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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.
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
Ingredients
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
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
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I just made this cake and it’s so delish. I used aquafaba instead of non dairy milk. For sure I will make this again. Thanks Richa.
Awesome!
Thank you for this. Could you leave the potato starch out? What would you replace it with?
you need some starch in the cake. Try use a combination of other starches as arrowroot, corn, tapioca.
This cake was a hit in my family and they want me to make it again!
I added juice of one orange and some orange zest for flavour instead of more milk as my cake batter was not wet enough. The aroma in the house during baking was amazing and the cake disappeared within minutes after being served. my kids loved it too.
I am going to save this recipe.. Thanks Richa!
I accidentally used 2-3tbsp instead of tsp!!! The cake was nice anyway! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
These came out delicious!! The texture is amazing for a vegan cake. Thank you for sharing!
The only problem I had was that my mixture came out very dry. I ended up adding about 1 cup almond milk total. Is the 1/4 cup in the recipe correct?
what flours did you use? 1 -2 tbsp more liquid is ok. i am not sure why you would need 1 cup. That would make a very moist cake
Wow, this cake looks good! And simple, too :}
I was wondering if you might share how to make the simple lemon sugar icing you mention in this recipe.
Thanks!
Dear Richa,
In the photo above (before baking), it seems as if there is milk around the batter. Can you explain? I have just taken the cake out of the oven and I hope it’s not too dry, as the batter seemed quite dry and I had to increase the nondairy milk. I have tried several recipes of yours including from the book, with great success!
Thanks, Esther
Thats oil on the edges. The batter might be thick, but too much liquid will take longer to bake and also be likely to fall in the center. if you want to add more liquid, add flax mixed in non dairy milk. How did the cake turn out?
This cake looks wonderful! Pinned!
This sounds so good- I love a good poppy seed cake. Thanks for sharing!