Butternut squash cake – because pumpkin is sooooo mainstream maaaaaan.
Of course, you could use pumpkin in this cake too if you wanted but I prefer butternut squash as it’s a little different and the flavour is so wonderful. Plus, I love to use the leftover squash for risottos and soups.
Anyway, I am so excited to share this cake with you as it is just so delicious and comforting! My new go-to vegan cake…
I’ve used spelt flour which means it isn’t gluten-free but it is wheat-free and a much more wholesome and healthy flour than ordinary flour.
If you want to make this gluten-free, you can substitute the spelt for a gluten-free wholemeal plain flour mix.
The filling is a cream cheese inspired almond cream that has the consistency of buttercream and tastes amazing! I think I’m going to use this on every cake I make from now on…
Vegan Butternut Squash & Orange Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 180 ml 3/4 cup almond milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 400 g 2 1/4 cup spelt flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground mixed spice or pumpkin pie spice mix
- A pinch of salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 110 g 1/2 cup butternut squash purée*
- Zest of 1 large orange
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 180 ml 3/4 cup maple syrup
- 60 ml 1/4 cup olive oil
For the filling:
- 100 g 1 cup ground almonds
- 80 ml 1/3 cup almond milk - or more if needed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1 to 2 tbsp maple syrup
- Marmalade I used a 100% fruit variety
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 180c. and grease two sandwich tins. Add the cider vinegar to the almond milk and set aside.
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Sift the spelt flour into a mixing bowl and discard any large granules left in the sieve. Mix in the spices, salt, baking powder and bicarb.
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In a separate bowl, mix together the almond milk from earlier, squash purée, orange zest, vanilla, maple syrup and olive oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until well combined and a smooth soup-y texture is formed.
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Evenly pour the mixture into the two sandwich tins and bake on the middle shelf for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave the cake layers to cool at room temperature and then place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes (this makes them easier to handle and decorate.)
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Meanwhile, make the almond cream "cheese" filling by mixing the ground almonds, almond milk, vanilla, coconut oil, lemon juice and maple syrup together in a blender until a thick, smooth icing has formed.
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Remove the cake layers from the freezer and coat one side with the marmalade and the other with the almond cream. Be as generous as you like! Sandwich together and serve.
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Optional: Arrange some (clean) leaves on top of the cake and dust with icing sugar for a stenciled leaf design!
Recipe Notes
*To make butternut squash purée, simply peel and dice approx 1/3 of a butternut squash. Steam for 10-12 minutes until soft and then blitz in a blender until pureed.
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