Learn how to make a delicious Gluten-free Vegan Cranberry Bundt Cake that is also grain-free and oil-free. Light, fluffy, moist and only 8 ingredients! Topped with a really simple maple cinnamon glaze.
GLUTEN-FREE VEGAN CRANBERRY BUNDT CAKE
Whoop! Another year is ending and another year is beginning. What better way to celebrate both a great ending and a fabulous new beginning than with a delicious cake? Vegan Cranberry Bundt Cake that is also grain-free, gluten-free and oil-free. Lots of people go to parties or throw parties, so I’d suggest thrilling your guests with this cake. In other words, let’s get baking.
GRAIN-FREE BAKING
With the success of my oat-free and grain-free Vegan BBQ Lentil Loaf, I figured an oat-free (grain-free) vegan bundt cake was in order. Therefore, I got busy testing. Many of you expressed you can’t have oats and since I use oats fairly often, I wanted to make sure this one was oat-free, in other words, grain-free. Starting with my favorite combo that I used in my Sweet Potato Cinnamon Muffins, which is a combo of almond flour and potato starch. This produces the most light, fluffy and moist result.
HOW TO MAKE A VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE BUNDT CAKE
First, you will need to gather these 8 ingredients:
- blanched almond flour (my favorite brand is Nature’s Eats)
- potato starch (my favorite brand is Bob’s Red Mill)
- baking powder
- pure maple syrup
- unsweetened applesauce
- vanilla extract
- coconut milk
- dried cranberries
Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and grease and flour a 10 inch bundt pan well.
To correctly measure the almond flour, use a scale. Otherwise, to measure best, scoop out the almond flour with your cup and pat it down fairly well to make sure there are no gaps and level off with your finger or knife. Add to a large bowl, along with the potato starch, baking powder, salt and cinnamon (if using). Whisk really well until mixed.
In a medium bowl, combine the syrup, applesauce, vanilla extract and coconut milk and stir well. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir well with a spoon until just mixed. Gently stir in the dried cranberries.
Carefully pour the batter into your prepared bundt pan and make sure to smooth out the top evenly with the back of a spoon to it cooks evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes. I took mine out at 28 minutes. It should have a nice golden color and browning at the edges, slightly cracked and a toothpick comes out with some crumbs on it. The toothpick should not be completely clean.
It’s crucial you let the cake sit in the pan for about 45 minutes to firm up. Place a cooling rack on top and very carefully flip over the pan and the cake should slide right out. Let it cool another 30 minutes before glazing and serving.
EASY MAPLE CINNAMON GLAZE
To keep things simple, I created an easy maple cinnamon glaze and extra cranberries on top to complete this cake. Not only is the topping a feast for the eyes, it is absolutely delicious. Perfectly sweet and smooth, this glaze really takes the cake, haha. Sometimes, applesauce can be overwhelming in flavor, however, here it is the perfection addition. It provides lots of moisture to the cake. In addition, the flavor picks up beautifully on the maple cinnamon glaze and tart cranberries.
I love to make this cake is for the holidays, whether it be Christmas, Thanksgiving or New Years. Basically, when a cake is so incredibly simple to make, there is no excuse not to make it. Be sure to star rate this recipe after you make it if you love it!
Other delicious Vegan Cakes:
- Vegan Gluten-free Vanilla Cake
- Gluten-free Funfetti Birthday Cake
- Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cake
- Wedding Cake
- Chocolate Peppermint Cake
- Lemon Cake
Gluten-free Vegan Cranberry Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- 4 cups (448g) blanched almond flour (very important to use finely ground)
- 1 cup (160g) potato starch, not potato flour (don't sub)
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (320g) pure maple syrup
- 1 cup (240g) unsweetened applesauce
- 4 teaspoons (20g) vanilla extract
- 5 tablespoons (75g) non-dairy milk (I used almond)
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries (use more or less depending on preference, or use chocolate chips or nuts for variations)
Maple Cinnamon Glaze
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tablespoons potato starch
Note
- This cake uses a lot of almond flour because it is a large cake. It is very easy to measure incorrectly with almond flour and gluten-free flours in general, so I cannot stress enough why a scale is important. I recommend Honeyville, Nature's Eats or the King Arthur brand. Unfortunately, Bob's Red Mill does not do well, as it's very gritty and produces results that are not light/fluffy.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 350°F (177°C) and grease and flour a 10 inch bundt pan well. I use the Pillsbury "baking flour" nonstick spray and it releases the cake perfectly everytime.
- To correctly measure the almond flour, use a scale. Otherwise, to measure best, scoop out the almond flour with your cup and pat it down fairly well to make sure there are no gaps and level off with your finger or knife. Add to a large bowl, along with the potato starch, baking powder, salt and cinnamon (if using). Whisk really well until mixed.
- In a medium bowl, add the syrup, applesauce, vanilla extract and milk and stir well. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir well with a spoon until just mixed. Gently stir in the dried cranberries.
- Pour into your prepared bundt pan and make sure to smooth out the top evenly with the back of a spoon to it cooks evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes. I took mine out at 28 minutes. It should have a nice golden color and browning at the edges, slightly cracked and a toothpick comes out with some crumbs on it. The toothpick should not be completely clean. The nature of potato starch is that it will still cook slightly as it cools, so you don't want to overbake the cake. Don't worry about the top not looking perfect, it will flatten some back out and you are flipping it over anyways. It is crucial you let the cake sit in the pan for about 45 minutes to firm up. Place a cooling rack on top and very carefully flip over the pan and the cake should slide right out. Let it cool another 30 minutes before glazing and serving. Wait to glaze it right before serving, as the syrup will soak up the cake at the bottom, making it tender.
GLAZE
- To make the glaze, simply whisk the ingredients together in a small sauce pan and heat over medium for a minute or so until it is warmed and thickened just slightly. Drizzle over cake and garnish with more dried cranberries. Keep stored in a sealed container at room temperature. Cake is best eaten the same day it is made.
Can you please clarify the type of milk to be used.
Hmmm, I’m not seeing coconut milk in ingredients as mentioned in step 3, should that be the almond milk?
Thank you for another great recipe!
Oops yes it is almond milk!
Hello Brandi,
Your recipes are easy and great. Can you also suggest how can I make this a chocolate cake with cacao?
Would love to know the substitutions.
Thanks
Kristy
Can I sub plant yogurt or sour cream for the coconut milk?????
Thank you SEW much!
Hi, no I wouldn’t sub those but you could sub with any other milk you want and I’m sure it would work fine.
Brandi, I am so impressed with all your recipes. You are my “go to” person when I am looking for a recipe that is whole food plant based with no oil and often no grains. I do have a few of your cook books too. Am I remembering correctly that you also do all your own photography? Your recipes alone are so impressive. The photography really brings the recipes to life. Very impressive. With a family to care for, where do you find the time. Thank you for sharing your wonderful talents.
Sorry I’m just seeing this Kathryn! Yes, I do my own photography here on the blog and I did some in my most recent book too, but not all of it! Thank you so much for your kind words!!
I made this cake as one of the five vegan desserts for my family’s thanksgiving dinner this year. It was such a hit that it was the first one to go and 5 different people at the dinner asked me for the recipe. (None of them vegan, gf or refined sugar free!!! No one could believe it wasn’t a traditional sugar laden bundt bought at the supermarket!!) I have made at least 20 of Brandi’s desserts (I love them all! So delicious and easy!!!) but this one may be my all time favorite. The glaze is perfect with the bitterness of the cranberries and the cake itself was fluffy and moist and absolutely to die for. I can’t wait to make it again!!!!!
Thank you SO much Morgan for this amazing feedback! It really made me so happy to hear all of your non-vegan guests loved this cake so much! I loved your pic on Instagram, will share it soon! Thank you again very much!
Hello – I’d like to give this a shot…would it bake well put into 9 inch round cake pans instead of the Bundt pan? Although, the Bundt is pretty, I’m going for a Victoria sponge cake type look. Thanks!
Yes, you could certainly try it! It will definitely cut down on the baking time, so I would check it after 20 minutes and you are looking for the toothpick to have a few dry crumbs on it. Let me know how it turns out! Thank you!
Made this today Oh My…are you serious?? So Darn good! One of the best things for me is to be in the kitchen trying out something new and later when my girlfriend does the taste test watch her eyes pop out of her head because it is extremely delicious…yup that happened today.
Yay! Thanks so much Louise! I’m just thrilled you loved the cake so much and love that it was such a hit with your girlfriend! Yippee! Easy, fast, delicious girlfriend-approved cakes are always a good thing, haha!
This recipe looks awesome! I have been experimenting with different grain free flours lately, and this cake looks like a good one to try to experiment with almond flour! Thanks for sharing, I am excited to try it:)
This cake is absolutely gorgeous!! Your oil free, vegan and grain free recipes seriously blow me away! I can’t wait to try this lovely cake – it is definitively worth celebrating 😀
Wow! A stunning looking cake. Looks really moist and delicious… can’t believe it’s oil free too!
Looking forward to an occasion to make this cake!
Thank you so much for your kind comments Keren! I really appreciate it! 🙂
This is absolutely beautiful! Can’t believe it’s grain free because the texture is so similar to flour based cakes! Almonds are a great substitution for flour because they always make cakes so moist and hearty – perfect for breakfast!
Thank you so much Amrita!! Shockingly, it tastes just like regular cake too! Seriously! And yes, cake for breakfast sounds like a winner to me, haha! 🙂
I made this last night for senior citizens Bingo Nite. I used cashew flour instead of almond flour and skip the maple syrup and maple glaze because some of the senior citizens have a high sugar level. They are loveeee it. I made THREE Bundt Cakes and all gone. Some of them eat it with coconut cream or ice cream, see the reason WHY I skipped the sweetner LOL! I want them to enjoy the snack / dessert without feeling guilty or worry about their diet etc, and Brandi recipe just so PERFECT for that. Easy to make it and have only 8 ingredients ( or 7 in my caseLOL) and so much healthy than store bought. I used Fresh Cranberries. THANK YOU Brandi for this amazing recipe
Thank you so much for the amazing feedback Roshi!! I’m so happy to hear that it was a success and wow, 3 cakes, you are amazing! I’m thrilled to hear they were all gobbled up and thank you for sharing your gorgeous photo of the cake on Instagram!
Very very nice! I have been eyeing bundt cake pans and now I think I’m going to have to get myself one so I can bake this cake. Your photos are also really good. Happy New Year!
You are so kind Patty! I’m so glad you enjoyed the photos and I hope you get a chance to make the cake! 🙂
I would like this for my first breakfast of 2015 please, do you deliver? 🙂
Haha, yes! 🙂
A cake that pretty it IS difficult to make that first cut – – but someone’s gotta do it! Beautiful, Brandi! Happy New Year xoxo!
You are so sweet, thank you Annie! xo
Absolutely gorgeous Brandi!!!! I seriously don’t know how you continue to create one amazing recipe after another. You are so talented. I’ve always loved Bundt cakes and yours looks beautiful and healthy!!! LOVE!
Melanie-I am just so touched by your sweet kind compliments, truly! It means so much to me and I don’t take it lightly, so thank you! xoxo
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Love this! I am such a huge fan of cranberries! I love that you also made a maple glaze with it! Pinning! 🙂
Thank you so much Rachel!!
Brandi, this looks spectacular and I would love to make it with one alteration – is there anything I could sub for the coconut milk? I’m trying to avoid all saturated fats. Thank you!
Hi Fily! Yes, as long as you sub it with a creamy milk, I think it should be fine. I would use cashew milk or soy milk, since they are creamy. Almond milk is too watery. The fat in the coconut milk helps to bind the cake, so I think the creamier the better. Please let me know how it turns out!
Hi Brandi, is it ok to use full-fatted coconut milk in a can? I don’t have any “lite”.
Hi Gail! Absolutely! Just maybe increase it to 6 tablespoons since it is considerably thicker than lite coconut milk and the cake needs the liquid. The batter is considerably thick…kind of like muffin batter, but it it’s too thick, just add a bit more milk. Make sure to shake the can well first before measuring as well, so you aren’t getting mainly water. Please come back and let me know how it turns out here! 🙂
Looks wonderful. Sadly we are nut free too and I had a feeling it was going to be almond flour when I saw the picture. Oh well. Enjoy!
I’m sorry Kate! I am always trying to make several version for different needs on my recipes. I have many nut-free baked goods on my site. Just click the “Allergy” menu tab above and click the “nut-free” option to see. Also, my recent Caramel Crusted Pumpkin Loaf is a nut-free version and has been very popular, so that is definitely a wonderful desert you could make! It’s not enough for a bundt cake, but maybe double the recipe and make it in a bundt pan?
Here is the recipe: https://thevegan8.com/2014/11/22/caramel-crusted-pumpkin-loaf/
Brandi the cake is spectacular, I am so impressed with the crumb which looks moist and perfect. Love the flavors, the glaze everything about it. Amazing.
That is a HUGE compliment coming from you, thank you so much Suzanne!! The cake is so moist and tender, the applesauce and almond flour make it so moist, there is no oil needed. It is a little more of a tender crumb than a traditional cake since of course there are no eggs or gluten, but the applesauce and coconut milk and potato starch help to bind it well and I didn’t want to add any extra gums. It truly tastes like a traditional cake and we’ve loved it!
Looks beautiful Brandi! I love cranberries – think I will try this recipe out asap.
Happy New Year to you and your family!
Thank you so much Cindy! I hope you love it and please let me know if you try it!