Vegan & Gluten Free Gingerbread Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

| GINGERBREAD SNACKING CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING |

Plant-based, grain free, low calorie, and with added protein! This is a must make holiday bake for those pop in holiday guests, afternoon tea, or even a healthier way for just you to celebrate the holiday season!

This almond flour based cake is dense and super moist in texture. Structured with only almond meal flour and vanilla protein it's not a eat with your hand kind of slice. Expect a rich and gooey texture that melts in your mouth. Want a more cake like texture? See recipe notes for options. 

To note: this is 6 slices stacked on top of each other ;)

 

Recipe notes

You're going to want to bake this longer than you expect. I baked mine for about 35 minutes, but depending on your stove it could vary slightly. You'll know it's done once the top is cracking and the sides are browned and pulling away from the parchment paper. 

Allow the cake to cool *completely* before removing from the pan. Use the parchment paper to remove it and place parchment lined cake on a cutting board. Using a knife, gently slide it under the cake between the parchment paper and cake. The cake is sticky so don't skip this part or it may crumble.

Troubleshooting the texture - if you don't want a gooey texture, and are looking for more of a sturdy cake you can add 1/4 cup all purpose flour or for gluten free add 1/4 cup brown rice flour. Fold this in at the same time as all the dry ingredients. Let sit for 5 minutes to see how the mixture thickens. If it's still too wet add 1 tbsp more flour at a time. Bake for 25 minutes and check the cake by sliding a toothpick into the centre, it's done if the toothpick comes out clean.

 

Ingredients I like and use often:

Botanica Health Protein Powder is clean, tasty, and sweetened naturally with monk fruit sweetener. This means no stevia after taste! It's also gluten free, soy free, pea free, legume free and of course vegan. 

Maision Riviera coconut yogurt is my absolute favourite plant-based yogurt ever. I've been vegan for almost 8 years now and this yogurt is by far the best texture and flavour. It is however Canada based so if you don't have access to it, I don't mind baking with the Silk plain almond yogurt either!

Violife cream cheese block is a great dairy free alternative. The texture is identical to dairy cream cheese. I used this for the frosting and I honestly don't think a non-vegan would know the difference. 

 

Macros

Recipe makes one 8 x 8 inch cake. I sliced it into 16 small squares. 

Macros per square (no icing):

89 cals - 5g fat - 7g carbs - 4g protein 

 

Macros for icing I divided into 16 to match the squares. 

Macros per serving icing only:

34 cals - 2g fat - 4g carbs - 0g protein 

 

Macros per serving cake with icing:

123 cals - 7g fat - 11g carbs - 4g protein  

 

Ingredients:

2 tbsp flax meal + 4 tbsp water, mixed and set aside to gel in the fridge

1/2 cup plain vegan yogurt

1/2 cup full fat coconut milk, canned

1/4 cup molasses 

2 scoops Botanica Health Vanilla Protein Powder (84g)

3/4 cup almond flour 

1 1/2 tsp ginger powder

1 tsp cinnamon 

1/2 tsp cloves 

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt 

 

Cream Cheese Icing:

4 oz vegan cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp organic icing sugar 

1 tbsp molasses (for garnish)

1/2 tsp coarse salt (for garnish)

 

Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line an 8 x 8 inch baking tray with parchment paper.

Make the flax & water mixture in a small ramekin and set in the fridge to gel, 5 minutes.

To a mixing bowl add: yogurt, coconut milk, molasses, and gelled flax meal mixture.

Fold together well.

Add in: vanilla protein, almond flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. **If adding AP flour do so now, see notes.** 

Fold everything together until just combined.

Pour mixture into the prepared baking tray and bake for 30-38 minutes. Cake will begin to crack on top early on but it won't be cooked all the way through yet! Allow it to bake longer than you think. The sides should be browned and pulling away from the parchment paper.

Allow to cool completely before using the parchment paper to pull the cooled cake out onto a cutting board. 

Gently slide a sharp knife underneath the cake between the bottom of the cake and the parchment paper. 

 

Icing:

Add the room temperature cream cheese to a bowl. Using a hand mixer whip the cream cheese smooth. Add in 2 tbsp icing sugar at a time, whipping until smooth.

If desired add more than the suggested 6 tbsp for a sweeter, thicker icing.

Add the icing to the cake top and smooth from edge to edge.

Add 1 tbsp molasses to the top. 

Using the back of a spoon, swirl the molasses on top of the icing.

Top with coarse sea salt if desired.

Slice cake into 16 squares (or preferred cake slice sizes). 

Plate cake into a sealed container and keep in the fridge until ready to eat.

Cake is best enjoyed with 3-4 days.

 

Can't finish it that quickly? No worries! As a blogger and full time content creator I greatly lean on the freezer to keep things fresh for longer. Add the slices to a tightly sealed, freezer safe container for up to one month. When ready to eat, just remove from the freezer and set in the fridge for a few hours to soften. 

Enjoy!

 

Leave a comment or review below if you make it! 

 

Looking for more plant-based treats with macros and added protein? Make sure you check out the Top 100 High Protein Vegan Recipes Ebook for not one but two sections dedicated to sweet treats with protein, fiber, and healthy fats.