Orange and Rhubarb Loaf Cake (Vegan Gluten-Free)

This is the perfect loaf cake for spring: Orange and Rhubarb Loaf Cake has a light and zesty orange yoghurt loaf topped with fresh rhubarb. Decorated with orange-zested cream cheese coconut whip and jammy rhubarb compote for a light, vegan and gluten-free bake.

Nothing screams spring quite like rhubarb, and this one is a beauty. Made with pink rhubarb and deliciously zingy oranges, this loaf cake is so light and refreshing while dealing with all your cake needs, too. It is a great one for spring and is naturally lighter with good-for-you ingredients that come together in one bowl.

How delicious is this Orange and Rhubarb Loaf Cake?

This cake is rather special and it lasted all of 24 hours in my house. It’s:

• Light, moist and spongey
• Zesty, fruity and “nutty”
• Easy to make in one bowl
• Packed with sticky jammy rhubarb
• Topped with a light cream cheese coconut whip frosting
• Naturally vegan and nut-free
• Easily gluten-free
• Quick and delicious

If you already love this cake, skip ahead to the recipe card. Or, first let’s discuss the recipe in more detail.

What ingredients do I need for this loaf cake?

This recipe is based on one of my favourites, my Lemon and Blueberry Loaf which always goes down well.

For the loaf:

• Sunflower seeds: this keeps the loaf nut-free and I love the Natures Heart Superfood ones. Simply blitz your sunflower seeds to a fine flour consistency like ground almonds. Similarly, you can use ground almonds.
• Rhubarb: for adding into the loaf. Trim the ends and slice in small pieces before tossing in flour.
• Thick dairy free yoghurt: this keeps the loaf moist, spongey and adds healthy fats, too. The thicker the better for the yoghurt (thin, runny yoghurt will not work here) and my favourite is Cocos Organic coconut yoghurt.
• Plant based milk: any milk is great here, if you are avoiding nuts, use a nut-free milk like oat or coconut or I love to use almond milk.
• Sunflower or coconut oil: this adds a lovely texture to the loaf that is springy and bouncy. I prefer to use sunflower or olive oil but you can use melted and cooled coconut oil too, and I imagine melted and cooled vegan butter would also work.
• Coconut sugar: for the rich colour and flavour I love using caramel-like coconut sugar but white or golden caster sugar are also great.
• Lemon juice: this doesn’t make the cake taste like lemon, but it reacts with the milk to form a buttermilk which binds together the batter.
• Vanilla essence: just a little for the flavour.
• Orange zest: adds lots of lovely orange flavour to the loaf.
• Plain or GF plain flour: for the light sponge. If using a GF flour, make sure it’s a 1:1 baking blend that you regularly use and contains xanthan gum.
• Baking powder and bicarbonate of soda: for the rise.
• Salt: to enhance the flavours.

And for the topping:

• Rhubarb: trim the ends and chop into small pieces for the top.
• Orange: the zest and juice add a lot of lovey flavour that pairs so well with the rhubarb.
• Vanilla: for the flavour.
• Coconut sugar: for the lovely richness. Light brown sugar would be good instead here.
• Maple syrup: for the stickiness and other syrups like agave or vegan honey will be fine.

Finally, the whipped frosting:

• Dairy-free cream cheese: I love to use NUSH in the UK as it’s so rich and creamy, but other brands are great too.
• Coconut cream: from a tin of chilled full-fat coconut milk, scoop off the cream to whip up with the cream cheese for a fluffy alternative to buttercream.
• Orange zest: for the lovely tangy flavour.
• Maple syrup: just a little for sweetness and texture. As above, other syrups will be fine.

How do I make this Orange and Rhubarb Loaf Cake?

The steps are really easy, despite there being three separate components for this sponge.

• Make the sunflower seed meal: blitz the sunflower seeds to a fine flour/grind texture.
• Stir together all the wet ingredients: till smooth.
• Add in the dry ingredients: and whisk to a thick batter.
• Fold in the chopped and floured rhubarb pieces: saving some for the top.
• Spread into a loaf tin and top with the remaining rhubarb: and bake for 40 minutes or until golden.
• Cool for 10 minutes then lift out the tin: to cool fully.
• Make the rhubarb compote: add all the ingredients to a saucepan and allow to bubble for 5 minutes until sticky and the rhubarb is tender but not too soft. Cool fully.
• Prepare the frosting: whip together the cream cheese and coconut cream with the orange and maple till smooth and fluffy.
• Spread the frosting on the loaf and top with the rhubarb: then slice it thickly and enjoy.

Is this cake gluten-free and nut-free?

Yes, to make this cake gluten-free use your preferred GF baking flour with xanthan gum and this is naturally nut-free, just check that your yoghurt, milk and cream cheese are free from nuts.

Can I make this into other flavours?

Yes of course, swap the rhubarb inside the loaf for other fruits like raspberries or blueberries and top the cake with sticky berries instead.

I love this loaf cake, what others can I make?

I hope you are going to love this fruity and zesty Orange and Rhubarb Loaf Cake and for more ideas, how about my:

• Lemon and Blueberry Loaf Cake
• Caramel Apple Loaf Cake
• Double Chocolate and Fig Loaf
• Tahini Fig and Chocolate Banana Bread
• Chocolate Pumpkin Swirl Bread

Stay in touch

I look forward to hearing what you think of this Orange and Rhubarb Loaf Cake so please do let me know in the comments below. If you do make the loaf, I’d love to see so please tag me in your creations, I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With orange rhubarb love x