Go Back

Vegan Gingerbread Cake

Nicole Vranjican
A soft and fluffy holiday Gingerbread Cake made with molasses, ginger and cloves topped with vegan whipped cream and Gingersnap Cookie Sprinkles!
5 from 4 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine Vegan
Servings 1 9x13in cake

Ingredients
  

Dry Ingredients

  • 1¾ cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves
  • ½ tsp sea salt

Wet Ingredients

  • 1 cup cane sugar
  • ½ cup melted refined coconut oil room temp
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • ½ cup unsulphured molasses don't use blackstrap molasses
  • ½ cup canned pumpkin puree
  • ½ cup hot water

Flax Egg

  • 2 tbsp ground flax seeds
  • 4 tbsp orange juice

Toppings

  • vegan whipped cream or ice cream
  • storebought gingernsap cookies to make cookie sprinkles!

Instructions
 

Prep

  • Start by mixing the ground flax seeds and orange juice in a bowl. Stir and set aside to thicken.
    Next, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepapre a 9x13 baking pan by greasing it with coconut oil and lining with parchment paper.

Mix the Dry Ingredients

  • Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and sea salt in a large mixing bowl. Mix well and set aside.

Mix the Wet Ingredients

  • In another large bowl, beat the sugar and melted coconut oil for 1 minute until smooth.
    Then add the molasses, pumpkin, vanilla and flax egg and beat for 1-2 minutes until fluffy.
    Don't add the water yet, that comes later 😊
    NOTE: If it's very cold in your kitchen, the coconut oil may re-harden and become difficult to mix. The hot water will remelt it when we add it later.

Combine and Bake

  • Add half of the flour mixture into the bowl with the wet mixture and just mix until combined. Careful not to overmix at this point.
    Then add half of the hot water and mix until the water is mostly absorbed. Add the remaining flour, mix until no flour is visible and then add the remaining water.
    This technique creates a nice texture in the finished cake!
    Transfer the batter (which should be pretty thick) to your prepared baking pan and bake on the center rack for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (It takes almost exactly 30 minutes in my oven)

Cool

  • Allow the cake to cool in the pan on a cooling rack so that air can circluate around the bottom. This is key for a good crumb scructure!
    Once cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar, slice and serve with vegan whipped cream. Then make sprinkles by crumbling a gingersnap cookie on top for a little crunch!
    I also love drizzling on cream cheese glaze (recipe in the notes below) for something different or it's nice when served warm with vegan ice cream on top too!
    Hope you enjoy! Happy Holidays ❤️

Notes

Vegan Cream Cheese Icing 
  • 1/4 cup vegan cream cheese, softened to room temp
  • 3 tbsp powdered sugar
  • 2-3 tbsp almond milk
  • pinch of salt
Cream the softened cream cheese, salt and powdered sugar in a bowl. Whisk in the plant milk and mix until smooth. The icing should be runny and easy to drizzle. 
Add one tbsp of plant milk at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
Keyword gingerbread oatmeal, holida recipes, vegan baking, vegan desserts