Cake

Name: Mulled Apple Cider Cake with Penuche Frosting
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 4 h 20 min
Yield: 18 Slices
Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients: 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour; 1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour; 1 1/2 tsp baking soda; 1 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp salt; 3 tsp ground cinnamon; 1 tsp ground allspice; 1 tsp ground cloves; 3/4 tsp ground nutmeg; 1 1/2 cups apple cider, reduced; 1 cinnamon stick (optional); 1/2 an orange, sliced (optional); 3/4 cup coconut sugar (or light brown sugar); 1/2 cup neutral oil; 2 tsp vanilla extract; 3 large eggs, room temp (or 3 flax eggs); Heaping 1 cup applesauce; 3/4 cup vegan butter (or butter); 1 cup light brown sugar; 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 3-4 cups powdered sugar

Mulled Apple Cider Cake with Penuche Frosting (DF)

October 11, 2019 by Rachael Ng Leave a Comment

It’s apple season! And also one of my favorite seasons for indulging in all things sweet. The air is cooling and all of the upcoming holidays just have me feeling extra happy and eager. I’ve been dying to use apple cider in something for a couple of weeks now, and a simple sheet cake (loaded with frosting!) was a no-brainer. I love cake. And since I’m dairy-free I rarely get to indulge in it. Growing up, my grandma would make layered caked with penuche frosting. I didn’t know what exactly it was at the time, I just knew it was delicious and that she would have a plate of the leftovers waiting in the refrigerator for my mom (and me!) to snack on. Yes, I ate a lot of sugar growing up. Penuche frosting is made with brown sugar, so it’s super sweet with its own distinct (and totally mouth watering) flavor.

I was a bit nervous to make the frosting for the first time as I’d attempted it with coconut sugar before and failed. But it came out perfectly! I used vegan stick butter and almond milk, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. You’ll add all of the ingredients, except the powdered sugar, to a small saucepan, bring to a boil, and then allow that mixture to cool completely. Then you’ll simply beat in the powdered sugar! It’s time consuming since it can take up to 2-3 hours for the mixture to totally cool, but it’s a pretty simple, fail-proof recipe. The cake itself is easy. You don’t have to use mulled apple cider, but you’ll need to reduce the cider for around 20-30 minutes anyway so why not add in a cinnamon stick (or ground cinnamon) and a few orange slices? The result is a spicy, more flavorful apple cider. Then you’ll add lots of spice into the batter for extra fall flavor. For this, feel free to adjust the spices to your liking!

Some of the ingredients I like for this recipe:

Whole wheat pastry flour adds fluff to this cake. This flour is a staple in my pantry for baking cakes and quick breads. I love it, and I highly recommend it for this recipe! You can use all-purpose flour in its place, but I promise the WWPF really makes a difference in the cakes texture.

Coconut sugar is my go-to sweetener. It’s unrefined, low GI, and doesn’t taste like coconut. Plus, it tastes less sweet than regular white sugar, which helps balance the sweetness of the penuche frosting.

Mulled apple cider is a delicious and spicy warm cider that bring in lots of fall flavor to this cake. Feel free to reduce your apple cider without the added spice/orange.

Applesauce brings moisture and sweetness to this cake! Plus, it goes along with the apple theme, so I felt it was perfect.

Light brown sugar is necessary for the traditional penuche frosting. The molasses taste adds a unique flavor to the frosting. I don’t recommend any substitutes as I’ve tried coconut sugar in the past with no luck.

Yield: 18 Slices

Mulled Apple Cider Cake with Penuche Frosting

A soft spice cake made with mulled apple cider and applesauce! Topped with a decadent brown sugar frosting, this sheet cake is the perfect fall and holiday dessert!

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 3 hours

Total Time 4 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

Apple Cider Cake

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cloves
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups apple cider, reduced
1 cinnamon stick (optional)
1/2 an orange, sliced (optional)
3/4 cup coconut sugar (or light brown sugar)
1/2 cup neutral oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs, room temp (or 3 flax eggs)
Heaping 1 cup applesauce

Penuche Frosting

3/4 cup vegan butter (or butter)
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

Add the apple cider, cinnamon stick, and sliced orange to a small pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer until liquid reduces to a 1/2 cup. This can take up to 30 minutes. Once reduced, set aside to cool and remove cinnamon stick and orange slices. This is also a good time to bring your eggs to room temperature - place them in a glass of warm water until you're ready to make the cake batter.
While the mulled apple cider is cooling, preheat your oven to 350°F. Prepare a 9x13" cake pan with non-stick spray and (optional) line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
In a medium mixing bowl, add the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Whisk until well combined; set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together the mulled apple cider, coconut sugar, oil, vanilla, eggs, and applesauce until combined. Beat in the dry ingredients until batter is smooth - about 1 minute.
Bake cake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with a few crumbs. To frost the cake out of the pan (like I did) allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes. Then invert it onto a cooling rack, remove the parchment paper, and invert the cake onto another cooling rack so it's right side up. OR allow cake to cool completely in the pan.
While your cake is cooling, start the frosting. Add the vegan butter, brown sugar, and almond milk to a medium saucepan. Bring mixture to a full boil then immediately remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl to cool completely - the cooling process can take up to a couple of hours.
Once your cake and brown sugar mixture have totally cooled, add 3 cups of sifted powdered sugar to the brown sugar mixture. Beat with a whisk attachment until smooth. Add powdered sugar by the 1/4 cup until you've reached a thick, smooth, spreadable consistency. If it becomes too thick, add a little plant-based milk 1 tsp at a time.
Frost your cake with an icing spatula, swirling it around the cake. The frosting may shift a bit on the cake, but it'll will eventually set up.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for maximum freshness.

Notes

A neutral oil is one with a light taste, like extra light olive oil, refined coconut oil, or avocado oil. For this recipe, I used extra light olive oil.
For the penuche frosting, your brown sugar mixture must be completely cool in order for the frosting to turn out. This took a couple of hours for me, so it's important to start your frosting while your cake is cooling!

Chocolate Sheet Cake with Dark Chocolate Frosting (DF)

October 1, 2019 by Rachael Ng 1 Comment

I’m an absolute sucker for good cake. I grew up eating cakes made from a box, which is probably why I have such an affinity for soft, fluffy cakes with thick, sweet-as-can-be American buttercream. Anyone else usually disappointed in the professional cakes found at weddings? (Maybe I’m the odd woman out here.) Well, this cake is everything I love about cake. Fluffy, moist and topped with a decadent buttercream made with lots of dark cocoa powder, which helps even out the sweetness of the powdered sugar. And it’s easy!

I was always intimidated by homemade cakes. Even confused. Why would one go to all that trouble? Enter: the sheet cake. No more difficult than a batch of cookies, in my opinion. You beat the wet ingredients, whisk the dry ingredients, mix them all together, and, once baked and cooled, top it off with a super simple vegan (or non-vegan) buttercream! And the results? They’ll blow you and everyone who eats a slice away!

Some of the ingredients I like for this recipe:

Whole wheat pastry flour brings all the delicious fluff to this cake! If you like your cake fluffy, then you don’t want to skip out on this flour! Plus, you’ll definitely want to use it in the future to make fluffy muffins or quick bread loaves.

Coconut sugar is an unrefined, low GI sugar that won’t spike our blood sugar the same way that a higher GI sugar (like white sugar, honey, or maple syrup) will. And it doesn’t taste a thing like coconut.

Instant coffee intensifies the chocolate flavor of the cake, and you won’t taste the coffee!

Applesauce helps sweeten this cake and lends a hand to its moistness.

Vegetable shortening adds structure to the vegan buttercream. You can use more vegan butter in its place, but I highly recommend the shortening!

Dutch process cocoa powder gives the frosting a deeper, richer flavor and darker color.

Yield: 15 Slices

Chocolate Sheet Cake with Dark Chocolate Frosting

A fluffy and moist Chocolate Cake topped with a decadent Dark Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Additional Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 55 minutes

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup natural cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, warm
1 heaping tsp instant coffee granules
1/2 cup neutral oil (avocado, extra light olive oil, refined coconut oil, etc)
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs, room temp
1 heaping cup unsweetened applesauce

Dark Chocolate Frosting

3/4 cup vegan butter (stick form), softened
1/4 cup vegetable shortening (or more vegan butter)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup dutch process cocoa powder
3 cups powdered sugar
~5 tsp plant-based milk

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare a 9x13" cake pan with non-stick spray. If you plan to remove the whole cake from the pan to frost and serve (like I did), cut a piece of parchment paper the size of the inside bottom of your cake pan, and place it on top of the non-stick spray.

2. Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for around 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, sift the flours and cocoa powder. Whisk in the baking soda, baking powder, and salt until totally combined.

4. Mix together the warm almond milk and instant coffee granules. Then, in a large bowl, beat together the coconut sugar, milk/coffee mixture, oil, vanilla, eggs, and applesauce until combined.

5. Beat the dry ingredients into the wet until batter is well combined, about 1 minute on medium speed. Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Tap the pan on your counter to bring air bubbles to the surface - feel free to use a toothpick to pop any air bubbles that haven't popped on their own.

6. Bake cake at 350°F for 15-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with a few crumbs. Allow cake to cool in the pan on top of a cooling rack. Alternatively, if you'd like to remove the whole baked cake, allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then place another cooling rack (or baking sheet) on top of the pan and flip the cake over. Your cake should fall right out. Peel off the parchment paper and then use a cooling rack to flip the cake right side up. Allow to cool completely.

7. Once your cake is totally cool, make your frosting. In a medium bowl, beat together the softened vegan butter and vegetable shortening until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla. Sift in the cocoa powder and powdered sugar and then beat until combined. Beat in milk 1 tsp at a time until you've got a creamy, spreadable buttercream.

8. Scoop all of the frosting onto the top of your cooled cake. Use a spatula to spread evenly over the surface, creating deep swirls. Top with your favorite sprinkles, shaved chocolate, or coconut flakes!

9. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Notes

A neutral oil is any oil with a neutral taste. These include oils such as avocado, extra light olive oil, and refined coconut oil.

For the dark chocolate frosting, you will need a dutch process cocoa powder - check next to the natural cocoa powder (most widely available) in the baking aisle.

Recommended Products

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 464 Total Fat: 23g Saturated Fat: 9g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 12g Cholesterol: 66mg Sodium: 344mg Carbohydrates: 59g Net Carbohydrates: 0g Fiber: 3g Sugar: 34g Sugar Alcohols: 0g Protein: 6g

calculated nutrition information may not always be accurate

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Other chocolate recipes you might like:

Vegan Chocolate Banana Cake Donuts

Banana Chocolate Cake (DF)

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Bread (DF)

Salted Chocolate Rye Cookies (DF)

Spiced Zucchini Cake with Vegan Buttercream Frosting

April 27, 2019 by Rachael Ng Leave a Comment

Earlier this week, I noticed we had a few wrinkly zucchinis lurking in our vegetable drawer. I really wanted to make some zucchini muffins, but I wasn’t in the mood for chocolate (which is odd for me). I started to think about what else I could make and decided to set out on making a spiced zucchini cake! And I’m so glad I did.

This cake is moist, fluffy, spicy, and perfectly sweetened. With a thin(ish) layer of Vegan Buttercream on top, it’s like a little slice of dairy-free heaven. This cake tastes like a regular, dairy-filled cake, and I promise you that this buttercream frosting will win anyone over. You won’t be able to tell it’s vegan!

The cake itself is easy to get together – no special instructions required! I even made it extra easy by baking it in a 9×13″ dish. You can let it cool in the dish if you’d like, frost it in there, and serve it. Easy! If you want to serve it like I did, then just remove it from the dish like any other cake and once it’s cool, you can frost it out of the baking dish.

The vegan buttercream is also pretty easy. You’ll beat together some vegan butter (I recommend Earth Balance Buttery Sticks) and vegetable shortening. Add in a bit of vanilla. Beat in your powdered sugar and spices (to taste). And then add your favorite dairy-free milk until you get a nice, spreadable consistency. I’ve found that using the buttery sticks, along with a bit of vegetable shortening, is key to getting the right consistency. The frosting will hold its shape and be less likely to melt.

Some of the ingredients I love for this recipe:

Zucchini adds so much moisture (plus a tasteless veggie kick!) to cakes and quick breads! It’s usually paired with spices or chocolate, and I love the texture in brings to this cake.

White whole wheat flour is a whole wheat flour that’s lighter in color and sweeter in taste. It’s milled from the whole hard white wheat berry, so it has more naturally occurring nutrients than all-purpose flour.

All-purpose flour helps keep this cake soft. It balances out the white whole wheat flour.

Coconut Sugar is my all-time favorite sugar because it’s unrefined and low GI, which means it’s less likely to spike your blood sugar than other sugars (like regular, granulated sugar or honey). It doesn’t taste like coconut, either!

Cardamom & Cinnamon are two of my favorite spices. If you haven’t tried cardamom before, I highly recommend getting some. It’s delicious and pairs perfectly with this cake and frosting!

Vegetable Shortening helps stabilize the vegan buttercream. You’ll use it along with vegan butter to create an amazing frosting that resembles a regular, dairy-filled buttercream!

Yield: 18-24 servings

Spiced Zucchini Cake with Vegan Buttercream Frosting

A soft and tender sheet cake with finely shredded zucchini and ground spices, all complete with a delicious vegan buttercream frosting flavored with ground cardamom and pure vanilla extract.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Additional Time 3 hours

Total Time 3 hours 40 minutes

Ingredients

Spiced Zucchini Cake

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 large eggs
3/4 cup coconut sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 cups finely shredded zucchini (~3 medium zucchinis)

Spiced Vegan Buttercream

1/2 cup vegan butter, room temp (I recommend Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
~1-2 Tbsp unsweetened almond milk

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare a 9x13" baking dish. Spray with olive oil and (if you'd like to frost/serve your cake out of the pan) line the bottom with parchment paper. I cut one long, thin piece of parchment - enough to cover the bottom and the short sides.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, spices, salt, baking soda, and baking powder; set aside. Shred the zucchini until you have two cups. Place on a cheesecloth or paper towel and squeeze out and discard the juice.
In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, coconut sugar, and vanilla extract. Whisk in the oil and almond milk. Finally, use a fork to whisk in the shredded zucchini, making sure to break up any chunks.
Add the liquid ingredients to dry, using a large spatula to gently mix until no flour pockets remain. Pour batter into prepared baking dish and use your spatula to smooth out the top. Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Allow your cake to cool. If you chose to line your baking dish with parchment paper, wait 10 minutes, invert a cooling rack over the cake, and gently flip over. Your cake should easily fall out of the dish. Remove the parchment paper and throw away. Allow your cake to cool totally. Alternatively, you can let your cake cool in the baking dish if you plan to frost it in the dish.
Once your cake has cooled, you can make your frosting. In a large bowl, beat together the softened vegan butter and vegetable shortening. Beat in the vanilla extract. Sift in the powdered sugar and spices and beat. Slowly add almond milk 1-2 tsp at a time until your frosting reaches a consistency that's thick enough to hold shape and thin enough to spread (I ended up adding 6 tsp to mine).
If your cake is on a cooling rack, use another rack (or a serving platter) to flip it right side up. Frost your cake, being careful not to pick up the top crumby layer with your icing spatula. Sprinkle with extra cinnamon, if desired. Serve immediately or refrigerate until 30 minutes before you're ready to serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature, or in the refrigerator if your home is warm.

Notes

Flours: you can use all all-purpose flour or 1/2 AP + 1/2 regular whole wheat flour.

For vegan cake: replace the 3 large eggs with 3 flax eggs. Mix 3 Tbsp flaxseed meal + 9 Tbsp water. Allow to thicken for 5 minutes.

Shortening: you can replace the shortening with more vegan butter, but your frosting may be more prone to melting and losing its shape.

Hummingbird Cake with Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting

April 17, 2019 by Rachael Ng 3 Comments

You may know by now that I try to make desserts that are both delicious and (a bit) better for you than traditional baked goods. But when it comes to cake, I simply can’t accept any substitutes for a sugary, buttery frosting. Keep your whipped cream and coconut butter, I NEED BUTTERCREAM. Or in my case vegan buttercream.

I’ve attempted vegan buttercream frostings in the past, and this one is by far my favorite. It’s devilishly sweet, buttery tasting, and stable enough to frost a 3-layer cake in an 80°F apartment. The secret? Add a bit of vegetable shortening. Yes. I know. Maybe you think it’s gross or too unhealthy. But the shortening really helps to stabilize this frosting. You could leave the shortening out and replace it with vegan butter, but I can’t vouch for the results.

As for making the vegan buttercream, it really is so simple. You’ll need vegan butter (I used Earth Balance Buttery Sticks), vegan cream cheese (I used Trader Joe’s brand), vegetable shortening, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar. Lots of powdered sugar. You’ll want the vegan butter to soften to room temperature, but you’ll keep the vegan cream cheese in the refrigerator until you’re ready to make your frosting. Before you add the cream cheese to your mixing bowl, pour out any liquid that has pooled at the top.

The cake itself is pretty straight-forward. I made an 8″ 3-layer cake, but this amount of batter will work for a 9″ 2-layer cake or even a thick 6″ 3-layer cake. For 8″ or 9″ pans, the cake layers will be thin and flat enough that you won’t need to trim the tops off. For a totally vegan cake, check the “notes” section below.

Some of the ingredients I love for this recipe:

Banana and pineapple make up a classic Hummingbird Cake. I like my bananas mashed and my pineapple crushed but feel free to chop your banana or use pineapple chunks!

Toasted pecans have a more prominent flavor than non toasted pecans, and it takes so little time to pop them in the oven and let them toast.

Extra light olive oil gives this cake moisture while maintaining a low flavor profile.

All-purpose flour helps keep this cake soft. It balances out the white whole wheat flour.

Cinnamon and nutmeg add a bit of cozy spice. Feel free to play with your spices, adding more or less to suit your tastes.

Yield: 12 servings

Hummingbird Cake with Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting

A Classic Hummingbird cake made dairy-free! With bananas, pineapple, toasted pecans, and thick layers of you-can't-tell-it's-vegan Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting, this cake will not disappoint!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 50 minutes

Ingredients

Hummingbird Cake

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 cup coconut sugar
5 Tbsp unsweetened almond milk
6 Tbsp extra light olive oil
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups mashed ripe banana (~2-3 bananas)
1 cup (8oz) crushed pineapple (with juice)
3/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup vegan butter, softened to room temp (I used Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)
1/4 cup shortening
8oz vegan cream cheese, straight from the refrigerator (I used Trader Joe's brand)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2-2 lbs powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare your cake pans. Spray each pan with olive oil and then line the bottoms with a parchment paper circle. If your pecans aren't already toasted, now would be a good time to toast them - spread them out on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for around 10 minutes or until toasted. If you plan to frost your cake the same day, you can set out your vegan butter.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and coconut sugar. Stir in the toasted chopped pecans.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond milk, olive oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Add in the mashed banana and pineapple. Add liquid ingredients to dry and gently mix until no flour pockets remain.
Divide the batter equally into your pans. For three 8" pans, bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with a few crumbs, being sure to rotate your pans halfway through baking.
Allow cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Run a butter knife around the edges, invert a cooling rack over the top, and then flip over. Your cakes should all come out easily. Gently remove the parchment paper circles and throw away.
Once your cakes have cooled completely, you can make your frosting. Drain liquid from the vegan cream cheese, and then, in a large bowl, beat together the vegan butter, shortening, and vegan cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add 16oz of the powdered sugar and beat. Continue adding powdered sugar until you've reached the desired consistency. If you end up adding too much sugar, you can add water or nut milk 1 tsp at a time to thin the frosting out.
Now you can begin frosting your cake! I added 3/4 cup of frosting between each layer and then smoothed the rest onto the sides and top of the cake. Decorate your cake with pecans and enjoy! Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator if your home is warm.

Notes

For vegan cake: use 3 flax eggs in place of the eggs. 1 flax egg = 1 Tbsp flaxseed meal + 3 Tbsp water. Let thicken for 5 minutes.
For 2-layer cake: this recipe will also work for two 9" cakes. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes, check cakes, and continue baking until done.
To make ahead: Cakes can be made in advance. Once totally cool, wrap each cake in plastic wrap and then wrap in foil, being sure to seal totally. Refrigerate until ready to frost.
For less sugar: you can use less frosting between the layers and make a "naked" cake.

Chocolate Mini Bundt Cakes (dairy-free!)

February 15, 2019 by Rachael Ng Leave a Comment

Is there anything better than a classic, ultra fluffy chocolate cake? A buttercream slathered cake is something I cannot resist – even since I’ve gone diary-free. I will totally cheat (and risk a break out) for a slice of buttercream-topped cake, especially when the cake itself is dairy-free and the buttercream is milk free! Basically, I love cake. And this Chocolate Cake is moist, delicious, and super customizable – I’ve baked this recipe as a layer cake, as a banana chocolate sheet cake, and even as a banana bourbon cake without cocoa powder. Seriously, use this is a base and go wild.

These mini bundt cakes are perfectly cute one or two-serving cakes. I covered them with a simple chocolate ganache (made with coconut milk) to keep them on the better-for-you side – I wanted to avoid adding refined white sugar. But if you’d prefer a chocolate glaze (a simple mix of cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and nut milk) then do that! I’m telling you, make these cakes your own and enjoy this dairy-free version of classic chocolate cake! Happy baking!

Chocolate Mini Bundt Cakes
Makes three 4″ bundt cakes or one 6″ cake

Cake
1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1 large egg
2 Tbsp unsweetened almond milk
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Heaping 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
Chocolate Ganache
1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate
1/4-1/2 cup full fat coconut milk

1.) Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare your mini bundt pans – spray them with olive oil or other non-stick spray + lightly dust them with cocoa powder. I sprinkled a small spoonful of cocoa powder into each pan, covered it with a plate, and shook it around.

2.) In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut sugar and egg. Add in the almond milk, olive oil, and vanilla extract and mix. Stir in the applesauce; set aside.

3.) In a medium/large bowl, sift the flours and cocoa powder. Whisk in the baking soda, baking powder, and salt until all ingredients are well combined. Add the wet ingredients and mix until no flour pockets remain.

4.) Evenly distribute the batter into your mini bundt pans until they’re nearly full (mine were somewhere between 75% and 100% full). Bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes*.

5.) Allow cakes to cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Flip over each bundt pan and gently shake the cake out. Allow cakes to cool completely. Set cooled cakes on a cooling rack over a piece of parchment paper (I like to sit mine in a baking sheet) before preparing the chocolate ganache.

6.) Place a medium pot with about an inch of water over medium heat. Add the chopped chocolate and 1/4 cup of the coconut milk to a heatproof bowl that can sit on top of your medium pot (without touching the water). Stir frequently until chocolate has melted, adding more coconut milk until the mixture is thin enough to pour/drizzle. I tested mine by seeing if it would easily run off of the spoon in a steady stream. You want it to be thin enough to pour over your cakes but thick enough to hold onto your cakes.

8.) Spoon or pour chocolate ganache over each bundt until the cakes are totally covered. If desired, sprinkle with toppings – cocoa powder, powdered sugar, cacao nibs, sprinkles, rose petals, etc. Ganache will solidify at room temperature, depending on your current climate. Store cakes in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator if ganache doesn’t set. Enjoy!

*if baking a 6″ cake, bake for 20-30 minutes

Cake

Some of the ingredients I like for this recipe:

Ingredients

Apple Cider Cake

Penuche Frosting

Instructions

Notes

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Did you make this recipe?

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Some of the ingredients I like for this recipe:

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Chocolate Cake

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Instructions

Notes