Vegan Bundt Cake with Lemon Maple Frosting (oil-free, whole-grain)

Date-Sweetened Vegan Bundt Cake with Lemon-Maple Frosting by Dreena Burton. Delicious oil-free bundt cake perfect for Mother’s Day or any special occasion!

In all my years of vegan cooking, this is the first vegan bundt cake I’ve made.

Isn’t that crazy?

Not for any particular reason, apart from not having a bundt pan. 🤔

I’ve always loved the look of bundt cakes. They almost instantly elevate an ordinary cake to: special occasion.

So, it was time to develop my first vegan bundt cake.

This one is especially special because it’s sweetened with dates! Yep.

It also includes a small amount of pure maple syrup. However, if you want to use only dates to sweeten, you can either substitute with date syrup in this vegan bundt cake – or omit and replace with extra non-dairy milk.

The dates add natural sweetness to this recipe, and also give some textural density. Bundt cakes are traditionally a little more dense, so the dates work really well here.

The hint of lemon in the cake is accented by the lemon-maple frosting, which, in my opinion is not optional for this vegan bundt cake.

Of course the cake can be made without the frosting. But why, when you have this?!…

If you don’t want to use coconut butter in the frosting, opt for cashew butter. A raw cashew butter will work best for flavor and color. If unavailable, use standard roasted cashew butter.

One other important ingredient note: the lemon zest!

Don’t omit it if at all possible. It truly deepens the lemon flavor in a way that lemon juice will not. So, pick up some fresh lemons (optimally organic since you’ll be zesting) for best final flavor.

This vegan bundt cake will be a beautiful dessert for any special occasion. Mother’s Day comes to mind, obviously. But, this cake will fare well in the fall and winter just as much as spring and summer.

This is a bit of a departure from my usual chocolate lovin’ recipes, right?! I do love my chocolate.

But, this time of year I enjoy switching it up with fruitier desserts – as with this recipe. Also this incredibly tender and delicious Carrot Cake (with that secret ingredient)! Oh, and this Strawberry Pie.

See? I’m not only about chocolate! 😬

I’ll leave the rest up to you from here. Give this vegan bundt cake a try and let me know how you like it!

Please add a comment, I love to hear from you. x Dreena

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4.60 from 5 votes

Date-Sweetened Vegan Bundt Cake with Lemon-Maple Frosting

A delicious, oil-free vegan bundt cake that’s sweetened with dates and drizzled with a tart-sweet lemon maple frosting!

Course cake, Dessert

Keyword cake

Servings 1 bundt cake

Ingredients

Cake Batter

• 2 cups lightly packed pitted dates about 10 ounces
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1/2 cup coconut cream from can of coconut milk or canned coconut cream – but not sweetened creamed coconut (can substitute more non-dairy milk if you cannot use coconut milk)
• 1/4 cup non-dairy milk
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup oat flour
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 – 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 scant teaspoon salt

Lemon-Maple Glaze

• 2 tbsp softened coconut butter or cashew butter (see note)
• 2 – 2 1/2 tbsp maple syrup can substitute date syrup or coconut nectar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• pinch salt
• 1/4 tsp roughly extra lemon zest (optional, to sprinkle on finished zest)

Instructions

• Add dates with water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer on medium-low heat for 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat. Add coconut cream, milk, vanilla and maple syrup and use an immersion blender to puree (alternatively, wait for mixture to cool and transfer to a blender to puree). Let cool for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a bundt pan with a very light wipe or spray of oil (note: if you have a very good non-stick bundt pan you may not need this), followed by a dusting of flour. Tap the pan to distribute the flour. In a mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients, stirring well. Add date mixture to dry ingredients. Stir through until just fully combined. Transfer mixture to prepared bundt pan. Use a spatula to scrape out all the mixture. Tip pan back and forth a little to even out batter. Place in oven and bake for 38-40 minutes. Check for doneness using a toothpick (inserting toothpick in cake to see if it comes out clean), or by lightly touching cake to see if it springs back. If it needs more time, leave in oven for another couple of minutes. Once ready, remove and transfer cake (still in bundt pan) to a cooling rack for 15 minutes. After this time, invert to remove cake and allow to continue to cool on the cooling rack until fully cooled.
• While cake is cooling, prepare glaze. In a small bowl, stir together coconut butter or cashew butter, maple syrup, lemon juice, and salt. Stir until smooth. If it’s difficult to mix, warm a little in a bowl in a hot water bath or in a warm oven/toaster oven. When ready, spoon over cooled cake and use a spatula to swirl more evenly. Sprinkle on optional lemon zest. Let glaze cool on cake. Cut in slices and serve.

Notes

Coconut Butter Note: If you want to substitute the coconut butter, try a raw cashew butter. If unavailable, use regular cashew butter. 

my thanks to Angela MacNeil for food photography