Easy Vegan Eggnog Cake (Gluten Free!)
Deliciously creamy gluten free vegan eggnog cake that’s full of holiday flavor! Naturally vegan and dairy free as well, this eggnog cake is perfect for the holidays!
If you love eggnog, you need to try this eggnog cake:
My love for eggnog runs deep. I know it’s either a thing you love or you hate, but since you clicked on this recipe, I’m guessing you’re a fan!
Don’t worry, you’re in good company 🙂
This is a gluten free eggnog cake. And vegan. Dairy free. AND lower in sugar than normal cakes.
It’s FULL of classic eggnog flavor (made from dairy free vegan eggnog!), super soft, tender, moist, and just a dream to eat. The texture is perfect, and absolutely no one will know this eggnog cake is eggless!
What’s an eggnog cake?
An eggnog cake quite literally tastes like eggnog, but in a rich and “buttery” cake and frosting. It’s amazing.
Only this one is entirely dairy free, vegan, and gluten free, so yes, there are some twists to this cake, but it’s every bit of delicious as the traditional version (because removing gluten, dairy, and eggs doesn’t make something taste bad, I promise!).
Now, you could do an eggnog frosting as well, like I did, or even try a vegan cream cheese frosting, like on my vegan red velvet cake.
This gluten free vegan eggnog cake is a dream, and you’d never know it’s gluten free…nor vegan, nor dairy free!
How to make a gluten free eggnog cake (overview)
For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.
Let’s first start with the ingredients.
To make a vegan and gluten free eggnog cake that tastes anything but, you’ll need the following:
- Gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour (I recommend Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur)
- Dairy Free Eggnog: I made my own vegan eggnog, but you can also use store bought.
- Granulated sugar: To make sure it’s vegan, use organic.
- Unsweetened applesauce: This replaces eggs in traditional eggnog cake.
- Vegan yogurt: To increase moisture and create a soft and lush texture! I recommend Forager Project vanilla cashewmilk yogurt.
- Vegan butter
- Cinnamon and nutmeg (for extra holiday flavor!)
Not outrageous right? Vegan and gluten free baking really can be that simple. While simple in ingredients, this eggnog cake recipe packs it in with flavor.
Now onto actually making the cake! This comes together so easily.
Here’s how to make a vegan eggnog cake:
- Cream together the vegan butter and sugar
I use a stand mixer but you can also use a hand mixer and large bowl. Cream together until nice and fluffy, about 3 minutes. You want the butter to start to become lighter in color, and the sugar to emulsify into the butter. This will help give our cake rise, since we’re not using eggs.
- Add in the applesauce, yogurt, and vanilla.
Mix again until combined.
- Sift in the dry ingredients & vegan eggnog “buttermilk” in increments
I do about two increments, adding half the dry mixture and half the eggnog buttermilk at first, mix, and then the remainders. Be sure not to over mix. The flour should just be incorporated into the wet ingredients, and you should have a consistent batter.
- Bake!
Divide the batter into your cake pans (you can use either 8″ or 6″) and bake!
Then all you need to do is make the vegan buttercream frosting and assemble! I added a touch of vanilla powder and nutmeg to create an even stronger eggnog flavor.
Do I need to make this a gluten free eggnog cake?
If you’re not gluten free, you can easily swap in all purpose flour or cake flour in lieu of gluten-free 1:1 baking flour.
Which gluten-free flour did you use?
I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free flour. It’s in the blue bag, and contains xanthan gum. That’s my go to gluten free flour for cakes! I have not yet tried this cake with oat flour, but that’s my intention next time. You’re more than welcome to try this cake recipe using my vegan vanilla oat flour cake if you’d like!
Oh, and the cute little snowman sitting on our vegan eggnog cake? Those guys are made from vegan fondant! You can also chill the buttercream and scoop the frosting like cookie dough!
Super easy and a fun decoration to add!
You’re just going to absolutely love this easy vegan eggnog cake! It tastes like a dream, and absolutely no one will know it’s vegan, eggless, dairy free, and even gluten free!
As always, I love seeing your beautiful creations, so be sure to tag me on Instagram and Pinterest!
Happy baking and nogging!
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If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!
Print
Easy Vegan Eggnog Cake (Gluten Free)
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 16 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Deliciously creamy gluten free eggnog cake that’s full of holiday flavor! Naturally vegan and dairy free as well, this eggnog cake is perfect for the holidays!
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup vegan egg nog + 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 1/2 cups gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour with 1 tbsp arrowroot starch (this helps the grittiness in the flour- you can also use all purpose flour or cake flour if you’re not gluten free)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup vegan butter
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup dairy free yogurt
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract or 1/4 tsp vanilla powder
Vegan Buttercream Frosting:
- 1 cup vegan butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract.
Instructions
- Please read through all instructions before beginning.
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350F and grease three 8″ cake pans or 6″ cake pans with olive or coconut oil. Line with parchment paper and set aside. Combine the vegan eggnog and apple cider vinegar together and set aside to curdle. This will be called the eggnog “buttermilk” from now on.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
- Make the batter: In a stand mixer with paddle attachment or in a large bowl with hand mixer, cream together the vegan butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add in the applesauce, dairy free yogurt, and vanilla extract, and cream together until smooth.Sift in about half of the dry mixture followed by half of the eggnog buttermilk and mix again. Then add in the remainder of both and mix just until combined.
- Bake: Pour the batter evenly among the three cake pans and place into the oven to bake for 25-35 minutes. You’ll need longer if making three 6″ cake pans.
- Cool: Remove from the oven, and let cool for at least 30 minutes before frosting. There should be no warmth to the cakes at all.
- Make the frosting: To make the frosting, begin by using a hand mixer to cream the butter. Then sift in 1 cup at a time of powdered sugar until it’s all mixed together. Add in the vanilla extract.
- Decorate and enjoy: Frost your cake and serve!
Notes
Gluten free: I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Baking flour here.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 335
- Sugar: 39.4 g
- Sodium: 333.3 mg
- Fat: 9.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 61.8 g
- Protein: 3.1 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This seriously looks so good! I’m going to make it for Christmas!! Do you think it will freeze ok? Or would it be ok in the fridge for a day or two?
Aw I’m so happy, thank you! I would recommend making the cake the day before and covering it while leaving it out on the table overnight, then frosting it the next day if you’re trying to save time! Otherwise, you can freeze the cake layers, but you’ll need about 6 hours for it to unthaw before frosting and decorating!
Are the flaxseeds ground first or do you put them in the cake whole?
Hi Jeff!
Yes, the flaxseed is ground first!
Do you think I could do normal all purpose flour instead of gluten free?
Hi there! It definitely will 🙂
Looking forward to making this, but I don’t see the measurement for the Flax in the recipe? Could you provide the measurement please 🙂
Hi Jaime! So sorry for the confusion! The recipe was improved upon and the flaxseed was omitted, but the written part of the blog post didn’t reflect that- apologies! The recipe card, though, is correct- you’ll just need applesauce!
Think you can sub the coconut sugar for monkfruit or does it need that nuttiness taste?
Hi Jen! You can sub in granulated monkfruit if needed! I worry that monkfruit might leave a specific after taste to the cake that wasn’t intended, but if you enjoy and frequently use it in your baking, it will definitely work!
Hello I was just wondering what those adorable are made from and if you have a recipe? We’re gonna try out this cake for Christmas and I would love to make it with the snowmen! Thank yo so much!
And I forgot to write snowmen. Adorable snowmen. Haha
Oh yes!! I actually just made them from extra buttercream! I chilled the buttercream after frosting the cake then used a small cookie scoop to roll them into balls! The eyes are chocolate chips, the nose quite literally a sliver that I made with a knife from a carrot (ha!) and then grape stems for arms (but you can also use cinnamon sticks!). Enjoy and happy holidays/Merry Christmas!!
Thank you so much!! Have a very Merry Christmas!
Hello!! After I frost the cake should I leave out on the counter over night or put in the fridge? Thank you!
Hi Sarah! I recommend storing it in the fridge! You can lightly wrap it with tinfoil- the frosting will lock in the moisture to the cake so it shouldn’t dry out!
This looks so good! What a great way to still enjoy the holiday eggnog flavor while keeping yourself healthy!
Thanks for sharing! How far ahead of time can I make it?
Hi Vanessa! You can make the cake the day before and lightly wrap it stored at room temperature, then assemble the next day 🙂
Can these be made into cupcakes? I want to make this for Christmas but I don’t want to make a whole cake.
Yes absolutely! You can divide the recipe in half for 12 cupcakes!
Hi! Making this for Christmas… Upon adding the dairy free yogurt, apple sauce and vanilla my mixture immediately “curdled”. What brand vegan butter and vegan yogurt do you use? Tx!
Hi Morgan! I’m so sorry to hear that! That can sometimes happen with the dairy free yogurt and applesauce- it will appear that the vegan butter has “split” but it will still bake fine! The vegan butter I use is Miyoko’s or Earth Balance sticks (sometimes I’ve used the tubs of earth balance, but I do notice more splitting of the butter with the tub) and the vegan butter I use is Forager Project!
this looks amazing I was wondering if I could use almond flour or would the almond flavor change the taste to much
have a great Christmas 🎄