This vegan cornbread cake is made with 2 layers of savory cornbread, filled with beans, and "frosted" with mashed potatoes. It's a fun, kid friendly meal and a great way to eat all of the food groups in a slice of cake!
I've been making a variation of this "cake" for years—it's totally fun, even if you don't have kids to make it for (I don't either)!
Besides the cornbread and mashed potatoes, the recipe is a total guideline. Add any kinds of beans and seasonings, and top it with any garnishes you like. I've seen non-vegan versions of this recipe with fried chicken on top. A vegan version with Chicken Style Seitan hot wings, or Jackfruit Tinga would be great! Topped with salsa verde? Yum.
🌽 Ingredients
- Cornmeal
- Flour
- Sugar
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Non-Dairy Milk
- Vegetable Oil
- Applesauce
- Olive oil
- Onion
- Refried Beans
- Garlic
- Chile Powder
- Oregano
- Lime
- Potatoes (regular and/or sweet)
- Vegan Butter
- Garnish (olives, tomato slices, salsa, avocado, etc)
🍽 Equipment
- 2 8-9-inch cake pans (or equivalent size square pans)
- Pastry bag and tips (if piping decorative elements on the cake with the mashed potatoes)
🔪 Instructions
For the cornbread:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray or grease 2 8 or 9-inch cake pans with oil.
Mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the non-dairy milk, oil, and then the applesauce.
Stir to combine into a batter. Evenly divide the batter between the 2 pans and bake for 22-25 mins or until you can poke the center with a toothpick and it comes out clean. Let cool.
For the filling:
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and add the onions.
Sauté until golden, 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds. Add the beans and stir to coat with the onions and garlic.
Add the chile powder, oregano, and salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings, then set aside.
For the "frosting":
Prepare the mashed potatoes according to the recipe.
Using a blender or immersion blender, blend the potatoes until smooth, adding some non-dairy milk if needed to achieve a spreadable consistency. This is optional if you don't mind the potatoes being chunky, but necessary if you plan on piping the potatoes on so the pastry bag doesn't get clogged.
Assembly:
Place one of the cornbread layers on a large plate or stand, then spread the beans on top. Place the other cornbread layer on top.
Spread the mashed potatoes on the top and sides of the cake, adding decorative piping with a pastry bag if desired. Garnish with veggies and salsa.
💭 Tips
- Need a mashed potato recipe? Try my Vegan Mashed Potatoes with Garlic. The recipe makes 5-6 cups, but you could double it just to make sure you have enough (and for leftovers!).
- You can use regular mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, or both if you like the color contrast.
- You can use any kinds of beans you like.
- Try serving each slice with different types of salsa.
📋 Variations
Try adding some sliced jalapeños to the cornbread and the beans if you like a little spice.
Prefer to make these as cupcakes? This recipe will make up to 2 dozen (24) cupcakes, so halve the recipe if you only want 1 dozen.
- Pour the cornbread batter into muffin tins and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Once cooled, poke a hole in the center of each cupcake and fill with the beans. You may not need all of the beans.
- Pipe or spread the mashed potatoes on top and garnish with veggies and salsa.
🎥 Video
📖 Recipe
Vegan Cornbread Cake with Mashed Potato Frosting
This vegan cornbread cake is made with 2 layers of savory cornbread, filled with beans, and "frosted" with mashed potatoes. It's a fun, kid friendly meal and a great way to eat all of the food groups in a slice of cake!
Ingredients
Cornbread
- 2 cups yellow cornmeal
- 2 cups flour
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 ¼ cups unsweetened non-dairy milk
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup applesauce
Filling
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 15oz can refried beans or black beans
- 1 teaspoon chile powder
- ¼ teaspoon oregano
- Squeeze of lime juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
Frosting and Garnish
- 5-6 cups mashed potatoes (see note)
- 3-4 tablespoons unsweetened non-dairy milk
- Avocado slices
- Olive slices
- Lime slices
- Salsa
Instructions
For the cornbread:
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray or grease 2 8 or 9-inch cake pans with oil.
- Mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the non-dairy milk, oil, and then the applesauce.
- Stir to combine into a batter.
- Evenly divide the batter between the 2 pans and bake for 22-25 mins or until you can poke the center with a toothpick and it comes out clean.
- Let cool.
For the filling:
- Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and add the onions.
- Sauté until golden, 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.
- Add the beans and stir to coat with the onions and garlic.
- Add the chile powder, oregano, and salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings, then set aside.
For the "frosting":
- Prepare the mashed potatoes according to the recipe.
- Using a blender or immersion blender, blend the potatoes until smooth, adding some non-dairy milk if needed to achieve a spreadable consistency. This is optional if you don't mind the potatoes being chunky, but necessary if you plan on piping the potatoes on so the pastry bag doesn't get clogged.
Assembly:
- Place one of the cornbread layers on a large plate or stand, then spread the beans on top
- Place the other cornbread layer on top.
- Spread the mashed potatoes on the top and sides of the cake, adding decorative piping with a pastry bag if desired.
- Garnish with veggies and salsa.
Notes
- Need a mashed potato recipe? Try my Vegan Mashed Potatoes with Garlic. The recipe makes 5-6 cups, but you could double it just to make sure you have enough (and for leftovers!).
- You can use regular mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, or both if you like the color contrast.
- You can use any kinds of beans you like.
- Try serving each slice with different types of salsa.
Cupcake Variation
Prefer to make these as cupcakes? This recipe will make up to 2 dozen (24) cupcakes, so halve the recipe if you only want 1 dozen.
- Pour the cornbread batter into muffin tins and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Once cooled, poke a hole in the center of each cupcake and fill with the beans. You may not need all of the beans.
- Pipe or spread the mashed potatoes on top and garnish with veggies and salsa.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 500
Mariana Wulpern Jordan
This sounds great. Are the mashed potatoes hot when put on the cake, room temperature or cool. What temperature for mashed potato icing when you serve. Love to have a answer. Thanks.
Kelly Peloza
Hi Mariana, I assemble everything at room temp to warm, then heat up individual slices in the microwave when serving. This way you won't have to worry about keeping everything warm when you make the cake, and it's an easy way to heat up leftovers from the fridge the next day.