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Can I just say, Happy Chocolate CAKE Friday!
Seriously, does this not look like the most luscious, moist and perfect chocolate cake ever??? I swear, you’d never even begin to guess it was vegan if I didn’t tell you.
A sneaky, delish, Friday worthy cake. <–FACT.
We have not talked cake in a while. Like way tooooo loooonnggggg. So today it’s CAKE DAY! YESSS – cake, cake, cake, cake, cake day! Today is also my Dad’s birthday, so this one’s for you Dad! Since they are all still in South Korea (where my little brother Red is competing) I’ll have to see how this cake freezes. Actually, my dad’s birthday is already where they are (they are almost a day ahead). My dad will be bummed he missed out on this cake, but my mom… she will be SO jealous! Cake, specifically chocolate cake is her favorite. She is probably sitting somewhere in South Korea eating bowl after bowl of white rice, because my guess is that there is nothing else that she will eat there. She’s a little bit of a bland eater and I can guarantee you, she is not eating the smoked salmon my dad has been getting daily. And as far as desserts go? While, I know they already finished off my chocolate dunked honey nut bars, so my guess… she’s moved on to her hot cocoa (yep, she took her cocoa and cacao powders with her)? Anyway, she’s most definitely not eating chocolate cake.
I can see her now, scrolling through these photos, mouth-watering and thinking, “nooooo, I missed that. I cannot believe I missed that cake”. Sounds so dramatic, but it’s actually true. She text me those exact words when I sent her photos the other day…
SIDE NOTE: if I was in Korea, I would be eating ALL the Korean fried chicken, plus bowl after bowl of bibimbap. And sure, Korean doughnuts would be part of my daily regimen. It would be so good. 🙂
Clearly, I am a little excited about this here vegan chocolate cake. The recipe is adapted from the incredible Gena and her cookbook Food52 Vegan: 60 Vegetable-Driven Recipes for Any Kitchen. If you don’t already own this cookbook, you should probably just go buy it right now. Well, maybe print or save this recipe first… and then go buy it. Even if you’re not vegan, I promise, all the recipes are so good. And us cheese lovers, well we can always just add a little (ok a lot) when needed. Hehe, I love my cheese!
SO. When I got my hands on this cookbook, I was immediately focused on one recipe.
THE CHOCOLATE CAKE. duh.
You guys, words cannot describe how yummy this cake is. It’s layered with a creamy buttercream made up of magical ingredients. Magical I tell you. I adapted the buttercream only slightly to be a bit more almondy because I love that flavor. I also added vanilla because really, when can you ever have too much vanilla, you know?? And if you’re looking for a butter-less, buttercream, this is your recipe… and it’s healthy enough to eat with a spoon…like for breakfast?? With granola?? That would be amazing! I mean, hey, you can have your veggies (pumpkin) and your protein (almond butter). Just add some fruit (bananas??) and breakfast is complete. I’d highly recommend doubling the buttercream just so you can eat half for breakfast.
NO JOKE.
Okay and then the finishing touch is a layer of silky, smooth ganache. Oh my gosh. YESS. Are you guys looking at those swirls??? That is ganache in it’s most perfect looking form.
TO DIE FOR.
Another huge plus to this recipe is that it is SIMPLE! No fancy equipment or ingredients. It’s as easy as any other chocolate cake. You can have it made in under and hour and ready to eat in under two (you have to let the cake chill for a little to let everything stiffen up a bit). Can you say perfection or what?!?
SOOOO. Here’s the plan. Come home from work. Find the bottle of wine, cocktail or maybe even a mocktail, turn on the oven and start baking. Maybe eat some tacos or some pasta while the cake bakes and then….ditch the the booze, pour a giant glass of cold milk and eat all the cake. And I do mean ALL the cake with all the ganache 🙂
Shhhh, I won’t tell if you can’t fully wait for the cake to chill and you end up eating a warm and messy, DELICIOUS chocolate cake. Even better if you ask me.
Vegan Chocolate Cake with Creamy Chocolate Almond Butter "Buttercream".
Servings: 8 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 676 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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Ingredients
Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups almond coconut or your milk of choice, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup melted coconut oil you can also use canola or olive oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups organic sugar or coconut sugar I used coconut sugar
Creamy Chocolate Filling
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree Gena's recipe uses 1 cup
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup almond or cashew butter Gena's recipe only used 3 tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon vanilla optional
Ganache
- 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped finely
- 1 cup canned full fat coconut milk
- 2-4 tablespoons maple syrup
- Flaky sea salt for topping
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two round, 8 or 9-inch cake pans with coconut oil and line with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
- In another bowl, add the apple cider vinegar to the milk and beat until it's frothy. Whisk in the melted coconut oil, vanilla, and sugar. Add about a third of the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix them together (you can use a spatula, whisk, or a hand mixer on the lowest setting). Add another third, keep mixing for a few moments, and then add the final third. Mix until just combined, being careful not to over mix the cake batter. Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pans. Bake for 20-25 or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cook completely.
Chocolate Buttercream
- Add all the ingredients to a bender or food processor and blend until smooth. Stick in the fridge until ready to frost the cake.
Ganache
- Stir the coconut milk and maple syrup together in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Pour this mixture over the chocolate and stir until all of the chocolate is melted. Allow to cool to room temperature, stirring every 15 minutes or so until the chocolate has thickened into a spreadable frosting.
To assemble
- Remove the cakes from their pans. Place one onto your cake stand or plate. Spread the creamy filling over the cake layer. Gently place the other cake layer over it. Spread the ganache over the entire cake and around the sides. Transfer to a refrigerator to set for an hour. Slice and EAT!
Notes
*Adapted with permission from [Food52 Vegan | http://www.amazon.com/Food52-Vegan-Vegetable-Driven-Recipes-Kitchen/dp/1607747995], by Gena Hamshaw.
Chocolate Cake for the win!! Oh, and don’t forget that flaky sea salt on top! Happy weekend! 🙂
P.S. Happy Birthday Dad! Hope you had a great day!
Hey there!
How long can this keep in the refrigerator for should I need to bake ahead of time?
Thanks 🙂
Hey Marysa,
This is good in the fridge for 3-4 days. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Can I use gluten free flour?
Hey Karolyn,
Yes, that will work well for you. Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Quick question – can you use canned pumpkin instead of pumpkin purée? Or is there a recipe on how to make pumpkin purée using a can of pumpkin? We are making this for a dinner party tonight. Thanks!
Hi Lisa,
Canned pumpkin is the same thing as pumpkin puree:) Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Just made this with just the chocolate ganache without the filling abs it’s just divine!!!
Hey Daniela,
Wonderful! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and I appreciate you giving it a try! xTieghan
Can you make this into cupcakes? If so, for how long in the oven?
Hey Christina,
Sure that would work well for you! I would start checking for doneness at 25 minutes. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know how it turns out! xTieghan
This looks amazing! I want to make this for my husbands birthday but he hates coconut. Will the coconut come through in the taste of the cake?
Hey Mussie,
The coconut flavor is not strong in this cake. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi! I am making this cake and I was wondering, can you make the pan like a day ahead and store it in the fridge? Thanks!
Love your recipes, I always open your cookbook or website when I am looking for something special to make (it’s how I came to this recipe) and everything always turns out awesome! 🙂
Hey Nadia,
Yes, that would be fine to do! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi! Looks delicious. would almond flour work for this as well ??Thanks!
Hi Sydney! I have not tried it with almond flour, so I do not feel comfortable recommending it. Please let me know if you try it or have any other questions! xTieghan
Best chocolate cake ever! Used real chocolate from Ritual Chocolate, mid mountain blend. And it was amazing!! I also omitted the buttercream filling and just used ganache. Amaze!!! Will make this many more times in the future.
Wow that is so amazing to hear! Thank you so much Tiffany! xTieghan
Hello,
I was wondering if you had a recomendation on a replacement to the pumpkin in the spread?
I get bad reactions from pumpkin and have gone into anaphylaxis before.
Thanks
Hi Ambra,
I would recommend using canned sweet potato or mashed bananas. Hope this helps!
I’ve made this twice – once last week and once this week. Both times the frosting went from being smooth and glossy to thick, hard to spread, and dull-looking really fast. What did you do to keep it looking so shiny? I feel like I’m missing something!
Hey Rebecca, can you give me some more detail? How long is the frosting sitting? At what stage is this all happening? It is hard to help without have a bit more info. Thank you!! xTieghan
OMG…wow…awesome…first time making vegan cake…made for a friend’s birthday and her and her husband loved it, added homemade raspberry filling …”absolutely delicious”. Even my husband who doesn’t like chocolate cake enjoyed it. I made mini cake cups which my son took to school and he said his friends devoured them.
Thank you soooooo much for sharing…greatly appreciated
Thank you Nadine!! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Should this be stored in the refrigerator or is room temperature ok? I’m baking it now! Thanks!
Hi Angela! I would store in the fridge. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
Hi,
Can I use coconut cream instead of milk? and If yes what adjustment should be made?
Thanks
HI! Yes, you can use coconut cream. I would recommend using an equal amount. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Could I use peanut butter instead of almond butter?
Hi there! Peanut butter will be great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan