Vegan Chocolate Lover’s Cake

Yum

Hi everyone! I’m so excited to share this recipe for Gluten Free, Vegan Chocolate Lover’s Cake! Do you have chocolate lovers in your house? Want a recipe that you can bring to any gathering? This is the one for you! This cake is soft and moist, it’s gluten free (but it doesn’t fall apart) and it’s decadent! The icing is light as a cloud and just as dreamy. This will easily become your go-to Chocolate Cake recipe, because everyone needs one of those! The best part is that no one will ever suspect that it’s gluten free and vegan! 

When I first went gluten free, I tried several times to make a chocolate cake that didn’t fall apart, and failed. I once made a cake for my father in law’s birthday, and by the time we got to their house, it had split in half and crumbled. Epic Fail! I was so sad, and even though everyone loved the taste, I was really embarrassed. (I’m kinda the designated cake baker in our family!) For a while I made a Banana Chocolate Chip cake that relied heavily on bananas to hold it together. That cake is awesome, but I wanted to master a chocolate cake recipe that was gluten-free (and vegan!), that I could make for my whole family. This is it friends, and it’s not hard at all, so let’s talk about that. BTW – I recently made this cake for my older son’s birthday, and the family agreed that it was the best cake EVER! Victory at last!! 🙂

I really love oat flour for baking. It’s soft, not gritty (sorry rice flour, I’m talking about you!), and it tastes great. I use the gluten free oat flour from Bob’s Red Mill, a little bit of xanthan gum to hold it together, and that’s it. This is the xanthan gum I use. You don’t need expensive gluten free flour blends, lots of different starches, or anything like that. Just whole grain oat flour. This recipe contains brown sugar, so it’s great to counteract the sugar with some whole grains, to help balance it out. I don’t get a sugar rush when I eat this cake, and I think it’s because of the whole grain flour. Whole grains and other foods that contain fiber help to regulate your blood sugar by slowing down the release of sugars into your blood stream. This cake isn’t ‘health food’, it’s definitely in the ‘treat’ category, but it does have some healthier properties than the white flour, white sugar, eggs and butter versions. Besides having some fiber, this cake is also completely cholesterol free! (All plant based foods contain zero cholesterol.) No one will ever know though, it’s pure decadence.

When you make this cake, just mix all of the dry ingredients together and then pour the liquids and chocolate chips in and stir until blended. That’s it! So easy.

When I make a cake, I always line my baking pans with (unbleached) parchment paper. It completely prevents sticking, without any additional oil or cooking spray. I roll out a sheet large enough to set the two pans on it, and tear it off. Then I trace the pans with a pen or pencil and then cut out the circles. When the cake is done baking and cooling, it’s so easy to just turn the pan over, and let the cake slip right out. (I put my hand on it to ease the transition to the plate.)

This cake recipe will make two 8 inch or 9 inch layers, or one 13×9 sheet cake.

After the cakes are cooled, turn out and frost with your choice of frosting! I made Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting and it really took this cake to the next level! This icing is so light and fluffy, and just melts in your mouth. It doesn’t have an overwhelming butter taste either, like some icings do. You can definitely frost this cake with a variety of different flavors (mocha would be insanely decadent – vanilla would be so pretty – and salted caramel is definitely on my list!). I started making cakes when I was about 12, and I loved to get books from the library on cake decorating (this was pre-internet), so I’ve worked with a lot of different icings, and I’ve never working with one that was an easy to spread as this one.

So light, so creamy, and SO yummy!!

I’d love to see your cake creations! If you make this cake, post it on Instagram and tag me! @theCheftographer

So let’s get baking you guys! I’d love to hear about your cake adventures, so leave a comment after you try this. Also, the Holidays are around the corner and I will be posting a lot of yummy Holiday recipes so you’ll want to stay in touch! You can find all of my social media buttons next to my picture at the top or bottom of this page if you want to connect there, and if you sign up for my email list, you’ll get great, vegan and gluten free recipes delivered straight to your inbox! Thanks so much for reading! As always, if you have any questions just drop me an email, or hit me up on Facebook. I’m happy to help. Enjoy! xoxo, Angel

* This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click through, and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission from Amazon. It doesn’t add anything to the price of your products, and it helps me keep the blog running, so if you do purchase after reading my post, that’s awesome, thanks! Most importantly, I just want to inspire you, and be inspired by you.  I never write about products that I don’t use, or don’t believe in. When I do find something that I’m passionate about, I like to share it with my readers.