Two layers of moist gluten-free vegan sponge cake with light vanilla frosting and lemon curd, so yummy!
With February and Spring on the way, nature gently awakening again I’m starting to feel a fresh energy pouring in and it feels inspiring and nourishing.
To celebrate Mother Earth awakening I’ve created a Rosemary Lemon Imbolc Cake to mark the occasion I hope you will enjoy. Two layers of moist gluten-free vegan sponge cake with light vanilla frosting and lemon curd, so yummy!
This gluten-free vegan layer cake is adapted from my Rosemary Blackberry Layer Cake I’ve created for Imbolc last year. It has a different twist and I have finally tested my agar frosting on a layer cake. It worked beautifully, it’s really delicious and the flavor is somewhat delicate which compliments the flavors in the cake so well.
Aside from the vanilla frosting I have also made some lemon curd filling which ads extra loveliness. It’s optional and you can leave it out if you don’t fancy making two creams, but I do recommend it for the full flavor experience.
The sponge cake is moist, I’ve used a mix of sorghum flour, buckwheat flour, tapioca flour and ground almonds for my gluten-free mix and you can change this depending on what you have in your pantry.
And for the decoration fresh rosemary from my favorite rosemary, lemon slices and sprinkle of dried marigolds. Hope it will bring some sunshine and positive energy into your day!
Rosemary Lemon Imbolc Cake (vegan & gluten-free)
Two layers of moist gluten-free vegan sponge cake with light vanilla frosting and lemon curd, so yummy!
Ingredients
- 1 cup ground almonds (100 grams)
- 1/2 cup sorghum flour (70 grams)
- 1/4cup buckwheat flour (35 grams)
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour (30 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- pinch sea salt
- 3/4 cup rapadura sugar (100 grams)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed + 6 tablespoons water
- 1/3 cup apple sauce (80 ml)
- 1/3 cup olive oil (80 ml)
- 1/4 cup almond milk or as needed (60 ml)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Vanilla frosting:
- 1 cup plant-based cream (250 ml)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon agar powder
- 1 tablespoon corn flour
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
Lemon curd:
- zest of 2 lemons
- juice of 2 lemons
- 1/2 cup plant-based milk (120 ml)
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons corn flour
- pinch of turmeric powder
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter or coconut oil
Decoration:
- fresh rosemary
- lemon slices
- dried marigold
Instructions
- Mix 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed with 6 tablespoons water and set aside to thicken.
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C)
- Grease and line two 6" round cake baking tins with removable base.
- In a large bowl whisk together ground almonds, sorghum flour, buckwheat flour, tapioca, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Stir in sugar, rosemary and lemon zest and set aside.
- In a small bowl whisk together gelled flax eggs, apple sauce, olive oil, almond milk and lemon juice.
- Add the wet mix to the dry mix and mix until well combined. You should have loose pourable muffin consistency. Spoon the mixture evenly into your prepared tins and level out the surface. Bake for about 30 min or until a cocktail stick comes out clean. Remove from the oven once ready and leave to cool down for 20 min before removing from the tins.
Vanilla frosting:
- Place cream, sugar and vanilla into medium pot. Whisk in agar powder and cornflour and bring to boil whisking continuously. Leave to simmer for 5 minutes whisking in between.
- Take off the heat and stir in the coconut oil. Leave to cool down for 15 minutes and then using electric whisk whisk the mix until smooth.
- Place into a fridge for about an hour whisking every 15 to 20 minutes until you have thick smooth cream. Store in fridge until needed.
Lemon curd:
- In a small pot whisk together lemon juice, milk, sugar, vanilla, cornflour and turmeric and bring to boil while whisking continuously. Leave to cook for one minute and take off the heat. Stir in lemon zest and vegan butter or coconut oil and leave to cool down before transferring into fridge until ready to use.
- Once the cakes are completely cool, you can frost the cake. Place the bottom layer onto a cake plate, spread with vanilla frosting and top with lemon curd. Top with the second cake layer and frost the top and the sides of the cake.
- Decorate with fresh rosemary sprigs, lemon slices and dried marigolds.
Notes
You can use oat cream or coconut cream in the vanilla frosting. Using the coconut cream will give you thicker frosting.
I've used white sugar in the lemon curd to achieve bright yellow color, you can replace it with your choice of sugar or maple syrup.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving:Calories: 505Total Fat: 35gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 37mgSodium: 335mgCarbohydrates: 47gFiber: 5gSugar: 27gProtein: 6g
Hi there, does the frosting have a fluffy consistency or is it more Jello like (because of the agar)?
Hi Artemis, it has fluffy consistency. Once you whisk it it turns into light fluffy frosting. You must try it to see. It’s lovely :)
Hi Hana,
Good to see you back! I was wondering…what would it be like to leave out the agar powder for the icing? Don’t fancy it I guess.
Hi Shamani, thank you lovely! You can’t leave the agar out, it won’t work. The best is to use a different frosting like cashew or just use whipped coconut cream. It will be lovely too.
Hi! Does cornflour mean corn starch?
I tried this recipe and it came out just perfect.The only thing that I didn’t get right was the vanilla cream.I followed everything but I couldn’t get a firm frostable frosting.Any suggestion?
Can I change the ground almonds for hazelnuts or another nut? and the almond milk?
Thanks
This cake sounds delicious but I don’t need it to be gluten free. Can I use 1 cup of plain flour instead of sorghum, tapioca and buckwheat flour?