Spice cake is good any time of the year, but especially around the holidays. This vegan-friendly Instant Pot orange spice cake is super moist because it’s steamed and will remind you of an English pudding.
Made in the Instant Pot pressure cooker, today's beautiful orange spice cake is from The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook for Your Instant Pot by Kathy Hester. She is the force behind Healthy Slow Cooking, and is passionate about making healthy eating easy and delicious. Her recipes are vegan, but don’t let that scare you off. They are definitely full of flavor and imagination! Read our full review of Kathy's Instant Pot vegan cookbook here.
Kathy's Instant Pot cake is perfect for any time of the year but is especially suited to holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. Make a cup of tea and get cozy with a slice if this marvellous, guilt-free dessert.
Note from the author: With this recipe, you can vary the dried fruit and nuts to match what you have in your pantry.
You might like to check out these 15+ Instant Pot Bundt Cakes and our Ultimate Instant Pot Desserts.
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Instant Pot Orange Spice Cake (Vegan)
Ingredients
DRY INGREDIENTS
- 1¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour or use a gluten-free baking mix, 150 g
- 1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
WET INGREDIENTS
- ½ cup orange juice with pulp 120 ml or ~1 medium orange
- ⅓ cup maple syrup or agave nectar, 80 ml
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil or applesauce
MIX-INS
- 2 tablespoons orange zest or 1 teaspoon orange extract
- ¾ cup dried cranberries or diced dried dates
- ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- Oil a 6- or 7-inch / 15- or 17.5-cm Bundt pan and set aside.
Instructions
- For the dry ingredients, mix the flour, cinnamon, allspice, baking soda and cloves in a medium-size mixing bowl.
- For the wet ingredients, combine the juice, syrup, flaxseeds and oil in a large measuring cup. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Fold in the mix-ins.
- Spread the cake mixture into your prepared pan and cover with foil.
- Put the steel insert into your Instant Pot, pour in 1½ cups (355 ml) water and add the stainless steel steam rack with handles that came with your Instant Pot.
- If your pan does not fit inside the rack handles, you will need to fashion some handles out of aluminum foil to lower the pan into the cooker. Tear off two pieces of foil about 3 feet (1 m) long, fold each one lengthwise two times. Lay the foil handles out on the counter in a plus sign near your cooker. Place your pan in the center, where the two pieces cross. Pull the handles up and carefully lift the pan into your Instant Pot.
- Place the lid on with the steam release handle set to sealing, or closed; cook on high pressure for 35 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.
- Once the pressure indicator goes down, remove the lid, lift out the pan using the foil handles and remove the foil that’s covering the pan.
- Let cool so that it cuts easier; it will crumble if cut warm.
Nutrition
SAVE THIS INSTANT POT CAKE TO PINTEREST
Kristen Kemp
Can I use either spelt or A/P flour? I don't think I have whole wheat pastry in the house. Thank you!
ALFREDA
ok, I just brought an Instant Pot. I made this orange spice cake. I let it cool thoroughly-but it crumbled. tastes good though. I sprinkle it on other foods like oatmeal, yogurt, etc. any ideas about how I can fix it without it crumbling?
instantpoteats
Hi Alfreda, sorry that happened. It's hard to say as I am not a very great baker myself! However, I think that adding an egg (if you are not vegan) or additional egg replacement (flaxseed) could help this cake stay together. Did you by chance follow instructions for a gluten-free cake? A boxed cake or flour mix is also more likely to crumble in my opinion. I am glad you've found an inventive use for the cake even though it didn't turn out!