This gluten-free poppy seed tea cake with raspberry cream cheese icing from Ana Rusu’s New Vegan Baking cookbook is light, citrusy, and perfect with a cup of tea. The batter blends corn, rice, and oat flour for a soft, delicate texture. Poppy seeds add crunch and a subtle nutty flavor, while orange and lemon zest bring freshness in every bite. This poppy seed tea cake is naturally gluten-free, nut-free, and soy-free, and great for sharing.

The real star here is the raspberry vegan cream cheese icing. It’s creamy, tangy, and just sweet enough to balance the bright flavors in the cake. Fresh raspberries give it a soft pink hue and a fruity twist. It also helps keep the loaf moist, which is sometimes a challenge with gluten-free bakes.

Serve it as part of a weekend brunch, bring it to a spring picnic, or slice it up for Easter weekend gatherings. It’s easy to make, easy to love, and holds up beautifully in the fridge for a few days, if it lasts that long.

The poppy seed tea cake method

Citrus-flavored, fresh, and light, this cake is flavorful and suits the spring season. The gluten-free dessert contains corn, rice, and oat flour, giving it a nutty aroma.

gluten-free poppy seed tea cake with raspberry cream cheese icing

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Servings

Ingredients

For the poppy seed cake

1¼ cups (150 g) fine corn flour
½ cup (75 g) white rice flour
½ cup (50 g) oat flour
¾ tsp xanthan gum see Note
2½ tbsp (25 g) poppy seeds
⅔ cup (135 g) light brown sugar
1½ tsp (7 g) baking powder
⅛ tsp baking soda
⅛ tsp sea salt
4½ tsp (25 ml) orange juice
¾ cup + 2 tbsp (210 ml) sweetened oat milk
¼ cup (60 ml) sunflower oil
Zest from 1 orange
Zest from ¼ lemon
2 tsp (10 ml) vanilla extract

For the raspberry cream cheese icing

1 tbsp (15 g) vegan butter room temperature
3 tbsp (40 g) plain vegan cream cheese cold
¼ cup (35 g) confectioners’ sugar
Pinch of sea salt
¼ cup (35 g) fresh raspberries
1 tsp lemon juice
Zest from ½ orange divided
1–2 tsp (5–10 ml) cold unsweetened oat milk if needed

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 370°F (175°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position. Lightly grease an 8 x 4–inch (20 x 10–cm) loaf pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Dust with flour, shaking off any excess.
To make the cake, mix the flours, xanthan gum, poppy seeds, light brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
In a separate bowl, mix the orange juice, oat milk, oil, citrus zest and vanilla well to combine. Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and mix using a spatula or wooden spoon.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack and let it cool completely before adding the cream cheese icing.
To make the icing, add the butter to a bowl. Give it a good mix using a wooden spatula until it becomes creamy. Add the vegan cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar and mix vigorously, until the sugar is dissolved and the icing becomes smooth.
In a separate cup, smash the fresh raspberries and mix them with the lemon juice and half of the orange zest, keeping the other half for decorating the cake. Strain the raspberry mixture through a fine sieve then mix the puree with the vegan cream cheese mixture. Add the cold milk to make the icing more liquid, if needed.
Pour the icing over the completely cooled loaf cake and decorate with the reserved orange zest. Slice immediately, or refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes to allow the icing to harden.
This cake will keep for 2 to 3 days, refrigerated, stored in an airtight container. Keep in mind that it tends to get drier after the first 2 days.

In this recipe, the xanthan gum helps thicken and hold the gluten-free baked good together. It also keeps it from becoming too crumbly. I don’t recommend skipping this ingredient.

Reprinted with permission from New Vegan Baking by Ana Rusu. Page Street Publishing Co. 2023. Photo credit: Ana Rusu.