This is my all-time favorite “healthy-ish” cake. Cashew Cake is made with roasted cashews and old-fashioned oats. This cake is dense, moist, and pairs perfectly with the reduced-fat cream cheese frosting — yum!
Try some of our other nutritious baked goods next like these Healthy Brownies (made with Greek yogurt), Healthy Carrot Muffins (no gluten, dairy, or refined sugars), or this Healthy Ice Cream made without bananas!
What is a “Healthy-ish” Cashew Cake?
So, my definition of “healthy-ish” as it pertains to this cake is that as a whole it’s pretty darn nutritious. There are loads of good ingredients in it like the:
- protein-packed eggs
- heart–healthy fats from the cashews
- vitamin-packed almond milk
- fiber-loaded old-fashioned oats
- anti-inflammatory spices (cinnamon)
- calcium-rich butter
…which provide lots of good nutrition.
This cake also has a pretty low amount of sugar — especially when you compare it to other cakes that call for 2 or more cups of sugar! There is no flour (we use oats instead) and it can be made dairy-free (leave off the frosting and use a plant-based butter or coconut oil).
All this said, the cake still does have sugar, and the frosting (while optional) also has a fair amount of sugar. So as a whole, this cake stacks up pretty great nutritionally, but certainly isn’t perfect (what I like to call some great moderation!)
But wait up — we’ve just talked about the benefits of this Cashew Cake, and I haven’t even begun to tell you how delicious it is. Because first and foremost it is that — downright delicious.
What Does Cashew Cake Taste Like?
This Cashew Cake is truly one of the most favorite baked goods I have ever shared. It’s rich, moist, dense, sweet, and very nutty. If you love cashews and oats, you are going to go nuts for this cake! (Pun intended, haha!)
Cashew Cake Ingredients
Below are a few ingredients worth diving deeper into:
- Cashews. We love dry roasted and lightly salted cashews best — more flavor without any extra effort on your part. (Here’s what we use in this cake).
- Old-fashioned oats. Although it would make sense that any oats would work since they’re getting blended anyways, it’s important to use old-fashioned to ensure you get the right measurement. Both quick and steel-cut oats are smaller, denser, and more compact, so measurements would be off and the cake would end up too dry.
- Almond milk. Any milk will work in these bars; we tested them with cow’s milk and plant-based milk. The recipe is written with plant-based milk to keep these bars as nutritious as possible, but use whichever you prefer.
- Corn starch. This is an important ingredient since we aren’t using flour and need some additional support and thickness.
Quick Tip
While the ingredients in this cake are naturally gluten-free, make sure to check all your ingredient labels to ensure they weren’t processed in a facility with gluten. If you have celiac disease, the small amount of contamination that could take place is enough to cause serious problems.
How To Make Cashew Cake
This recipe is quick and simple to make, but you do need a good, powerful blender (think Blendtec® or Vitamix®) to break down the cashews, butter, and oats.
Make sure to stop the blender and thoroughly scrape down the sides to ensure everything fully integrates.
Cashew Cake Tips
- Use a light-colored 8×8-inch pan and line it with parchment paper for easy cake removal.
- This cashew cake does slightly cave in the middle. You’ll know it is done when it’s no longer glossy looking on top, the edges are firm and lightly browned, and a toothpick when inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Set cream cheese out at room temperature: We want the cream cheese to have plenty of time to soften, so start the process of making this cake by taking it out of the fridge.
- Only frost the cake once it has completely cooled– otherwise, the frosting with change textures from the heat of the cake.
Cashew Cake Recipe Storage
Frosted bars need to be tightly wrapped and stored in the fridge since there is dairy in the frosting. The fridge will turn the bars stale quickly, so they are best consumed soon after being made. (This cake is best eaten within 2-3 days.)
- Cool cake completely before storing. Slice into bars.
- To freeze: Wrap individual cake bars in plastic wrap and then place all the wrapped cake pieces in large freezer bags.
- To thaw: Set out at room temperature or heat frozen cake in the microwave.
*There is some loss of texture and flavor when freezing and thawing this cake.
Use Leftover Cashews In One Of These Recipes:
- Golden Milk with turmeric and other healing spices
- Cashew Ice Cream made without bananas or dairy!
- Add as a topping to a bowl of Microwave Oatmeal
- Carrot Smoothie a breakfast smoothie that tastes like carrot cake!
- Mango Chicken Curry with mangoes and cashews
Cashew Cake
Equipment
- Blender high-powered
- Baking pan 8 x 8-inch, lined
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup dry-roasted and salted cashews plus more for topping, see note 1
- 1 cup light brown sugar lightly packed, see note 2
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter cold, cubed
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk or milk of choice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch see note 3
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1-3/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened vanilla almond milk or milk of choice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper and lightly grease with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Add all cake ingredients to a powerful blender in the order listed. Blend until batter is completely smooth, stopping and scraping down edges as needed, about 1–2 minutes.
- Pour completely smooth batter into the prepared baking pan, using a spatula to scrape out every bit into the pan. Smooth the top with the spatula and bake for 35–40 minutes or until the cake is lightly browned at the edges and set in the middle of the oven and bake until done—toothpick should come out clean when inserted in the middle.
- Meanwhile, place softened cream cheese in a large bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese with the vanilla and salt until smooth. Slowly add in the powdered sugar, beating between additions, until smooth and creamy and to your desired consistency. Add milk and beat until smooth.
- Frost the completely cooled cake with the frosting. If desired, top the frosting with additional chopped cashews.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delish! I added a couple of bananas and used half brown/ half raw sugar. The oats didn’t blend down 100% smooth but no worries. I’m just about to make it again 😃
I am so thrilled to hear this! We seriously cannot get enough of this cashew cake either! Thanks for your comment Mars! 🙂
Fantastic cake!!! I’ve never make a cake in a blender before and was a little leary at first but it was super easy. I did bake my cake in an 8″ round spring form pan and it did not sink in the middle. I also used gluten free oatmeal which satisfied my gluten free friends. With a little more frosting you can easily have enough for ising in the top with some of it running down the sides. You have created a winner for all of us.
I am so thrilled to hear this! Thanks so much Janet! 🙂
Do you think a food processor woul be
able to do the blender’s job?
Unfortunately no; it doesn’t emulsify it the same way 🙁
I used a thermomix and it was fine
Thanks for the tip! 🙂
CHELSEA HOW do you do it?? This is DELICIOUS. I COULD EAT THE WHOLE THING BY MYSELF i could cry its so amazing
You have no idea how happy I am to hear this! Haha I think I did cry the first time I tried this! 😉
Where can I buy this Cashew cake? I don’t have the time to bake.
Sorry I don’t sell any of the baked goods on my site; just share recipes 🙂