A rich vegan chocolate cake is a must for every recipe collection – but a tasty fairly healthy one like this is great. Cakes like this are fiddley and often difficult – there’s no getting around it. But this recipe keeps it to a minimum, and of course being a vegan recipe, there’s no eggs or butter to beat!
There are a few unusual ingredients like the apple sauce, and soya yogurt. Sainsbury’s do a good bramley apple sauce which I recommend, and they also stock Alpro soya yogurt. Make sure you use a very fine self-raising wholemeal flour, bread flour is way too dense and won’t rise well. Another tip is to use some even bake strips. They don’t completely eliminate the domed effect you often end up with but they help to reduce it.
The “butter style” icing relies on the apple sauce, so although it looks like a lot – it’s necessary. Giving it a good blend with a stick blender is essential – even a Nutri-bullet might work. It keeps well, but as long as your friends or children like chocolate cake it won’t hang around for long.
I particularly like this rich vegan chocolate cake served with Swedish Glace vanilla ice cream. The two go together perfectly.
Rich Moist Chocolate Cake
This is a fairly easy, cake to get right every time. It keeps well as it's fully iced and is great with ice cream and soya cream.
Equipment
- 7 inch/ 18cm loose bottom cake tins
- large jug
- large bowl
- blender
- electronic scales
- electric hand whisk/mixer
Ingredients
The main cake ingredients
- 125 g very fine wholemeal S/R flour
- 125 g white S/R flour
- 120 g golden caster sugar or can use 50g sugar & 35g xylitol
- 75 g cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder.
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp 15g apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 105 g Sainsbury’s sweetened Bramley Apple Sauce
- 265 g water
- 18 g soya/oat/almond yogurt (1 tbsp)
The chocolate Frosting
- 125 g coconut oil melted odour free
- 50 g maple syrup. (3 tbsp)
- 30 g golden caster sugar.
- 85 g organic cocoa powder.
- 300 g unsweetened applesauce slightly sweetened Bramley apple sauce is ok.
- 1 flat tbsp coconut flour or corn starch roughly 8g
Instructions
Making the main 2 layers of cake
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/(160°C Fan) – non fan standard oven is best.
- Grease 2 by 7-inch springform pans & line bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients: the 2 flours, granulated sweetener(s), cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix well.
- Add the vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar, and applesauce, water and mix well – with a stick blender if sauce is not already a puree.
- Pour the smooth blended liquid over the top of the dry ingredients & mix until fully combined – preferably with a hand-held beater/mixer.
- Transfer the cake batter divide equally into the lined pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out just clean.
- Remove from the oven and let cool in the cake pan for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, frost with mixture below.
Making the chocolate frosting
- In a large jug, combine the melted coconut oil, sweeteners, apple sauce, coconut flour and cocoa powder.
- Mix until with a stick blender until a glossy liquid chocolate texture remains.
- Refrigerate for several 60mins, to thicken – needs to be getting quite thick not runny.
- Choose the flattest cake, then spread around 1/3 of the frosting on the top of the bottom layer of cake.
- Place the other cake on top, then spread the remaining 2/3 of the frosting starting on the top, and then working down the sides.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Rich Moist Chocolate Cake
This is a fairly easy, cake to get right every time. It keeps well as it's fully iced and is great with ice cream and soya cream.
Equipment
- 7 inch/ 18cm loose bottom cake tins
- large jug
- large bowl
- blender
- electronic scales
- electric hand whisk/mixer
Ingredients
The main cake ingredients
- 125 g very fine wholemeal S/R flour
- 125 g white S/R flour
- 120 g golden caster sugar or can use 50g sugar & 35g xylitol
- 75 g cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder.
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp 15g apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 105 g Sainsbury’s sweetened Bramley Apple Sauce
- 265 g water
- 18 g soya/oat/almond yogurt (1 tbsp)
The chocolate Frosting
- 125 g coconut oil melted odour free
- 50 g maple syrup. (3 tbsp)
- 30 g golden caster sugar.
- 85 g organic cocoa powder.
- 300 g unsweetened applesauce slightly sweetened Bramley apple sauce is ok.
- 1 flat tbsp coconut flour or corn starch roughly 8g
Instructions
Making the main 2 layers of cake
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/(160°C Fan) – non fan standard oven is best.
- Grease 2 by 7-inch springform pans & line bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients: the 2 flours, granulated sweetener(s), cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix well.
- Add the vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar, and applesauce, water and mix well – with a stick blender if sauce is not already a puree.
- Pour the smooth blended liquid over the top of the dry ingredients & mix until fully combined – preferably with a hand-held beater/mixer.
- Transfer the cake batter divide equally into the lined pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out just clean.
- Remove from the oven and let cool in the cake pan for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, frost with mixture below.
Making the chocolate frosting
- In a large jug, combine the melted coconut oil, sweeteners, apple sauce, coconut flour and cocoa powder.
- Mix until with a stick blender until a glossy liquid chocolate texture remains.
- Refrigerate for several 60mins, to thicken – needs to be getting quite thick not runny.
- Choose the flattest cake, then spread around 1/3 of the frosting on the top of the bottom layer of cake.
- Place the other cake on top, then spread the remaining 2/3 of the frosting starting on the top, and then working down the sides.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
