Gluten-Free Vegan Matcha Strawberry Cake - Rhian's Recipes (2024)

4.60 from 107 votes

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: gluten-free matcha cake, vegan matcha cake, vegan matcha sponge

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Author: Rhian Williams

For the cake:

• ▢ 60 g (¼ cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
• ▢ 230 ml (1 cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons lemon juice *
• ▢ 8 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) **
• ▢ 150 g (1 ¼ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
• ▢ 2 heaped teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons ) matcha powder to taste

For the strawberry frosting:

• ▢ 400 g (14 oz) tin of full-fat coconut milk
• ▢ 2 tablespoons strawberry jam (refined sugar free if necessary)

For the cake:

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).

• Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other oil).

• Once melted, add the milk to the same bowl along with the lemon juice, maple syrup, vanilla and ground almonds.

• Sift in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and matcha powder.

• Mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it's looking too dry.

• Transfer mixture between two small greased baking tins lined with baking paper (I used two 7inch/18cm tins).

• Bake in oven for around 15 minutes until risen and an inserted skewer comes out clean.

• Once out the oven, immediately remove cakes from baking tins and transfer onto a wire rack to cool.

For the strawberry frosting:

• You'll need to keep your tin of coconut milk in the fridge overnight for the rich creamy bit to separate from the watery bit at the bottom. Make sure it is full fat coconut milk, otherwise this separation won't happen and you won't be able to make this cream!

• Open the tin upside down - the coconut cream will be at the bottom and you can just pour off the watery liquid (save this for adding to soups or smoothies).

• Place the thick, creamy part into a bowl.

• Add the strawberry jam.

• Use an electric whisk (or a manual one and a lot of elbow grease) to whip up the coconut cream until light and fluffy.

To assemble:

• Once the sponges have cooled completely, place one sponge on a large plate or cake stand, and cover with half of the strawberry frosting.

• Place other sponge on top and use remaining frosting to cover the top.

• Decorate as desired.

• Tastes best eaten on the day.

*The lemon juice is crucial as its acidity needs to react with the alkali bicarbonate of soda to make the sponge fluffy. If you don't want to use lemon juice, substitute with 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar instead.

**You can alternatively usealmond flour.

Nutrition Facts

Gluten-Free Vegan Matcha Strawberry Cake

Amount Per Serving

Calories 400Calories from Fat 252

% Daily Value*

Fat 28g43%

Saturated Fat 16g80%

Sodium 81mg3%

Potassium 180mg5%

Carbohydrates 34g11%

Fiber 3g12%

Sugar 15g17%

Protein 7g14%

Vitamin A 25IU1%

Vitamin C 2.4mg3%

Calcium 127mg13%

Iron 3.1mg17%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.