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

FAQs

What cake mixes are vegan and gluten-free? ›

Lillybean (gluten-free)

This is one of the only gluten-free brands that doesn't require any eggs in the preparation. Just oil and liquid are added to these vegan cake mixes.

Add extra liquid: Gluten-free flours tend to absorb more liquid than regular flour, so you may need to add more liquid to your recipes to compensate. This can help to keep your baked goods moist and prevent them from becoming dry and crumbly.

Gluten-free baked goods often benefit from extra liquid to hydrate the flour blends, eliminate grittiness, and achieve a less dense or dry texture. However, it's very important to drive off this extra moisture during baking, or you'll wind up with a gummy texture.

YOUR CAKE IS SINKING IN THE MIDDLE OR NOT RISING

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.

A Short List of Vegan Cake Mix Options. Since most boxed cakes require that you add eggs, milk and butter after, most major brands such as Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker are already vegan!

½ medium banana replaces one egg.

You can't use banana to replace more than one egg, it can result in a rubbery texture and change in taste profile. 1 tbsp flax seeds + 3 tbsp warm water (allow to thicken for 10 minutes). Will not leaven. Add 1 additional tbsp to the recipe also to make up required volume of liquid.

What's the best gluten-free flour for baking? Bob's Red Mill gluten-free 1-to-1 baking mix is my favorite gluten-free all-purpose flour blend for baking. It has a mild texture and plenty of "stick" thanks to a blend of sweet rice flour, brown rice flour, and sorghum flour, plus some starches and xanthan gum.

2 teaspoons of baking powder per cup of gluten-free flour is necessary to ensure proper leavening. Baking soda and buttermilk can be used to leaven instead of baking powder, but 1-1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar should be added for each 1/2 teaspoon baking soda used.

Gluten-free batters need a longer bake time.

Because gluten-free batters contain more liquid than traditional versions, they typically take longer to bake. If you remove them from the oven too soon, you may develop a gummy, mushy texture.

As long as you have the time, it's better to let your batters and doughs sit. This will give flours and starches time to absorb liquid, which will prevent your recipes from developing a gritty, sandy texture.

Why is my vegan cake chewy? ›

After Googling I've found some things that may be the cause: Over mixed the batter (I thought I didn't but who knows) Didn't leave the milk+vinegar mixture long enough to curdle. I've also seen posts of people who recommend to add the vinegar right before your done with mixing.

However, you can actually mix a batter containing xanthan and/or guar gum to a point of diminishing returns. You can overwork the gums and end up with a stringy cake batter or rubbery cookie dough. (Having said that, doing this takes some work. Just don't take your aggressions out on a gluten-free cake batter.)

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater

Ultimately, the toothpick test is just one data source to rely upon: with the trio—toothpick, edges, & centre—you can reliably know your gluten-free baked goods are, well, baked! If your toothpick comes out with wet batter on it, your cake definitely needs more time.

Xanthan Gum adds thickness and viscosity to gluten-free breads and other baked goods. Without xanthan gum, your gluten-free baked goods would be dry, crumbly and flat. Because xanthan gum is gluten-free and vegan, it's the preferred thickener for those home bakers with food allergies.

Gritty texture in GF baked goods comes from not having the right balance of moisture and fats/oils to flour. Also, a coarse grind of flour or a blend of flour that contains too high a ratio of brown rice flour will contribute to coarseness.

Are Betty Crocker Baking Mixes Vegan? The great news is, most Betty Crocker baking mixes are vegan. All you need to do is replace eggs and milk with vegan options. The majority of the frostings are also vegan, making it easy to whip up a last-minute cake.

Bake it Vegan

The dairy-free Duncan Hines Cake Mixes are typically vegan, too (the Angel Food Cake does contain eggs). However, they call for eggs in the instructions. To circumvent this, you can use an egg substitute.

CONTAINS WHEAT, MILK AND SOYBEAN INGREDIENTS. MAY CONTAIN EGG INGREDIENTS. Product formulation and packaging may change.