Cashew Cake

5 from 6 votes

This is my all-time favorite cake! Cashew Cake is crafted with roasted cashews and old-fashioned oats. It’s dense and moist, making it a perfect match for cream cheese frosting—so delicious!

Prep Time20

Cook Time35

Total Time55

Course: Brunch, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American, Healthy, Vegetarian

Keyword: Cashew Cake

Servings: bars

Author: Chelsea Lords

Cost: $7.82

Equipment

Ingredients

Cake

1 cup dry roasted and lightly 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

US - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8-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

Notes

Note 1: Grab dry-roasted and lightly salted cashews—more flavor without any extra effort on your part. I like to have an extra few tablespoons to coarsely chop and add on top (totally optional).

Note 2: Make sure the brown sugar is soft and fresh for the best possible cake texture.

Note 3: Cornstarch is an important ingredient since we aren't using flour and need some additional support and thickness.

Nutrition Note: Calories do not include the optional frosting. With the optional frosting, one serving has 227 calories.

Storage: Frosted bars should be tightly wrapped and stored in the fridge, ideally consumed within 2–3 days to avoid staleness. Unfrosted bars can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature and freeze well when wrapped individually. To thaw frozen unfrosted bars, let them sit at room temperature or warm them in the microwave.

Nutrition