Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe: Easy, Gluten-Free, and Refined Sugar-Free
Indulge guilt-free with this wholesome whole foods vegan cake recipe! Healthy, chocolatey, and easy to make. Perfect for any occasion!
Ingredients
Wet ingredients
- 2 medium-sized cooked sweet potatoes (peeled and cubed)
- ½ cup water
- 1 cup dates (pitted)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla powder (or non-alcoholic vanilla flavoring)
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Dry ingredients
- 1 ½ cups green banana flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Frosting ingredients
- ½ cup raw, unsalted cashews
- ½ cup almond milk (or any plant-based milk you love)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla powder (or non-alcoholic vanilla flavoring)
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ½ cup dates (pitted)
Instructions
- Let’s kick this off! First, cook your sweet potatoes until they’re super soft. I usually peel them, cut them into little cubes, and boil them for about 20 minutes. They should mash easily with a fork when they’re ready.
- Toss those sweet potatoes into a blender with water, dates, vanilla powder, and balsamic vinegar. Hit that blend button and let it all whirl around until it’s super smooth and creamy. No lumps allowed here, buddy.
- In a big mixing bowl, stir together the green banana flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder. Give it a good mix to make sure there are no salty chunks hiding in there. Seriously, nobody wants to bite into that surprise.
- Pour your sweet potato mix right into the bowl with the dry stuff. Mix it up like crazy until it turns into a thick, chocolatey batter. Heads up—it’s thicker than regular cake batter but that’s totally fine. It’s doing its thing.
- Grab two cake pans and line them with parchment paper. Trust me, this saves you from the heartbreak of cake sticking to the pan. Divide the batter between the two pans. You don’t need to be super precise here, just eyeball it. Smooth the tops with a spoon. It’s a little sticky but that’s part of the fun.
- Bake the cakes in a preheated oven at 350°F (about 180°C) for 30 minutes. No peeking! When they’re done, pull them out and let them cool completely on a baking rack or anything that lets air flow underneath.
- While the cakes are cooling, let’s make that dreamy frosting! First, blend the almond milk and dates until smooth. Then, toss in the cashews, cocoa powder, and vanilla powder. Blend until the frosting is super creamy and thick. This takes a little patience but trust me, it’s worth it.
- Once your cakes are cool, spread a thick layer of frosting on the first cake. Don’t worry about making it perfect, no one’s going to see the middle. Stack the second cake on top and pour more frosting all over the top and sides. Go wild with it—I always say more frosting, more fun.
- Take your time smoothing the frosting. I’m not a cake artist either but hey, messy cakes still taste amazing. If you have leftover frosting, stash it in the fridge. It’s the best late-night snack, especially on bananas or right off the spoon. No shame in that.