Summer Recipe: Vanilla-Bean Cake

June Recipe: Vanilla Bean Cake

(gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan)

In case you needed an excuse to bake a cake, the summer solstice is coming up! What better way to celebrate the longest day of the year than to make a cake topped with edible flowers?

Note: The cake pictured, although gluten-free and vegan, was topped with maple-vanilla bean whipped cream, but the recipe listed also contains a vegan alternative. It’s a very adaptable cake and that’s why we love it!

Vanilla Bean Cake

2 1/2 cups gluten free flour (I love using old-fashioned rolled oats - just buy the grains in bulk and grind them in a high speed blender for fresh flour and great results!)

2 teaspoons baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon sea salt 

1 cup maple syrup 

1 1/4 cups full fat coconut milk

Organic vanilla beans, scraped from one whole vanilla bean pod (if you don’t have access to real vanilla beans, use 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, but the real vanilla beans make this really special!)

6 tablespoons coconut oil 

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar 

Preheat oven to 350 F

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. In your blender, add wet ingredients and blend on high until smooth. 

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, mix well, and pour batter into a lightly oiled dutch oven or cake pan. 

Bake for 50 minutes. Let cool and then turn over onto a pretty plate.

Vanilla-Maple Whipped Cream Frosting (gluten-free)

1 carton of organic, heavy whipping cream or 1 pint of fresh organic, grass-fed cream from a local farm

Maple Syrup

Vanilla Bean

Whip up your cream of choice. Once fully whipped, drizzle in maple syrup to taste, and scraped vanilla beans fresh from the pod.

Dark Chocolate Ganache (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan)

This frosting is rich and absolutely delicious, and because it is made with dates, it is refined-sugar free!

3 cups pitted dates

1/2 cup raw cacao powder

pinch of sea salt

zest of two oranges or fresh vanilla bean (or both!)

1 cup full-fat coconut milk

Combine in a food processor or blender until silky, then drizzle over your cooled cake.

Optional: you can decorate with cacao nibs, fresh flowers, shredded coconut, citrus zest, or anything else you are inspired to use. My current favorite topping is fresh pansies.

Enjoy!

Note: The cake recipe is inspired by the Blood Orange Chocolate Cake in the My New Roots cookbook. I am gluten free and wanted to re-create a delicious cake into something that is both gluten free and vegan so that more people can enjoy it. As a mom to two young children, using fresh, whole food ingredients is important to me. That's why I recommend making your own fresh flour using whole grains. The original recipe is made with whole spelt flour.