This vegan gingerbread cake with coconut frosting is a delicious festive dessert, perfect for Christmas and any other special occasions. It's simple to make, loaded with delicious flavor, and pretty enough for the fanciest party. And it's also vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, and dairy-free!
We're a relatively small family of 3, but this vegan gingerbread cake still disappeared within 24 hours because it was just that yummy.
Nah, 'yummy' is an understatement. If you're looking to do some baking any time soon, I would 100% recommend putting this cake on the menu.
Whether you're planning ahead for Christmas or just want an excuse to make something sweet, this is the perfect recipe for you! In fact, it's one of my all time favorite vegan cake recipes.
Recently, I've fallen more and more in love with baking. I adore the process of putting together both sweet and savory treats from scratch.
This recipe first went up on my site around two years ago when I first started food blogging, and now I'm here once again to give it an update, with better photos and an even better gingerbread cake!
This cake is made with a homemade gluten-free flour blend using rice flour, chickpea flour and corn meal. Ground ginger adds that distinctive and familiar spice and aroma.
Overall, the resulting vegan gingerbread cake is super fluffy, with just the right amount of sweetness, and is of course super festive. Baking it made my entire house smell like Christmas!
I decorated this cake with a thick layer of coconut icing, the base of which is cashew nuts. This works wonderfully with the flavors of the sponge cake. Although, I had a hard time not eating all of it on its own with a spoon.
Making this vegan gingerbread cake is also super easy. I'm no expert baker and savory food is much more within my comfort zone, so I can guarantee that even a complete beginner can recreate the deliciousness fuss-free.
The lack of stress involved means that this is a great dessert to make before Christmas or any gatherings and parties in the run up to it.
You'll love this vegan gingerbread cake because it's…
- 100% vegan, which also means it is completely dairy-free and egg-free!
- Gluten-free.
- Oil-free.
- Super fluffy and soft. In other words, exactly what you look for in a cake.
- Made with wholesome ingredients from scratch.
- Easy. You definitely don't need to be an expert chef.
- Ideal for impressing vegans and non-vegans alike.
- Christmassy.
- Non-vegan approved. This is always a must for my recipes!
- Seriously super delicious!
If you love vegan baking, make sure you grab a copy of my free vegan baking cheat sheet while you're here. It's packed with all my favorite plant-based substitutions to help you vegan-ize any recipe!
Making the Gingerbread Cake & Frosting
Because the frosting needs to stay in the fridge for at least 2 hours, I would recommend that you start by making the frosting.
To do so, add the soaked cashews to a blender or food processor together with maple syrup, coconut milk and vanilla extract.
Blend until the icing is very smooth, which should take around 5 minutes, depending on how powerful your blender is. Make sure that no cashew lumps remain.
Meanwhile, activate the agar agar powder on the stove by stirring it with water over a low-medium heat and then add this to the frosting, blending for around a minute more.
Transfer the frosting to an airtight container and leave to set in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Around 35 minutes before you are ready to take out the icing, preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F) and line two 8-inch cake tins with parchment paper.
You can do this by drawing a line around the circumference of the tin, cutting it out with scissors and placing the parchment paper circle inside the tin.
In one mixing bowl whisk together the rice flour, chickpea flour, ground ginger, coconut sugar, corn meal, baking powder, and baking soda.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, a flax egg (made by combining ¼ cup ground flaxseeds with ½ cup water and setting aside for 10 minutes), plant based milk, and peanut butter. Next, add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until well-combined.
Divide the batter evenly between the two cake tins and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the centre.
Once they are ready, allow the sponges to cool for at least 15 minutes before assembling the cake. Spread a thick layer of icing on one of the sponges.
Then, place the other sponge over it and add another layer of icing on top, spreading some around the edges if desired.
Finish off by decorating with toppings of your choice such as fresh berries and melted dark chocolate (this step is optional but super fun!). Serve the resulting vegan gingerbread cake straight away. Alternatively, you can store it in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
Tips & Tricks
To make a single-layer vegan gingerbread cake, simply halve the recipe.
You can also make chocolate icing instead, by adding 1-2 tablespoons of cacao powder. It would also be great with this vegan buttercream frosting or this vegan cream cheese frosting.
I would not recommend a store-brought gluten-free flour blend for this one as they vary a lot between brands and may not achieve results consistent with mine. So I do suggest sticking with the mix of rice flour and chickpea flour. It took a lot of experimenting to get it right!
More Recipes to Try
If you love this gingerbread cake, be sure to check out these other sweet treats:
- Gingerbread Madeleines
- Vegan Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
- Vegan Pound Cake
- Cranberry Orange Muffins
While you're here don't forget to check out our new Vegan Christmas Cookbook. It's packed with all my favorite tried and true recipes for a plant based holiday feast!
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
For the cashew frosting
- 2 ½ cups cashew nuts, soaked for at least 4 hours, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon agar agar powder
For the cake
- 1 ½ cups rice flour
- ½ cup chickpea flour
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 4 tablespoon ground flaxseed, soaked in ½ water for 10 minutes
- 2 ½ cups unsweetened almond milk, or any other plantbased milk of choice
- ¼ cup smooth peanut butter
Instructions
MAKE THE FROSTING
- Add the soaked cashews to a blender or food processor together with maple syrup, coconut milk and vanilla extract. Blend until the icing is very smooth, which should take around 5 minutes, depending on how powerful your blender is. Make sure that no cashew lumps remain.
- Activate the agar agar powder on the stove by stirring it with water over a low-medium heat and then add this to the frosting, blending for around a minute more. Transfer the frosting to an airtight container and leave to set in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
MAKE THE SPONGES
- Around 35 minutes before you are ready to take out the icing, preheat the oven to 350F (180 C) and line two 8-inch cake tins with parchment paper. You can do this by drawing a line around the circumference of the tin, cutting it out with scissors and placing the parchment paper circle inside the tin.
- In one mixing bowl whisk together the rice flour, chickpea flour, ground ginger, coconut sugar, corn meal, baking powder, and baking soda.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, a flax egg (made by combining ¼ cup ground flaxseeds with ½ cup water and setting aside for 10 minutes), plant based milk, and peanut butter.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until well-combined.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two cake tins and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the centre.
ASSEMBLE THE CAKE
- Once they are ready, allow the sponges to cool for at least 15 minutes before assembling the cake. Spread a thick layer of icing on one of the sponges.
- Place other sponge over it and add another layer of icing on top, spreading some around the edges if desired.
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