This Vanilla Pine Forest Cake tastes like a funnel cake. Seriously! I made it using homemade oat milk and some chia eggs. I’ve been dying to make a creative cake like this. There’s nothing I love more than being creative in the kitchen. Thanks to Nordic Ware, I was able to get this shape on my cake.
When it came to making this vanilla pine forest cake, I had no idea what I what I was doing at first. As soon as I saw the pine forest cake pan, I just knew I wanted to make a green cake. But, I wasn’t sure what flavor to make this cake. I knew that I didn’t want to make this a chocolate cake because I knew the cake wouldn’t be a true green. I knew that I didn’t want to use any flavors like strawberry or lemon cake. And rather than using a cake mix, I wanted to make a cake from scratch as well. It tastes like a funnel cake oddly. I was in so much shock when I ate this cake.
This vanilla pine forest cake is completely dairy free. So, I was out of milk! I know, I know! No macadamia milk, no oat milk, no cashew milk, and no hemp milk in the house. Since I had purchased a massive bag of rolled oats, I decided to make some oat milk! Oat milk is so easy to make. I soaked the oats for a few hours and then blended them in my blender with some water. I didn’t add any sweeteners or salt because I wanted natural oat milk. Also, I mainly use my milk in sweet recipes; the extra sugar isn’t necessary.
How to make a vanilla pine forest cake:
First off, you need to purchase a pine forest cake pan. If you don’t plan on buying one, you can use whatever cake pan you have. But, I promise you, the pine forest cake pan just makes this cake extra special!
Next, start your cake base! I used cake flour for this vanilla pine forest cake. If you do not have any cake flour, use all purpose flour or Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free baking powder. If you’re going to be using all purpose flour, then you should heat up your milk and then add your baking powder and baking soda. I mentioned this tip in my gingerbread cake recipe!
Another thing that’s important to mention regarding this cake is that I used a chia egg. I used a chia egg because I’m all out of my egg replacer. If you do not want to use chia eggs, then use eggs or these options: unsweetened apple sauce, ripe banana (will give a banana taste though), silken tofu, or a combination of baking soda and vinegar.
Lastly, add some flavoring to the cake. I flavored this cake simply with vanilla and sugar. In need of some flavoring ideas? You can add almond extract, lemon extract (with fresh lemon zest and juice!), orange extract, or add in some pistachios!
In conclusion, remember it’s Christmas and to have fun! You don’t have to keep this cake simple. And also, if you do not like food coloring, then remember that you can come up with this green color by using spinach! You should read this article about how to make your own green food coloring using spinach. Although, if you’re going to be using a natural food coloring made with spinach, then you should definitely increase the sugar.
Want more desserts?
- Chocolate Cream Gingerbread Cake
- Honey Date Snowball Cookies
- Christmas Cookie Skillet
- Baked Maple Butter Donuts
Important: I messed up when making this cake because I was too careless when it came to taking this cake out the pan. Be very careful because it can and will break.
Vanilla Pine Forest Cake
Ingredients
- 3 1/4 cup Cake Flour
- 1 tbsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 1/2 cup Earth Balance Butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
- 4 tbsp Chia Seeds
- 5 tbsp Water
- 1 1/2 cup Oat Milk
- 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tbsp Green Food Coloring
- Baker’s Spray, for spraying
- Powdered Sugar, for dusting
Instructions
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Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray your pine forest cake pan with baker’s spray and set aside.
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Add 4 tbsp of chia seeds to a small bowl with 5 tbsp of water. Set aside and allow for this mixture to form into a gel like mixture. If the mixture is too watery, add more chia seeds.
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In a large bowl, add your butter and sugar. Cream the butter and sugar together using a spoon or a hand mixer. After the sugar and butter has combined, add the vanilla extract.
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After adding the vanilla extract, add the chia egg, milk, and food coloring. Mix and set aside.
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In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and soda.
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Add the dry mixture into the liquid mixture. Mix until a cake batter forms. If the mixture resembles a dough, add more milk. The batter should be slightly lumpy. Continue to mix. Add more green food coloring until you get the color you desire.
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After mixing the cake mix, add it to the pine forest cake pan and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven after 30 minutes and test with a tooth pick or a cake tester to make sure the cake is done.
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Allow the cake to cool completely for at least an hour before flipping the cake upside down onto a plate. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.
Notes
- You can get more than 8 servings out of this cake. It just depends on the way that you choose to slice the cake.
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