Vanilla Tea Cake with Chia Berry Jam and Cashew Icing

Don’t you just love it when you’re prepared to put in a solid chunk of time, effort, and trials to get something just the way you envisioned, and it somehow turns out just exactly right the first time? Usually it’s the opposite, right? Not so with this clean, simple vanilla cake. Light and perfectly balanced between fluffy and tender, this vegan, gluten-free, nearly oil-free and low sugar treat is lovely on its own. Topped with a luscious layer of berry chia jam and creamy cashew yogurt frosting? Exquisite.

This cake was a win I really needed but didn’t know it. To be honest, I haven’t been the best at peacefully processing my emotions lately (tempestuous female hormones!). One feeling, most of all, and it was ugly. I was jealous—of my husband.

When F was born, the glow of new motherhood enfolded me in ways words can’t come close to describing. The rapt, spellbound bubble of it buoyed me up…for YEARS. To the point that I probably nauseated some of my friends. I know I was likely a little “too present” for a teacher or two.

Now, I suddenly have a “big kid”, and it’s wonderful. It’s also HARD. Our nine-year old is still loving, sweet, innocent, and enlivened by magic and wonder. He’s also in a place where he needs to sometimes push away, and he has an energy that needs outlets I can’t provide—but his dad can.

For awhile, I found myself not just longingly deploring feelings of being “left out” of our family dynamic at times—when rough-and-tumble style wrestling and other play that goes to levels I can’t was involved—but magnifying the emotional charge by juxtaposing myself with drudgery. They enjoy racous laughter, I clean the bathrooms.

This past weekend, Dave not unkindly informed me I needed to allow myself a mindset shift, and thankfully I listened. I met up with a friend, and I came home and baked a cake. One that would satisfy everything we were all craving lately—vanilla cake reminescent of his birthday cake for Felix, something delicate and fairly wholesome for me, and anything treaty that was also gluten-free for Dave, who we discovered this year has a gluten intolerance. While baking, my boys had their own fun while I channeled love and curiosity and not a stitch of resentment or hurt.

I could waffle on, but let’s cut to the chase, or the cake, more aptly. I’m pretty sure you can cut back on the gluften-free blend and increase the almond flour (don’t you just love almond flour?). I also think you could go with unsweetened applesauce only, but it would affect the texture a little. I was really happy with a 50/50 mix of applesauce and oil for a total of 1/3 cup.

This was fun to share, after family play, a walk, and a movie. This would have been fun to share anytime, but the point is, something about creating worked through emotions unexpectedly, especially as the cake unexpectedly worked.

I’m thankful for my husband calling out the pattern I was drifting into. Thankful for the friends, especially those with more seasoned wisdom who have weathered more ages and stages of parenting who have reminded me, it’s wonderful that Felix has such a buddy-role model in his dad, and that they can go to these physical places that I don’t enjoy with trust and fun. And I’m thankful for the therapeutic simplicity of baking a cake.

That night, F woke up with a nightmare, the first in a long time. Groping through the darkness to his room, it hit me, he still calls for Mommy. It’s not a contest, but it felt good. We don’t need to compare, we just need to enjoy—the layers that work together for a beautiful whole.

Vanilla Tea Cake with Berry Chia Jam and Cashew Frosting

1 8-inch cake

For the vanilla cake:

1 cup unsweetened almond or other plant milk
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
1 1/2 Cups gluten-free flour
1/2 Cup almond flour
1/2 Cup monkfruit sugar or coconut sugar (or regular vegan castor sugar)
2 Teaspoons baking powder
1/2 Teaspoon baking soda
a pinch sea salt
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1/3 Cup equal parts light olive oil and unsweetened applesauce (or go with just the oil, if preferred)
1 recipe each of berry chia jam (below) and cashew frosting (I love this one from The Conscious Plant Kitchen)

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare an 8-inch round (or square) baking pan with parchment paper and a light coating of cooking spray.

Combine the plant milk with the vinegar and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Add the oil, applesauce, vanilla, and milk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes before spreading a layer of berry jam (recipe below) and topping with frosting.

Berry Chia Jam
2 cups berries of chice (stemmed as needed)
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons chia seeds
1-2 Tablespoons maple syrup, agave, or sweetener of choice (optional)


Prepare your fruit, cutting large fruits into smaller pieces. Berries can be left whole.

Transfer the fruit to a saucepan and set over medium heat. Cook until it begins to break down and becomes syrupy, about 5 minutes. Lightly mash with a potato masher or back of a spatula or large spoon.

Remove the pot from heat and stir in the lemon juice, chia seeds. Add sweetener to taste, if desired (really not needed for this cake).

Let the jam stand at least 5 minutes to thicken.