What can be a more delicious breakfast for the holidays than this delicious Vegan Gingerbread Cake made with whole wheat flour? It makes a perfect dessert or snack as well. Vegan, soy-free and nut-free recipe.
The aroma of gingerbread baking in the oven is something of a cliche this time of year, but how boring would the world be without those cliches? Or without this gorgeous Vegan Gingerbread Cake?
I took a break from all that cookie making to come up with this easy and delicious breakfast recipe for you to bake over the holidays. Although it works as a dessert or a snack or for any time of day. The reason I call it a breakfast recipe is because it's healthy enough to be one.
There's whole wheat here, and the sweetener I used is coconut palm syrup, which has a lower glycemic index than regular sugar. And then there are all those spices: cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. The aroma all of these ingredients send wafting around the house as this cake bakes is to die for.
The cake itself is quite perfect: spongy, moist, sweet but not annoyingly so, and with just the right amount of ginger flavoring each bite.
Here's the ingredient list for this vegan gingerbread cake. You probably already have most of these in your pantry:
- Whole wheat pastry flour (all-purpose will work, or use half whole wheat and half all purpose)
- Coconut palm syrup (you can sub with maple syrup or half maple syrup and half molasses, or half sugar and half molasses)
- Cornstarch
- Baking soda
- Ground ginger
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Ground cloves (optional)
- Nondairy milk (almond, soy, hemp, rice -- they all work. I used almond)
- Apple cider vinegar
- Applesauce
- Vegetable oil
So how do you make the perfect vegan gingerbread cake?
- This is pretty much a fool-proof recipe, but sticking with instructions will ensure you get fabulous results. So make sure you use the specified amount of sweetener and don't worry if your batter looks too runny after adding the maple syrup or coconut palm syrup. Sugar is a "wet" ingredient, because even when you add it in crystallized and dry form to a recipe, it melts in the oven. If you use the correct amount of sweetener, you will get the perfect result.
- Add some candied ginger to your batter for an amplified ginger hit. Or garnish the baked cake with slivers of candied ginger. Ooh la la.
- Changing up your flours will give you slightly different flavors. Use whole wheat for a nuttier taste, unbleached all purpose for a slightly cleaner taste. I prefer the whole wheat here because with those strong flavors of the ginger and other spices, no one will be able to really tell they are eating something healthy.
- Use an unflavored vegetable oil, not olive or coconut, which have strong flavors. You want to taste the ginger and spices here, or we'd have called it an olive bread or a coconut bread, right?
- The applesauce helps keep this recipe low-fat, so make sure you use it. It also gives the cake its incredibly moist and delicious crumb while not announcing itself.
- You can sub the apple cider vinegar with whatever vinegar you have on hand.
So there you are, all armed and ready to bake up the most scrumptious vegan gingerbread cake for your holidays. If you do, come back and let me know if you liked it. And if you're on Instagram, take a photo and tag it @holycowvegan.
Looking for more vegan cake recipes for the holidays?
Vegan Cinnamon Cake with Cinnamon Streusel
Vegan Chai-Spiced Pumpkin Bundt Cake
Vegan Orange Cake with Orange Marmalade Buttercream
Vegan Mango Cupcakes with Mango Buttercream

Vegan Gingerbread Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (sub with unbleached all purpose, or half and half of all purpose and regular whole wheat)
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ⅓ cup nondairy milk (I used almond but soy, hemp, rice all work here)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup applesauce
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup coconut palm syrup (equal parts of maple syrup, sugar or molasses are all fine substitutes)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place the flour in a bowl with the ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cornstarch and baking soda and whisk to combine.
- In another bowl mix the nondairy milk with the vinegar, applesauce, oil and coconut palm syrup. Whisk to mix, then dump all of it into the flour. Mix until everything is just combined.
- Spray a 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray. Pour the batter into the pan. Place in the oven and bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs sticking to it.
- Let the cake cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar if you desire. Serve either by itself or with vegan whipped cream.
Nutrition
Lakshmi
This came out great!! I made it using coconut palm sugar not the syrup. The kids loved it too, it was super fast and easy to make and I didn't feel guilty eating an extra bite?I am definately going to try the other dessert recipes, will keep you posted!!
smanders
This was simple and crazy delicious. For the sweetener I used a combination of sugar, molasses and maple syrup. It’s absolutely going to be a staple at our house. Being vegan on vacation is tough when your family has a sweet tooth but this made us feel like we were not missing out. 5 billion stars. Thanks again for being awesome.
Vaishali
So happy to hear! Thanks for letting me know.
Chhavi Vashisht
This looks so so gorgeous!!
Glenda
Palm oil production is destroying jungles in Asia, monkeys and general habitats are be destroyed to plant palm trees...sometimes after the palms are harvested the land is left unproductive and causes more environmental problems for the people who live in the areas where there are plantations...just a thought you might want to look into..especially since being a Vegan might mean better health it should also mean better use of land for the Planet and it’s people...I try not to purchase any products or use this oil for that reason...
Vaishali
Hi Glenda, You are confused about palm oil and coconut palm syrup, which I've used in this recipe. There is no palm oil here. Palm oil is produced using unsustainable environmental practices, including some that cause habitat loss for orangutans. Coconut palm sugar is produced differently and in a more sustainable way.
SoupandSalad
I woke up this morning and had to make this. I have to say it was absolutely delicious! I added the optional cloves. I didn’t have cornstarch so I did the white flour substitute I found online. I used cow’s milk (I’m still an aspiring vegan) and I was surprised there was no salt but I trusted you and didn’t modify. I loved it. It was also a hit with my nieces (ages 10 and 6) which was surprising to me because I thought they’d prefer it sweeter. It was perfectly moist and paired with a cup of coffee, it felt like an ideal way to start my Sunday morning. I’m filing this away as one of my favorite quick breakfast recipes. Ps it was as fast to make as you said it was. Thanks!!!
Vaishali
That's awesome to hear! So happy you and your nieces liked it.