixture is smooth. Add more almond milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed to reach your desired consistency.
Notes
CAKE NOTES
- Make your own oat flour by processing rolled oats in a blender or food processor until a flour-like consistency is reached.
- For the best results, grind the coconut sugar before adding it to the dry ingredients. Do this by adding the sugar to a food processor or blender and processing until the sugar reaches a fine powdery consistency. You can also do this in a coffee grinder.
- If you don’t have pomegranates, you can use garnish with dried cranberries or any fresh berry.
- If you don’t have a silicone Bundt pan, be sure to lightly oil the Bundt pan so the cake doesn’t stick.
TOASTED PECAN DIRECTIONS
Spread the pecans out on a parchment-lined pan and bake in a 350ºF oven for 5 minutes. Watch them carefully as they burn quickly and easily! They will start to brown and become fragrant when they're done. Once you remove from the oven, quickly transfer them to a glass plate to cool. Once cooled, roughly chop the pecans and set aside.
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