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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 followed the recipe using potato starch and tapioca combo, and as per the footnote, added 3tsp coconut oil, cooked in muffin cases, then topped with lemon flavored icing . They didn’t brown at all, and looked like they were going to be heavy but surprisingly puffed up nicely, and were light, moist and delicious. I had a friend coming round for tea and this recipe was quick and easy and I appreciate that I was able to make a small quantity … 6 muffin sized cakes. We ate 2 and put the rest in the freezer for another day. Thanks Richa! oh, btw I made your Instantpot pumpkin soup, but in a saucepan – so easy and yummy. Loved that you used 1/4c cashew nuts i/o can of coconut milk.
awesome!
I made this without the almond extract because I usually find the flavor to be too artificial. However, my batter was way too thick so I added a flax egg. The end result is okay but the overriding taste is flaxseed. I’ll probably try again with a bit of oil.
yes flax does add a lot of flavor. Just add more non dairymilk or oil
This cake is so delicious! I made this for my 8 year old son that wanted a lemon poppy seed cake and he is crazy about the taste! I made the lemon zest version and is amazing, so easy and so healthy. Thank you so much!
🙂
This is one of my go-to recipes for when we have company over, and it’s always a hit! I use coconut palm sugar in it, and serve it with strawberries and coconut whipped cream. Absolutely wonderful, thank you.
awesome!
Absolutely delicious!! I made the almond extract version (1 less Tbsp sugar than the recipe). Yum. Next time I’ll try the lemon version. The cake was quite moist.
Question about the baking pan: The photos show a 6” round pan but the cake appears to be slices from a rectangular pan. I tried doubling and using an 8” square pan and it was a disaster. Will this work in a 9×5 loaf pan? If so, should I change the cooking time? (Can you tell I’m not a seasoned baker?)
its a 6 inch pan. IT might have needed more almodn flour.almond flour doesnt absorb much liquid during baking, so you want to add more flour to make a stiff batter. When doubling in baking, you have to double depending on the properties of the dry ingredients. With regular flour, you generally need a tbsp or soless flour than double. with almond flour you would need a few tbsps more. Bake the batter into a muffin before baking a larger batch so you can adjust the batter.
almond flour baked goods will be even more finicky in a tall loaf pan
Thanks. I’ll either try the muffins or buy a 6” round pan. Even though it was somewhat of a disaster, my husband has been eating it. Tastes great…just not “cakey “. I will definitely give it another try.
I’ve mixed all the ingredients and am now noticing there’s no oil/fat in there. My batter is more like a very thick dough. Is that the right consistency?
you can add a tbsp of oil or non dairy milk. almond flour has plenty fat. diff flours absorb differently, so the mix varies from a thick batter to sticky soft dough-ish.
Thanks for your quick reply! After I submitted my question, I went back to the top of the recipe and noticed you stated specifically that they are oil-free. Doh! I ended up adding a bit more almond milk, and then I baked them in mini muffin pans. They didn’t seem to grow at all during baking, but they still came out fine. I had planned to drizzle a loaf with an almond glaze, and instead, since they were mini muffins, I put them all in a bowl and glazed them that way, stirring them around to coat all the sides. They were more like almond poppyseed donut holes. Yum! My kiddos enjoyed them, but they thought they were meatballs when they saw them all glazed and shiny on the plate (I used chia meal instead of flax, so they were dark). 😀 Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Hi! I can’t wait to make this. I love almond flour in cakes. Quick question – how much lemon zest and juice do I add? I can’t seem to find them in the recipe. Also could I use lemon extract instead? How much would you think will do? Thanks in advance!
you can add zest of a whole lemon. or 1/2 tsp extract
This was my first time baking with almond flour. I put in vanilla, almond, and lemon extract…. I really like I it!
awesome!
I made this recipe into 6 muffins because I don’t have a small cake pan. They were delicious. The batter was quite thick but it baked up nicely. The tops had a nice crunch while the insides were still moist. I will definitely make these again. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Love, Love, LOOOOOOVE this! My husband I are new to the vegan life and we love this recipe! So yummy!! Thank you for sharing such a clean and healthy recipe! I make them in cupcake form. They are perfect every time. I’m actually making a double batch as I write this. Lol! Looking forward to trying more of your recipes!