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a piece of vegan hazelnut cinnamon cake on a white plate

Vegan Hazelnut Cinnamon Cake with Aquafaba

This vegan hazelnut cinnamon cake is an easy dessert with few ingredients, perfect for Christmas! A layer of chocolate hazelnut spread and aquafaba meringue topping takes this simple cake to the next level.

Course Dessert
Cuisine German
Keyword cake recipe, Christmas, vegan
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Meringue 5 hours
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 9 pieces
Calories 300 kcal
Author Kiki Johnson

Ingredients

For the meringue

  • 1 cup aquafaba 230 ml, liquid from 1 can of chickpeas
  • 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cups sugar 150 g

For the cake

  • 200 g whole wheat flour
  • 120 g coconut sugar or a mix of white and brown sugar
  • 100 g ground hazelnuts
  • 1 tbsp baking powder 15 g
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 50 ml coconut oil scant 1/4 cup
  • 200 ml nut milk almond, coconut, hazelnut or cashew
  • 4 tbsps chocolate hazelnut spread

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 200F (95C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Draw the outline of your cake pan onto the baking sheet so that you know how big your meringue needs to be to cover the top of your cake perfectly.

  2. Add the aquafaba to a stand mixer bowl along with the vanilla extract, salt and the cream of tartar. Start beating on high speed. As soon as soft peaks start to form, very slowly add in the sugar, one spoonful at a time. Scrape off any sugar that stuck to the sides of the bowl. 

  3. Continue to beat, stopping every now and then to check the meringue. It took me about 7 to 8 minutes to reach the perfect stiff peaks.

  4. Spread stiff meringue on the prepared piece of parchment paper, making sure to make the meringue as big as the cake pan. Use leftover meringue to pipe little meringues or mini pavlovas.

  5. Bake the meringue for 4 to 5 hours, then turn off the oven, open the door and let it cool completely.

For the cake

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 (180C) and line a 9x9 square pan. Mix the first 4 ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer. Add coconut oil and mix until the oil is completely worked into the flour and the mix looks like wet sand.

  2. Stir in nut milk and fold to combine. Stop stirring as soon as the batter comes together and spread it into your cake pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. 

  3. Once the cake has cooled, spread with chocolate hazelnut spread and top with the vegan meringue. Serve immediately. 

Recipe Notes

  • Don't be tempted to up the temperature on the vegan meringue! You want to dry it out slowly to make it crispy and you don't want the top to brown too much.
  • Instead of chocolate hazelnut spread, you can also use apricot or sour cherry jam.
  • I like whole wheat flour for this recipe, but you can also try rye or simple all-purpose flour. A blend of whole wheat and all-purposeĀ also works.