Gluten-Free Cream Cheese Vanilla Cake


What a perfect dessert, a Gluten-Free Cream Cheese Vanilla Cake. A layer of light cake topped with fluffy cheesecake with vanilla essence and finished with a buttery crumb topping. Perfection on a plate if you ask me!

This gluten-free dessert is not a dense cheesecake or a simple coffee cake…it is a combination of a delicious cake and a layer of heavenly light vanilla cheesecake. Honestly, it is a slice of heaven, YUM!

For the cake layer.

To make the cake layer is super simple. The dry ingredients are mixed first, then using only olive oil as fats, cream the egg, sugar, olive oil and yogurt together. Add wet mixture to dry flour, and the sponge cake layer is done. By using yogurt, the gluten-free cake layer is super light with a great texture.

The cheesecake layer.

For the cheesecake layer, nothing too complicated. Everything is creamed together, and you are done. It is essential to have the cream cheese and the eggs at room temperature to achieve a perfectly smooth cream cheese layer.

The topping.

For the buttery crumb topping, there is nothing complicated because it is your typical mixture of butter, flour and sugar.

Frequently asked questions!

Can I substitute some ingredients?

This is a vanilla flavoured dessert. If you prefer more of a zesty cream cheesecake, substitute fresh lemon or lime juice for the vanilla and maybe add some zest. For the cake, one of the ingredients is the almond flour. But, you can also use finely ground pecans or walnuts.

To make the nut flour use a food processor, just don’t over process or the nut flour will become oily. You can use coconut sugar for the sugar; the only thing that will change is the colour. The coconut sugar will add caramel colour to the layers.

Can I Double the recipe?

I made this recipe to give you six servings, a perfect Sunday dessert for your family, using a 7-inch round springform pan. You can also use an 8-inch square pan. Just make sure to line the pan with extra parchment paper hanging over two sides for easy removal of the cake.

To double the recipe, use a 10-inch springform pan, double the ingredients and increase the baking time to 50 – 55 minutes until the cake is set around the edges but still have a slight wobble in the centre.

Why is my cheesecake dry and grainy?

This happens when the cheesecake is being overcooked. The cheesecake should be set around the edges but still have a slight wobble in the centre.

To summarize.

This gluten-free dessert is for someone that isn’t into dense cheesecakes and wants more than just a simple coffee cake. I like to serve this cream cheese vanilla cake just as is, maybe a powdered sugar sprinkle.

Or, you can add fresh berries and make this into a spectacular gluten-free dessert. My family especially loves frozen blueberries or grapes with this dessert.

Are you looking for a cheesecake for that special occasion? Check out this Gluten-Free Black Forest Cheesecake!