This vegan Maple Almond Earl Grey Tea cake is lightly sweet and simple. A gluten free buttery tea cake loaf infused with Earl Grey tea and a hint cardamon! The maple almond glaze is the perfect topping. Quick to make in one pan and bakes up in under 45 minutes!
Please ignore the fact that I’m posting a tea cake loaf recipe right after a superfood recipe. It wasn’t planned, but I’m not sorry about it. Because we’re all about balance here, right? Yup, totally logical in my book. Plus there’s something about Spring that makes me start baking al kinds of cakes! Last spring I made vegan coconut lime cake, vegan classic white cake with Coconut Cream Vegan frosting, and carrot cake bread pudding. This Spring I’m a bit behind. Whoops. Unless you count Carrot Cake Pancakes, yes? That being said, I’m ready to put my crazy cake lady hat on. Time to bust out a new Springish vegan cake recipe for ya! Gluten Free Earl Grey Tea Cake and Maple almond topping!
I love this lightened up spiced tea cake recipe with a naturally sweetened glaze. They are are perfect for gathering and for brunch, a fuss free tea cake for an afternoon tea. And I think we all should start implementing afternoon tea, don’t you think? Plus tea cakes are so my jam (as in tea, crumpets, and jam)! Gosh, I’m corny. Anyway, I digress. Let’s talk about why this vegan earl grey tea cake is extra special! Besides the “special” fact that it is refined sugar-free, gluten free, spiced with cardamon, and sweetened with maple syrup. HOLLAH!
This cake is another Kiwi Cotter (aka my husband) special. Last Monday I boasted about his childhood favorite, beans on toast. This week it’s tea cake. Specially EARL GRAY tea cake. His favorite! Whenever we go back to New Zealand, we drink Earl Grey tea like it’s going out of style. We also frequent cute local coffee shops with gluten free treats. It’s so nice to slow down and enjoy and new pace of life. Gah… I miss it.
Needless to say, those memories are special to me, which makes this tea cake extra special. Maybe it’s a sign I (we) need to slow down our pace of life. Maybe it’s a sign we need to go back to New Zealand? Or maybe it’s the best way I communicate my emotions. Through making food with love and feeling all nostalgic like. I think it’s all three reasons.
Oh, and I should mention the other “special” addition to this tea cake is the hint of Cardamom and cinnamon. The smell along is absolutely HEAVENLY and brings soothing to soul.
Has my corniness rubbed off on you yet? Good.
Now I can get the semi healthy, totally tasty, lightened up Vegan Earl Grey Tea Cake recipe. Cool?
Just brew up some a “cuppa” tea, add in some coconut or almond milk, sift your Gluten Free Flour, stir in your spices and vanilla, swirl in your maple syrup, and grab a handful (or two) of almonds. This Tea Cake Loaf is about to GO DOWN in swoooon factor history!
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Maple Almond Earl Grey Tea Cake Loaf
- Total Time: 43 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
Description
This Vegan Maple Almond Earl Grey Tea Cake is lightly sweet and simple. A gluten free buttery cake loaf infused with Earl Grey tea and a hint of cardamom! Gluten free and vegan
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond or coconut milk
- 2 to 3 Earl Grey tea bags (the more tea bags, the stronger the flavor)
- 2 ¼ cup gluten free all purpose flour (We use Bob Red Mill’s 1:1 GF Flour)
- ½ cup coconut sugar see notes for lower sugar option
- ¼ tsp cardamom
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ cup maple syrup (extra for topping)
- 2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar or Lemon Juice
- ⅓ cup melted refined coconut oil
- ½ cup crushed or chopped almond (extra for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9×3 loaf pan with parchment paper or grease thoroughly.
- Steep 2 Earl Grey Tea Bags in 1 cup hot coconut or almond milk. Steep so it’s extra concentrated. Set aside.
- Sift flour and coconut sugar together into a large bowl. Add in the the remaining dry ingredients: baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt. Mix to combine.
- Add wet ingredients, one at a time, to the dry mix, starting with tea infused milk, then coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and vinegar. Gently mix together.
- Lastly, fold in ¼ cup crushed almonds.
- Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
- Add remaining crushed almonds on top.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes or until toothpick or knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Check at 30 minutes for progress. Depending on your oven, it could take up to 55 minutes to bake. If the bread starts to brown around edges, but is still not cooked through, cover with foil and continue to bake.
- Remove pan from oven and let cool completely.
- Drizzle extra maple syrup on top and optional powdered sugar.
- Slice and serve. If you’re not serving right away, wrap in foil or keep in airtight container until ready to serve. Freezes well.
Notes
- For lower sugar option, replace coconut palm sugar with xlyiltol, Swerve or baking stevia.
- A 1:1 GF flour works best. We use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten free flour
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 33 minutes
- Category: dessert
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 251
- Sugar: 15.8g
- Sodium: 206.2mg
- Fat: 11.1g
- Saturated Fat: 6.1g
- Carbohydrates: 37.2g
- Fiber: 3.8g
- Protein: 4.2g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Keywords: Earl Grey tea cake, gluten free loaf cake, gluten free desserts, vegan cake, vegan desserts
I never thought a Vegan Earl Grey tea cake could be so delicious. Would it be wrong to say add some butter? Nah, vegan butter does exist! So go for it!
So there you have it. My lightened up cake recipe for Spring. Maple Almond Earl Grey Tea Cake. The the perfect “sweet treat” for brunch, breakfast, or any gathering really! Don’t you think?
Now, who’s coming for tea?
Easy to make and absolutely delicious :)))))
★★★★★
Did the husband like it too? 🙂
Besides a gluten free flour, how can I use almond or coconut flour for this recipe?
I’m not sure it will work those flours unless you use egg. Can you have egg?
Yes I can have eggs (:
Gotcha! Okay well I have this cake that might work. You could try it with the steeped tea in almond milk instead of water here https://www.cottercrunch.com/vegan-white-cake-with-chocolate-coconut-frosting-gluten-free/
I was skeptical, because I never had any luck baking loafs. I had to make a lot of substitutions, because I am trying to use what I have at home during this COVID-19 mandatory social distancing law. I did half Bob Mill’s GF flour and half almond meal; half maple syrup and half barley malt; and almond extract instead of vanilla. It came out better than I imagined. This is my second time working with GF flour and I love the mochi-like consistency of it (I made pancakes the first time).
★★★★★
Oh I am so glad it turned out well! Thanks for the feedback Linh!
Hi there! I just made this and the dough was really dense..not runny in the slightest. Is that normal?
Hmmm, that’s strange. SOrry to hear about that. What kind of flour did you use? Was the ACV fresh?
hi!! this cake looks mouth watering and I really wanna try it but I want to make it using a ring pan!! would that work with this recipe???
Hi Christal! I haven’t tried it with a ring pan, and I’m not sure if it would rise but it’s worth a shot! It’s delicious either way. Let me know if you try it!
Nice recipe, subtle flavors but very good! Next time I might use three tea bags instead of two. My only change was that I used regular all purpose flour since I don’t follow a gluten-free diet. Also, of note, mine took closer to 55 minutes to cook.
★★★★★
thank you kate! I’ll make these notes for sure!
I love this recipe and the bread tastes so good and moist! I have made it exactly how you have it but now I don’t have GF flour. Would I be able to replace it with oat flour? Thoughts?
I think so! What type of flour did you use before, a multipurpose?
I used regular flour but that was for a friend. I tried a little but prefer GF. You think oat flour would be ok?
any way to sub out the oil? perhaps using apple sauce, or doing a pumpkin puree or…? coconut flour or almond flour to make it grain free?
Hmmm that might be tricky. I could try pumpkin. You could try to make this like my vegan/ paleo cake as well. Just replace oil. Want link?
yes that would be great
Try this one, but I would try applesauce with it and use tea leaves perhaps?. Cook longer. Cover it starts to brown on the top earlier. Let it sit to cool or place in fridge to hold. Keep me posted!
https://www.cottercrunch.com/vegan-white-cake-with-chocolate-coconut-frosting-gluten-free/
This looks amazing! I will definately give it a try!
I hope I will manage as I am not a great cook!
Perfect for fall!
I’m so excited to try this recipe! Do you think I could use a different flour to reduce the carbs i.e. coconut flour? What do you think?
Hi there! So I tried with coconut and almond flour but it didn’t rise. Still good though. You could try to make it like my paleo/vegan white cake. Or just use coconut flour and have it been a little more dense, ya know?
I’ve made this a few times now and I just LOVE it! I have been replacing the earl grey with chai tea though because that’s what I have on hand and it just works so wonderfully with the cinnamon and cardamom flavors
What a great idea! I need to try this!
Thank you so much for this recipe. Made it this morning and it is so delicious! The cardamom complements the Earl Grey perfectly ?You are a genius!xxx
Wonderful!! So glad! Thanks for feedback El!
Followed the recipe exactly but threw the whole thing in the garbage. Would not bake just remained a lump of uncooked mush. Too bad; I was really looking forward to eating this.
Oh no! I’m so sorry. I’ve had several readers make this and write back they loved it. Can you send me your ingredients? I will take a look to see if maybe something wasn’t right on my end as well. I do apologize and appreciate your feedback.
my email is cottercrunch at hotmail
Maybe I needed to put it in the oven as soon as everything was mixed but the dough was very dry and floury so I did have to add more milk. Also I live in Calgary which is over 3000 feet above sea level. Maybe that had something to do with it.
Thanks, Lindsay! Looks awesome. If I wanted my loaf to be full of gluten, could I use regular flour? I assume that since the Bob Mill’s is called 1:1 GF then it’s an exact replacement? Looking forward to baking this!
Haha yes just use multi purpose flour. Did you want it still vegan?
Hey! 🙂 How much sugar will i needed if I’m not using palm sugar?
Same amount should work. What type of sugar?
Yess! I love baking with earl grey, this cake looks amazing xo
It’s so good!!
I love your corniness. The combination of cardamom and cinnamon sounds wonderful.
mmmm…. this looks like the PERFECT texture for a sweet cake/loaf. My dad would love this. Who am I kidding? We would all love this. We love tea and bread in our house or tea and cake; I loved that about England when we went. Everybody was good at slowing down for the midday tea and cake. I definitely learned that I needed to do that more.
yea! i hope you all love it! <3 Keep me posted Emily.
looks like I have all the ingredients and I’m obsessed with Early grey too, and breathtaking photos
Lindsay , A must try , very soon!
thank you friend. keep me posted!
Yah! such a yummy recipe. looks simple but filling 🙂
Courtney Bentley || http://www.courtneyvioletbentley.com
earl grey is one of my fav tea flavor…so obvs this sounds like perfect mid-day snack with my dranksss!
Gah! I love this! I’m a big fan of anything with Earl Grey flavor, and this bread looks so incredibly moist. Beautiful photos, too!
A 9×9 pan or a loaf pan? Just curious…and confused.
Oh gosh! Sorry meant 9×3! Will correct that
Fyi – the cake pan measurement is not corrected in step 7 of your recipe.
Also, typos in steps 3 and 5.
Looking froward to trying it!
Oh thank you!! I’ll fix that tonight! Lol. I need to hire someone to help me with typos. Not my strong suit
MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Wow that looks amazing Lindsay!
Thanks friend. <3. How are you?
It is just a bit crazy right now Lindsay… just trying to find work & what I find is just not enough to even catch up so… just trying to figure out next steps….
Things sound great there!!! I love all your pics!!! How are you feeling? Are you 100% yet?
Love you!
Let me know how i can help!
You are so sweet! Unless you win the big lotto – nothing can be done.. plus I am all caught up in my own head which is never good for me.. xoxoxoxoxox THANK YOU!!!!
My mom and dad would love this. I pretty much associate my dad with Earl Grey tea (that is all he drank when I was growing up!).
Your dad and my husband could have tea time together
What a brilliant idea to add tea to the cake! And these photos are absolutely breathtaking….
Thanks Casey! Let me know if you try it!
I’m always weary of tea in desserts/sweeter things. BUT I was converted in Paris when I had an Earl Grey macaroon. I just hadn’t had it done correctly before. So yeah, now I need this.
did you try the early grey chiffon cake when you were there? GOODNESS GRACIOUS it’s good!
This was delicious! I didn’t have coconut sugar, so I ended up using brown sugar instead. The flavor is perfect!
Wonderful! so glad!
I love your creativity with flavors!! Early grey- never would have thought that could work, but I’m dying to try this now!
Thanks lovely
Ohhhh I want a slice of this! So I’m thinking it’s because I’m not a tea drinker, but I’ve never had Earl Grey tea before…. BUTTTT I’ve seen it a bunch in baking and I’m totally intrigued.
I have seen it with lavender infused too!! Thought of you!
Oh yum! Wish I had a slice of this to eat right now!
Me too! Come over?