Vegan Gluten-Free Flag Cake
Vegan Gluten-Free Flag Cake is easy to prepare using brown rice flour and almond flour for a light and fluffy vegan and gluten-free cake. Topped with creamy vegan cream cheese frosting with sweet and juicy summer blueberries and strawberries.
I have been away from my blog most of June as I was busy doing various catering jobs and cooking classes. Although I enjoy the various events I catered for, I’m happy to get this opportunity to create new recipes for you.
I know it is only a day before July 4th celebration but I had to share with you my Vegan Gluten-Free Cake, an American Flag Cake. It is such a fun way to celebrate the 4th of July. If you are vegan, gluten-free, or try to eat a plant-based diet you will love it even more!
This Flag Cake is gluten-free and made without refined white sugar. However, it’s very delicious thanks to the rich tangy cream cheese frosting!
This vegan gluten-free flag cake will be a hit at any event this summer. You can easily pile the blueberries and strawberries on top of the cake for a yummy summer berries cake.
Serve this 4th of July Flag Cake with my Easy To Make Cauliflower Wings and Vegan Potato Salad.
Why You’ll Like This Recipe?
- This vegan gluten-free flag cake is a fun dessert to make for the 4th of July, or any time you want to celebrate your country’s freedom!
- This cake is just as beautiful as it is delicious. The red stripes are made from strawberries and the blue ones from blueberries. The texture is light and fluffy, with a subtly sweet flavor that gets better every day after it’s baked.
- This cake is gluten-free and dairy-free, so it’s great for people with food sensitivities.
- It’s also lower in fat than traditional cakes, so you’ll feel less guilty about indulging.
- It’s also easy to make and will feed a crowd.
- It can be customized with your favorite colors. You can even make it in different shapes like hearts, circles, or stars!
- You can make this cake in advance and store it in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Ingredients Of Vegan Gluten-Free Flag Cake
Brown Rice Flour: For this recipe, I used brown rice flour. It is a nutrient-dense whole grain flour. Additionally, it is gluten-free. The flavor of brown rice is nutty.
- Almond Flour: This flour is usually used as a binding agent in savory recipes. You can use store-bought or make your own Almond Flour.
- Baking powder: It is a wonderful ingredient that increases puffiness and lightens the texture of baked foods.
- Sugar: Organic cane is used in cake batter while organic powder sugar is used in the frosting. However, any liquid sweetener such as maple syrup, agave syrup, or brown rice syrup can also be used.
- Vanilla: Used in both the cake and cream cheese frosting to infuse the flavors with warmth.
- Nondairy Milk: Plant-based milk is known as non-dairy milk. Coconut milk, almond milk, soy milk, and cashew milk are some of the varieties. I chose almond milk, but feel free to use your fave! Any type of plant-based milk will work.
- Salt: The batter was seasoned with salt to balance out the flavors.
- Ground Flax Seeds: Flaxseed act as an egg replacer, helping to keep the cake together.
- Coconut Oil: Coconut oil nicely binds all the ingredients. It also adds moisture and a buttery flavor to the cake. This recipe can be made with any type of oil (olive or vegetable) or butter.
- Almond Extract: It’s used in this cake to enhance the flavor of the different ingredients and make everything taste extra-delicious
- Vegan cream cheese: It is used for making cream cheese frosting. I used Trader Joe’s brand.
- Vegan Butter: I used Earth Balance Buttery Spread. Almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter can be used alternatively.
- Lemon Juice: The frosting is brightened by the addition of lemon juice.
How To Make Vegan Gluten-Free Flag Cake?
- For my flag cake recipe, I combined all the dry ingredients in one bowl except the grounds flaxseeds. In another bowl, I mixed the liquid ingredients with the ground flaxseeds. Then I mix both wet and dry ingredients together until smooth and creamy.
- Vegan Gluten-Free Cake is baked for about 40 minutes in an oven set at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. I completely cool the cake, then I frosted it with a creamy cream cheese frosting and topped it with sweet and juicy summer blueberries and strawberries.
Chef’s Notes
Before you begin, there are a few things to keep in mind.
- I used Trader Joe’s vegan cream cheese, Earth Balance buttery spread, and organic powdered sugar. Other vegan cream cheese brands are Tofutti and Kite Hill. For cakes, I love to use golden ground flaxseeds by Bob’s Red Mills.
- I baked the cake in a 9×13 pan.
- Don’t forget to use parchment paper to line the baking sheet because when trying to remove the cake from the pan, it may stick.
- Make sure the batter isn’t overmixed. When all of the ingredients are mixed, stop mixing.
- Ensure your oven is set to the correct temperature for baking, as an over-baked cake will be dry and brittle. To ensure accuracy, use an oven thermometer.
- The baking time can differ based on the type of oven you have.
- Keep frosting refrigerated until the cake is ready.
- Before applying the frosting to this vegan gluten-free flag cake, make sure it has thoroughly cooled. This will take approximately an hour and requires patience. If it’s still hot, the frosting will liquify and melt.
Recipe Variations
You can play around with this recipe in a variety of ways to make it your own. Consider the following flavor variations:
- Hazelnut flour can be substituted for almond flour in this recipe.
- If desired, top the cake with chopped nuts.
- If desired, the cake can be made without the fruit.
- In order to make this recipe nut-free, substitute ground sunflower seeds for the almonds, and substitute nut-free- plant-based milk for the almond milk.
- You can make a variety of flags using different colors of fruits and frosting.
- You can make this cake in any shape or size you like, but I recommend making one large sheet cake to serve a crowd or two smaller cakes for individual servings. You could even make cupcakes if you like!
Frequently Asked Questions
How To Store Vegan Gluten-Free Flag Cake?
Keep the vegan gluten-free flag cake in the freezer for about 15 minutes before serving. If you wrap it tightly in plastic so that no air can reach it, it will last in the fridge for 3 days.
How To Make This Vegan Gluten-Free Flag Cake Ahead Of Time?
This gluten-free flag cake can be kept in the fridge for a few days, but for the best presentation, follow these steps to make it ahead of time.
- The base of this cake can be made up to two days ahead of time. In an airtight container, it can be kept at room temperature.
- You may also make frosting in advance and keep it refrigerated in an airtight container.
- When making your flag cake, wait to put it together before your event so that it looks its best on the big day.
- While I recommend drying each strawberry slice before putting them on top of the frosting, if the strawberries and blueberries are kept in the fridge for more than a few hours, the precipitation can cause the strawberries and blueberries to bleed onto the frosting.
- It will still taste good, but it won’t be as appealing to the eye.
If you use these suggestions, you will have a tasty and spectacular dessert for your occasion!
What If I Don’t Want To Make My Cake Look Like A Flag?
If you want to keep the 4th of July dessert theme, sprinkle the blueberry and strawberries, and scatter over the frosting for a more abstract effect. But don’t worry if you don’t want to make this delectable cake seem like an American flag. There are many different ways to decorate this cake, such as:
- Fruits like kiwi and strawberries can be used to create a green and red theme for other holidays, such as Christmas.
- For Valentine’s Day, a mix of red and pink fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, pomegranate, dragon fruit, and cherries would be amazingly beautiful.
- You can omit the fruit entirely for Halloween and replace it with your favorite candies.
Can I Substitute Salted Vegan Butter For Coconut Oil In The Cake?
Yes. If you only have salted vegan butter on hand, it will work. Simply omit the extra salt, as salted butter has around ¼ teaspoon of salt per stick.
What Is Almond Flour?
Almond flour is a grain-free, paleo flour prepared from blanched almonds ground to a fine consistency.
After blanching, the skins are normally removed, leaving a pale tint and a smooth surface. Almond flour is named from its texture, which resembles that of wheat flour, however, it is gluten-free.
Is Almond Flour Healthier Than Regular Flour?
Almond flour has become a popular substitute for wheat flour. It has a somewhat sweeter taste, is low in carbohydrates, and is filled with nutrients including dietary fiber, protein, and magnesium. In addition, almond flour may offer more health advantages than regular wheat flour.
Almonds are high in calcium and phosphorus, both of which help to strengthen bones and prevent fractures. It’s also high in heart-healthy monounsaturated fat and beneficial antioxidants like vitamin E. If you’re on a low-carb diet, this gluten-free baking ingredient is a great choice. See How To Make Almond Flour.
Are Flaxseeds Healthy?
Yes! Flax seeds are high in a variety of nutrients. Their potential health benefits are mostly owing to their high amount of omega-3 fats, lignans, and fiber. Flax seeds include lignans, a class of minerals with potent antioxidant and estrogenic activities.
They may prevent the occurrence of breast, prostate, and other cancers. Due to their high fiber content, flaxseeds can help improve digestive health, lower cholesterol, improve heart health, and keep you fuller for a longer time. See more Benefits of Flaxseeds.
What Can I Use In Place Of Cream Cheese Frosting?
Use the sweetened Cashew Sour Cream recipe to make another alternative vegan cream cheese recipe.
Is It Possible To Use Carob Chips?
Carob chips can also be used in this recipe especially if you are making this cake for kids. Add 1 cup of carob chips to the cake batter before baking.
Take some time to sit, dine, and enjoy life with one another. Make this Vegan Gluten-Free Flag Cake, and let me know about your experience by leaving a comment on this post! … Have Fun Baking!
Other Vegan Cake Recipes
- Vegan Tiramisu
- Vegan Hummingbird Bundt Cake
- Pineapple Upside Down Cake
- Strawberry Breakfast Cake
- Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Cake
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Vegan Gluten-Free Flag Cake
Ingredients
Vegan Gluten-Free Cake
- 2 cups brown rice flour
- 1 cup almond flour
- 3/4 cup organic cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cup almond milk
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds (golden)
- 1/2 cup coconut oil melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces vegan cream cheese ( I used Trader Joe’s brand)
- 1/3 cup Vegan Butter ( I used Earth Balance Buttery Spread)
- 2 cups organic powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
For The Cake
- Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Line and lightly grease a 13×9 inch pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine brown rice flour, almond flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, stir together, almond milk, ground flaxseeds, coconut oil, vanilla and almond extract.
- Pour liquid mixture into dry and mix to combine until batter is smooth and creamy. Scoop batter into prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove cake from oven to a cooling rack, keep in the pan until completely cool before adding frosting.
For The Frosting
- Add cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar. vanilla, lemon juice in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, process cream cheese frosting until smooth and fluffy.
Made the cake using earth balance vegan butter bc coconut oil gives me bad heartburn; also added a splash of apple cider vinegar to the liquids and wow it’s amazing!!! Thank you so much for this recipe!!!!
Hi Michelle!! What is the purpose of using the parchment paper? Could you omit and just coconut oil spray a glass 13 x 9 pan?
Lahana, yes you can omit and spray with coconut oil. I just find that my baked goods never stick when I use parchment paper but will sometimes stick with just spraying with the oil. It is also far easier to remove from the baking pan.
Excited to try this recipe! I don’t generally keep coconut oil on hand but I do have Mioyko’s vegan butter and it’s main ingredient is coconut oil. I was thinking of giving that a try…what do you think?
TIA!
Jen, I know vegan butter has water in it. How about substituting the coconut oil with some other neutral oil. However, the vegan butter might work.
Can I use white rice flour instead of brown? I would like to try this recipe but I can only find white rice flour in my area.
Hello Yuko, It should work fine, maybe even better texture. Please let us know the results when you do.
We made it this weekend and it was a big hit. Thank you for the recipe!