This was my holiday cake this year. I wanted something festive, but not heavy like chocolate because I knew we’d be eating a lot of other good food at Mom’s. And I thought “Orange is a holiday flavour, right?” But it needed something more to get it there, so orange spice. I looked around at a bunch of orange and/or spice cakes and settled on this one that I just had to 1) make gluten-free, 2) double for a two-layer cake, and 3) figure out an icing for it: http://goodhabitsandguiltypleasures.com/recipe/orange-spice-cake/.

For the icing, I settled on almond because I thought it would be a nice complement to orange without trying to overpower it. The following recipe adaptation is for a two-layer cake. I also switched around the zest for some orange juice and orange extract.

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GLUTEN-FREE VEGAN ORANGE SPICE CAKE (WITH ALMOND FROSTING)
adapted from goodhabitsandguiltypleasures.com

240mL plant milk (not rice or coconut, they won’t curdle)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
240mL orange juice

140g melted coconut oil
3 tsp orange extract
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients
100g sorghum flour
60g brown rice flour
60g almond flour
110g corn starch
300g organic cane sugar
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and flour two 20cm round cake pans.
  2. Mix the plant milk and apple cider vinegar together. Add the orange juice once the milk mixture has curdled a bit. Set aside to let them curdle more.
  3. Combine all dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Set aside.
  4. Mix together the coconut oil and extracts, then add to the milk mixture. (If your milk mixture is cold because your ingredients were in the fridge beforehand, the coconut oil will solidify again upon contact and create little lumps that make it hard to combine. I warmed mine a bit in the microwave before mixing in the oil and it was good.)
  5. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix until no lump remains.
  6. Pour into your prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes. Let it cool down completely before frosting.

Almond Frosting
125g vegan shortening
75g vegan margarine (I use Earth Balance)
700g powdered sugar
5 tbsp plant milk
1 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

  1. Using an electric mixer, beat the shortening and margarine together until fluffy.
  2. Add in the powdered sugar a little at a time, beating in between. (Add some of the milk if the frosting starts becoming too dry before the sugar is completely incorporated.)
  3. Add in the plant milk and extracts, then beat until combined.

*This icing was bit improvised on the spot. I took some notes as I was doing it, but it’s possible my quantities here aren’t exactly accurate, so I’d recommend to keep an eye out on the texture and taste and adjust as you mix.

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