Cashew Cake Bars With A Chocolate And Vanilla Swirl (gluten free)

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Chocolate and vanilla batters marbled together into this cashew cake recipe. It’s a delicious grain, gluten and dairy free dessert.

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A Few Reasons to Love These Cashew Cake Bars

• grain & gluten free
• dairy free – just make sure to use a dairy free chocolate chip
• quick & easy to make – does not require a mixer
• can be made in one bowl – reuse the measuring cups to mix the chocolate batter
• can be made in advance & stored in the freezer

Why go nuts over these?

Another good reason to enjoy this dessert is because these cake bars are made from whole, nutrient rich ingredients. That means they’re full of nutrients—like plant based protein, healthy fats, vitamins & minerals—your body needs. 

These bars contain two different kinds of ground nuts, in the form of cashew butter & almond flour. Whole nuts can be a choking hazard (for children) or difficult to chew (with dental issues). Making the ground versions a great way to safely consume more nuts. 

Homemade cashew nut butter

Nut butter is a spreadable mixture made by grinding nuts—such as almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios—into a paste. They can also be made out of seeds, if a nut free option is necessary, like sunflower, pumpkin & watermelon.

Cashew butter is available in stores or it can easily be made at home. All you need are some cashews and a food processor. Grind the nuts in a food processor for 5 to 10+ minutes (depending on the amount you use & the strength of your blender). They’ll gradually change in appearance from whole nuts → chopped → ground → wet sand → packed wet sand → spreadable → creamy nut butter. 

Making your own nut butter means you get to control the ingredients used amount made. In order to have enough cashew butter for this recipe (+ a little extra), grind a cup of nuts. Refrigerate the leftovers in an airtight container. Better yet, use it to make another great snack or as a topping to toast.

More ways to enjoy this cashew cake recipe

This cake is delicious on its own. But, here are a few more variations you can make with it.

• Make into a S’more – after baking, sprinkle additional chocolate and mini marshmallows over the top. Broil to melt the chocolate & toast the marshmallows. (~5 minutes, but watch it carefully)
• Layer or Sandwich It – Multiply the recipe and bake batches in round pans to create a cashew butter cake. Layer with frosting or sandwich fruit in between to make this fun Summer dessert.
• Crumble into small pieces to add to yogurt, fruit or ice cream.
• Frozen Treat keep slices of the cake in the freezer for a quick ready made dessert.
• Baked into Cashew Biscotti Cookies – see details below

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From Marble Bars to Cashew Biscotti Cookies

This cashew cake recipe can also be made into biscotti cookies. Start by preparing the cake batter as described in the recipe.

Swap the square pan, for a loaf pan. Since we want to be able to easily slice the cake into biscotti shaped cookies.

Once baked, remove the large cookie from the loaf pan and allow to cool. Use a sharp knife to cut ½ inch wide slices. Place the cut side down on a large parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake for an additional 8-10 minutes per side. Flip them once they begin to brown. The longer they bake, the darker and crispier they will become.

Cookie cutter letters

These cashew desserts can also be customized by adding layers of chocolate cookie cut outs. Just like I did in this NYE video.

Depending on the amount of letters you need, you can either use some of the chocolate batter from the recipe or make another batch (adding more cocoa powder as needed). You won’t need as much. So you can cut the recipe in half.

The letters can be cut from either raw or baked cookies:

• Raw – spread the batter out onto a plastic wrap lined sheet pan. Cover and freeze.
• Baked – spread the batter out onto a parchment paper lined sheet pan. Bake in a preheated 325°F oven for ~25 minutes. 

Once the cookie (dough) has cooled/frozen, use small alphabet cookie cutters to create the letters in your message.

Freezing the cut outs makes it easier to handle them. This step can also be done in advance.

To assemble: The letters can be pushed into the top of the bars before baking. Add them to the biscotto after they’re sliced from the loaf (before the second bake). You can brush them with egg whites to help them stick.