Maple Glazed Spice Cake with Cinnamon Drizzle (Vegan)

Recipe from Vegan Richa

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Makes 9 servings

This is a super moist, perfectly spiced cake to serve when autumn is in the air.  The original recipe called for a dairy-free cream cheese frosting, but I wanted to try the drizzle that I found on Vegan Richa website that was meant for another cake. This cake is delicious enough to serve with coffee at a party. Or you can also leave it plain and pop it in your lunchbox.  (There were gluten-free, oil-free, sweetening, dried fruit, and flour options for this recipe on the Vegan Richa website., but I’ve not tested those.)

Cake

1 Tablespoon flax seed meal

¼ cup water

¾ cup spelt flour

¾ cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup + 2 Tablespoons coconut sugar

½ teaspoon sea salt

1½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1/3 cup chopped pitted dates (Soak in warm water for about 15 minutes.)

¾ cup applesauce (I used unsweetened.)

¼ cup oil (I used grapeseed oil.)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup grated apple, carrot or zucchini (I used apple.) Lightly squeeze with a clean towel to remove excess moisture

Glaze

1 Tablespoon maple syrup

1 teaspoon water

Cinnamon Drizzle

1¼ cup non-dairy milk (I used almond milk.)

2-4 Tablespoons coconut sugar or other sweetener (to taste)

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 drops almond extract

A pinch of sea salt

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon turmeric, for color (optional)

Line an 8” x 8” square pan with parchment paper.  (I lightly sprayed the pan and the paper with oil first, but that’s optional.) Preheat the oven to 350F.  Mix the flax seed meal with the ¼ cup water and set aside.  In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves and nutmeg.  Whisk well.  Fold in the dates. (I used my fingers to “rub” the dates into the mixture so that the date pieces would be well coated with the dry mixture which would allow them to be distributed evenly.) Add the applesauce, flax seed mix, oil, vanilla and apple.  Mix to combine into a slightly stiff batter.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread the batter to completely cover the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick from the center comes out clean.  Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes.  Carefully remove the cake using the parchment paper as “handles.” Mix the maple syrup and water together and brush over the entire cake.  While the cake is cooling, make the Cinnamon Drizzle. Mix 1 cup almond milk with the sugar, vanilla and almond extracts in a saucepan. Bring to a boil.  Add the cinnamon and turmeric, if using.  Mix the cornstarch and ¼ cup almond butter in a small bowl.  Add to the boiling milk.  Bring it back up to a rolling boil.  Take the pan off the heat.  The drizzle will thicken a bit as it cools. When the cake is completely cool, drizzle with the Cinnamon Drizzle.

Nutritional Information (1 of 9 portions of cake w/no glaze or drizzle): 195 calories; 6.7 g fat (0.9 g sat. fat); 0 g cholesterol; 146 mg sodium; 33.2 g carbohydrates; 3 g fiber; 14.7 g sugars; 2.8 g protein; 145 mg calcium; 2 mg iron; 440 mg potassium Nutritional Information (1 of 9 portions of glaze and drizzle) 42 calories; 1.1 g fat (0.1 sat. fat); 0 mg cholesterol; 83 mg sodium; 8.3 g carbohydrates; 0.4 g fiber; 6.7 g sugars; 0.3 protein; 93 mg calcium; 64 mg potassium