A spicy, rich cake perfect for the holidays! This vegan and gluten free gingerbread cake features chocolate chunks with ground ginger, cinnamon, and molasses for delicious gingerbread flavour. You may be seeing family and friends for holidays, or want a sweet treat to bake and leave on a doorstep as a food gift (our favourite!). If you're not sure of someone's dietary needs or preferences, this is a great option. It’s so good, no one will know it’s missing gluten, eggs, and dairy.
This recipe is from Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in 5 by Zoë Francois and Jeff Hertzberg (we were gifted the book by the publisher, years ago). The original recipe uses a homemade gluten-free flour mix – see more on this below.
For more gluten-free treats, try these gluten-free gingerbread cookies, easy almond flour biscuits (made with a single flour), or gluten-free Dutch baby.
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Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Flour: we've used the Bob's Red Mill and Pamela's all-purpose flour blends with success for this recipe. Here's the Artisan bread gluten-free flour blend. There's a good chance that an equal amount of white flour can be used instead of the GF blend, but we haven't tried it. Since it's a 1:1 sub it should hypothetically work the other way, too.
- Molasses: be sure to use fancy molasses and not blackstrap. If you can't get molasses, date syrup or dark honey are good substitutions. A darker maple syrup can be used too, which will result in a lighter tasting cake.
- Olive oil: we use olive oil in this cake, but another light-tasting oil or melted coconut oil can be used in its place if you prefer. The end texture of the cooled cake is slightly denser when using coconut oil. You can also use melted butter if dairy isn't an issue.
- Brown sugar: light or dark brown sugar can be used.
- Applesauce: be sure to choose unsweetened applesauce or make it yourself.
- Spices: use an equal amount of gingerbread spice blend to replace the individual spices if preferred.
- Chocolate: use chopped dark chocolate, chocolate chunks, or chips. If the cake needs to be fully vegan be sure to check the ingredients as some brands will include milk solids in dark chocolate.
Method
Step 1: mix the milk, vinegar, and ground flax in a bowl. Set aside.
Step 2: mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl, then add the wet ingredients.
Step 3: fold in the chopped chocolate.
Step 4: transfer to a greased and lined loaf tin.
Step 5: bake until it passes a toothpick test, about 50 minutes.
Step 6: cool fully before glazing and serving.
Top Tips
- Use the right flour: make sure the gluten-free flour blend you're using contains one of these ingredients: psyllium husk, xanthan gum or guar gum.
- Choose fresh spices: if the cake seems bland or not spicy enough, it's probably due to old or incorrectly stored spices. Keep them in a cool, dark place (not over the stove) for best shelf-life and flavour.
- Try a different topping: this is topped with a simple sugar and orange juice glaze. For something a little different, try our rum buttercream frosting, old-fashioned brown sugar frosting, or to make it less sweet, maple cream cheese frosting.
Recipe Notes
The milk, vinegar, and flax are mixed together to create a kind of buttermilk and flax egg combination. Don't skip the vinegar.
How to Store
Storage: keep in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Freezing: transfer the fully cooled cake (whole or sliced) to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving. It should be fine to freeze with the glaze but if using a different type of frosting, it's best to make it fresh.
Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cake
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons or a digital kitchen scale
- 2 Mixing bowls
- Whisk
- Loaf pan
- Wire rack
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup unsweetened almond milk, or soy milk
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 ¼ cups gluten-free all purpose flour*
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ⅓ cup fancy molasses
- ¼ cup brown sugar, or coconut sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup dark chocolate chunks, or chocolate chips
Glaze Ingredients
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Grease a loaf pan. Line the loaf pan with parchment paper and then lightly grease the parchment. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, vigorously whisk together the almond milk, ground flax, and apple cider vinegar. The mixture should be foamy. Let stand for 5 minutes.⅓ cup unsweetened almond milk, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
- In a larger bowl, sift the gluten-free all purpose flour, baking powder, ground ginger, cinnamon, and sea salt.1 ¼ cups gluten-free all purpose flour*, 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients.
- Add the flax and milk mixture, oil, applesauce, molasses, sugar, and vanilla. Combine just until the mixture comes together. Fold in the chocolate.¼ cup olive oil, ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce, ⅓ cup fancy molasses, ¼ cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, ½ cup dark chocolate chunks
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes. The cake is baked once it is deeply golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the loaf pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.
For the Glaze
- Whisk the powdered sugar, orange juice, and vanilla together until completely smooth, adding more liquid if necessary.1 cup powdered sugar, 1-2 tablespoons fresh orange juice, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Spread over the cooled cake. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate and is provided as a courtesy. For precise nutritional data, please calculate it independently using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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