This vegan gingerbread cake with coconut frosting is a delicious festive dessert, perfect for Christmas and any other special occasions. It's simple to make, loaded with delicious flavor, and pretty enough for the fanciest party. And it's also vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, and dairy-free!
Add the soaked cashews to a blender or food processor together with maple syrup, coconut milk and vanilla extract. Blend until the icing is very smooth, which should take around 5 minutes, depending on how powerful your blender is. Make sure that no cashew lumps remain.
Activate the agar agar powder on the stove by stirring it with water over a low-medium heat and then add this to the frosting, blending for around a minute more. Transfer the frosting to an airtight container and leave to set in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
MAKE THE SPONGES
Around 35 minutes before you are ready to take out the icing, preheat the oven to 350F (180 C) and line two 8-inch cake tins with parchment paper. You can do this by drawing a line around the circumference of the tin, cutting it out with scissors and placing the parchment paper circle inside the tin.
In one mixing bowl whisk together the rice flour, chickpea flour, ground ginger, coconut sugar, corn meal, baking powder, and baking soda.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, a flax egg (made by combining ¼ cup ground flaxseeds with ½ cup water and setting aside for 10 minutes), plant based milk, and peanut butter.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until well-combined.
Divide the batter evenly between the two cake tins and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the centre.
ASSEMBLE THE CAKE
Once they are ready, allow the sponges to cool for at least 15 minutes before assembling the cake. Spread a thick layer of icing on one of the sponges.
Place other sponge over it and add another layer of icing on top, spreading some around the edges if desired.