Hummingbird Cake (Gluten Free & Vegan)
Happy 2020 Friends! Kick starting this new year with a special cake recipe! Special because it’s the first cake recipe that I have successfully made that’s a combination of gluten free and vegan – yay!
Recipes that are free from gluten, dairy and eggs have been highly requested from many of you, I hear ya! This is why I’m so excited to be able to share this wonderfully delightful Hummingbird Cake recipe with you. It’s soft, moist and so flavourful.
I’ve been thinking for a while now to create a beautiful Hummingbird Cake and I was originally going to make it traditional, using gluten for the flour, eggs in the batter and dairy in the cream cheese frosting. However, when I asked you guys if you wanted more gluten free and vegan recipes, a hummingbird cake was absolutely perfect because of it’s traditional recipes. As it includes fabulous egg free substitutes such as applesauce and banana.
It’s completely free from gluten, dairy and eggs. There is organic sugar in the coconut cream frosting however, if you wish to not use any refined sugar in your cake, you can simply leave out the icing sugar and replace it with your sweetener of choice. Including a couple of tablespoons of maple syrup, honey or rice malt syrup. The dry icing sugar does add to the overall texture of the frosting, making it very similar to regular buttercream frosting. So if you choose to use a liquid sweetener instead, the texture of your frosting will be thinner.
I hope you enjoy this wholesome gluten free and vegan cake!
Hummingbird Cake (Gluten Free & Vegan)
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: Serves: 6-10
Description
Hummingbird Cake! Free from gluten and completely vegan! It’s wonderfully delicate and bursting with tropical flavours! Paired with whipped coconut cream frosting that’s infused with fresh orange zest!
Ingredients
- Cake
- 2 cups (280g) plain gluten free all purpose flour
- 1 tsp (4g) baking powder
- 1/2 tsp (4g) baking soda
- 1 tsp (2g) ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp (2g) ground nutmeg
- Small pinch of pink salt
- 1/2 cup (80g) coconut sugar
- 440g canned crushed pineapple
- 1/2 cup (145g) unsweetened applesauce
- 1 cup (160g) diced ripe banana, approx. 2 medium sized bananas each weighing about 120g with skin on
- 1/4 cup (60g) coconut oil, melted
- 1 tsp (5g) vanilla bean extract
- 1 cup 100g pecans, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup (40g) shredded coconut
- Frosting
- 2 x 400g canned coconut cream, chilled overnight or 24hours
- 1/2 cup (80g) organic icing sugar
- 2 tsp finely grated orange zest (approx. 1 medium size orange)
- 1/2 cup (40g) raw pecans, finely chopped
Instructions
- Cake
- Preheat oven to 180ºC fan-forced (356ºF). Line 2 round 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper. Alternatively, grease each pan with a thin layer of olive oil and sieve/dust a thin layer of all purpose gluten free flour over the oil. Set aside.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add salt and sugar, whisk until well combined. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the entire crushed pineapple can (pineapple + juice), applesauce, banana, coconut oil and vanilla. Use a spatula to mix until combined.
- Pour all the dry flour mixture into the wet mixture and gently fold until just combined.
- Add pecans and coconut. Fold until well combined, ensuring not to over-mix.
- Pour half the batter into one lined cake pan. Spreading evenly and smoothing out the top.
- Pour remaining half of batter into the second cake pan, spreading evenly and smoothing out the top.
- Place both cakes in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of each comes out clean and the tops spring back when lightly pressed.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool in pans for 15 minutes.
- If you lined your pans with oil and flour, carefully run a butter knife around the sides of each cake to help unstick the sides if needed.
- Gently remove each cake from it’s pan onto a wire rack to cool completely. Handle the cakes with care as they are soft and delicate.
- Frosting
- To remove coconut cream from the can, do not turn the cans upside down or shake them once they has been refrigerated. Scoop out the top of the can which is the thick coconut cream, leaving all the liquid in the base of the can. Spoon the cream from both cans into a medium sized mixing bowl.
- Using electric hand beaters, or a stand mixer, whip coconut cream for 30 seconds, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Sift over icing sugar and whip until well combined and thick.
- Add orange zest and whip until well combined.
- Assemble
- Place one of the cakes onto a cake stand or serving platter.
- Spoon half the frosting on the base cake and spread out evenly to the edges.
- Carefully place second cake on top, pressing down slightly to stick to the frosting.
- Spoon remaining half of frosting over the top, spreading out evenly to the edges.
- Sprinkle over finely chopped pecans.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Store cake in a large airtight container, refrigerated if weather is warm/hot or in a dark dry pantry if weather is cooler and frosting won’t melt.
- Prep Time: 20min
- Cook Time: 40min
