gluten-free

Vegan Gluten-free Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with Thyme

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A slice of Gluten-Free-Vegan-Poppy-Seed-Lemon-Thyme-Cake

All About This Vegan Gluten-free Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with Thyme

Poppy seeds and lemon are a classic flavour combination, sure to please most cake eaters. I added fresh thyme from my greenhouse, to highlight the lemon notes. Thyme presents earthy, minty and slightly lemony characteristics so it’s a great addition to this cake. The cake crumb is surprisingly soft with a crumbly, moist sponge like texture. The gluten-free flour blend creates a flawless crumb that’s impossible to tell it’s vegan or gluten-free. It’s a 1-bowl (and a jug) cake that’s vegan, gluten-free, and it’s absolutely delightful. It’s a fantastic choice for an easy afternoon tea cake as it’s a single layer 8 inch round cake that measures around 1.5 inches in height. This recipe will become a staple in your household, especially if you have fussy gluten-free eaters.

Vegan Gluten Free Poppy Seed Cake mixing bowl

This cake uses a combination of white rice flour, almond flour, and potato starch as it’s gluten-free flour blend. Our egg replacer is xanthan gum which is a great egg replacer for gluten-free baking. It works as a binding agent and also helps create a spongy cake texture, which is hard in gluten-free vegan baking. A combination of coconut yoghurt, vegetable oil, and soy milk add the perfect amount of moisture to this cake, making one that will easily keep for 3 days without drying out.

This is only a single layered 8 inch cake. I use a standard 8 inch cake tin for this recipe. The brand I alway buy (and cherish) is USA Bakeware. I LOVE their cake tins. They are high quality, light coloured and last forever. This cake will present a slightly domed top and is very easy to decorate. I use a simple glaze recipe that is flavoured with vanilla, lemon essence, lemon rind and Thyme.

Vegan Gluten-free Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with Thyme Breakdown

Illustration of a Vegan Gluten-free Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with Thyme to show different elements of the cake

Skill:		Easy
Method:Mixing in one bowl
Size:Single layer 8 inch cake, 1.5 inches heigh
Serving:12 casual servings
Pairing:Vanilla ice-cream, sour cream or yoghurt
Sweetness:Moderate
Profile:Vegan, gluten-free, soft cake crumb
Storage:Stored in an airtight container in the fridge three to four days
Bakers Tip:You can also make this without thyme
Vegan Gluten Free Poppy Seed Lemon Cake on cooking rack

Tips For Making This Vegan Gluten-free Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

  1. Make sure your oven is heated to the correct temperature before baking, use an oven thermometer
  2. Use vanilla bean seeds or high quality paste for the best flavour
  3. Don’t over bake this cake, the skewer will still present some sticky crumbs when poked throw the centre
  4. Bake on the middle rack of your oven
  5. Add a heatproof bowl of water to the bottom of your oven whilst baking, to help circulate the air and create an evenly baked cake

Ingredient Substitutions

  • swap potato starch with tapioca flour
  • swap almond flour with almond meal or pumpkin seeds ground into a meal for a nut free version
  • swap soy milk with coconut milk for a soy free version
  • swap xanthan gum with 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flax seed mixed with 2 1/2 tablespoons boiling water)
  • swap lemon rind and essence with orange rind and essence for a different citrus flavour

Decorating This Vegan Gluten-free Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

  • This is a super easy decorating technique that takes minutes
  • When making the glaze for the cake, make sure not to make it too runny otherwise it will run off your cake
  • This cake is moist enough to eat without glaze or other decorations if you’re after a healthier version

Watch my video to see how easy it is to make this cake


Love Gluten-free recipes? Check out these…

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A beautiful slice of Gluten-Free-Lemon-and-Poppy-Seed-with-Thyme-Cake

Vegan Gluten-free Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with Thyme

★★★★★

5 from 8 reviews
  • Author: Sara Kidd
  • Total Time: 68
  • Yield: 12 1x
  • Diet: Gluten Free
Print Recipe

Description

An easy vegan gluten-free lemon poppy seed cake with thyme. 

Ingredients

Scale

Cake

  • 175 g (1 cup) white rice flour
  • 100 g (1 cup) blanched almond flour
  • 60 g (1/2 cup) potato starch
  • 3 tablespoons poppy seeds
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
  • 170 g (2/3 cup) caster sugar
  • 125 ml (1/2 cup) plain vegan coconut yogurt
  • 90 ml (1/3 cup + 2 teaspoons) vegetable oil
  • 330 ml (1 1/3 cups) plant milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
  • 1 teaspoon lemon extract
  • Zest from one unwaxed lemon

Glaze

  • 125 g (1 cup) icing or confectioners sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons plain soy milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
  • Zest from one unwaxed lemon
  • 1 tablespoon fresh Thyme leaves
  • Small lemon wedges to decorate

Instructions

Cake

  1. Preheat your convection oven to 170°C (340°F). Lightly grease and line one 8 inch round cake cake tin with baking paper and grease again.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, sift the rice flour, almond flour, potato starch, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum. Whisk to combine. Add sugar and stir through. Make a well in the middle of your dry ingredients.
  3. Place the coconut yoghurt, oil, plant milk, vanilla, lemon extract and zest in a large jug and stir until completely smooth.
  4. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry and gently whisk to combine. 
  5. Pour the batter into your cake tin and tap on your bench with force to release any large air bubbles. 
  6. Bake on the middle rack of your oven for 45 – 48 minutes (BUT check your cake’s progress at the 40 minute mark), until a skewer inserted into the center comes out almost clean of cake batter and the top bounces back when gently pressed.
  7. Let cool in the tin for 10 minutes before flipping onto a cake rack to allow your cake to completely cool. Once your cake has cooled, move onto making the glaze. 

Glaze

  1. Mix the icing sugar, soy milk, vanilla, lemon extract, lemon rind together in a small bowl until it becomes a smooth, thick icing. Pour evenly over the top of your cooled cake. Sprinkle thyme leaves over the top and some small lemon wedges. Serve.
  • Prep Time: 20
  • Cook Time: 48
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: 1 bowl mixing
  • Cuisine: Dessert

Keywords: Gluten-free, vegan, poppy seed, lemon, thyme

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Fixing The Top 5 Issues for Gluten-Free Vegan Baking

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Vegan baking can sometime feel a little daunting if you haven’t done it before but then throw gluten-free into the mix and it can get a little scary. Here are the top 5 issues that happen with vegan gluten-free baking and how you can fix them.

1. YOUR CAKE IS SINKING IN THE MIDDLE OR NOT RISING

a. You may not have used enough raising agents. I do recommend experimenting with double action baking powders. Otherwise try using 25 percent more chemical raising agents (baking soda or baking powder) if you’re converting a recipe to gluten free.

b. Your cake may not have enough structure due to using only one type of gluten-free flour. I recommend using a combination of gluten-free flours and starches to create a strong structure for your cake. I would also suggest to review what your egg replacer you’re using. For gluten-free baking I usually use xanthan gum or a flax seed egg as my egg replacer if I’m wanting to help create structure and bind the ingredients together.

 b. Over beating your mixture. Even though it’s gluten-free and doesn’t have a gluten structure that we need to be delicate with, over beating your cake can still cause issues. So be very gently with your batter and beat only until just combined.
c. Your bake is too large. I always recommend making cakes no larger than 6 to 7 inches or thinner larger layers. I find that the smaller the cake, the better the bake.

d. Your oven is too hot and it’s causing the cake to rise too quickly before it’s had time to create the cake structure underneath to hold it up. I bake in a convection oven and I usually bake at 160C/320F in a convection oven. I find this temperature doesn’t bake my cakes too quickly and stops that hard brown crust from forming.

2. YOUR BAKE IS DENSE AND LIKE A BRICK

a. This can also be caused by only using one type of gluten-free flour. Using a combination of gluten-free flours will assist with giving your cake a better structure as each flour can action different results. As an example I will use almond meal to create a fluffy cake crumb, I will use rice flour to help create structure and a starch will hold onto moisture and assist to bind the ingredients together.

 b. Your cake has too much moisture or too much fat.

 c. Using the wrong egg replacer. An example of this is if you’re using apple sauce as your egg replacer. It will add moisture but won’t add structure by assisting the binding process causing it to be more prone to a dense result. 

3. WEIRD FLAVOURS

a. Creating a great tasting gluten-free vegan cake can be tricky. It’s all about the gluten-free flour. All flours taste different. An example of this is buckwheat flour is quite nutty so I will use this flour in a chocolate cake as it pairs well with this flavour. If I’m making my famous vegan vanilla gluten free cake I want to use a combination of flours that is more neutral tasting like white rice flour mixed with potato starch for structure and an almond meal to help create that fluffy texture. 

b. Because we tend to use a lot of nuts and seeds in gluten-free baking I recommend using extra high quality vanilla bean paste when baking. It will help balance out those nutty, sometimes bitter flavours. 

4. TOO DRY

a. If you’re finding your gluten-free cake is coming out dry, try using oil instead of vegan butter as your main fat source, this can add extra moisture. Adding a thick vegan coconut yogurt or whipped aquafaba is also another option. 

b. This can be caused by over baking or your oven is too hot. Don’t be afraid to under-bake your cake slightly. You want to retain extra moisture in your cake as gluten-free cakes can be a little dry. I usually bake it for 5 minutes less and test it with a skewer. If the skewer still has a few crumbs and a tiny bit of moisture on it, it’s ready to come out of the oven. If you’re converting a recipe to gluten free, experiment with adjusting the temperature of your oven 10C/50F lower. Also, it’s good to remember some gluten-free flours absorb more moisture than others. An example of this is coconut flour, it absorbs more moisture in baking than rice flour. 

5. TOO CRUMBLY

If your baking is falling apart once baked this can be because you have used the wrong egg replacer, or not enough of an egg replacer. You want to make sure your egg replacer is acting well as a binding agent and binding all the ingredients together to give a firm result. I would recommend a flax seed egg or xanthan gum for this issue. 

If you want to learn more about gluten-free baking check out my Recorded Gluten Free Baking 101 Workshop

Gluten free baking workshop

Here is a list of my Gluten Free Recipes to get you started:

VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE RECIPES
Vegan Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake
Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake
Vegan Gluten-Free Apple Cake
Vegan Gluten-Free Shortbread
Vegan Gluten-free Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Filling & Cream Cheese (Halloween Special)

Vegan Killer Gluten Free Cupcakes