This chocolate cardamom cake is a showstopper with cardamom spice and whipped buttercream chocolate frosting. A delicious vegan and dairy-free cake recipe perfect for your special events, holidays, birthdays or just I-want-cake days. Makes layers or a sheet cake.
Chocolate Cardamom Cake with Whipped Chocolate Frosting.
Chocolate cardamom cake. It's cake time! And not just any cake, but a showstopper with cardamom and whipped chocolate frosting.
My favorite aspect of this cake is how airy it is, thanks to the rather clever use (so full of praise for myself haha) of plant milk and the combination of baking soda and baking powder..
And the frosting is an old family recipe, soft and creamy, like melting fudge.
Now before we dive into the recipe, I'd like to invite you to sign up for my free chocolate course. Five lessons hit your inbox with detail on how to create your own simple healthy chocolate desserts.
Okay, so back to this recipe...
How To Serve A Chocolate Cardamom Cake
This cake is a classic, aside from the cardamom twist, and really fits all seasons - holiday for sure, but also great for spring and summer brunches, especially if you lighten the frosting and dot the top with berries.
Here I tossed on some sprinkles and gold stars, and everyone at our house felt like it was a party.
But why cardamom, you ask?
Does Cardamom Go With Chocolate?
Oh my, yes! In this cake especially it leaves a flavor in your mouth that is so pleasing yet so indescribably that you will be saying "now what is that flavor?"...
Can Cardamom Be Used in Baking?
Yes! Although cardamom is often thought of as a season for Indian savory dishes, it is often used in Nordic countries in their dessert recipes.
How To Use Cardamom
It is best to buy pods - available in spice section of grocery store - and crush them, remove seeds and grind them. Or you can use ground cardamom for a less robust flavor. Cardamom is expensive however, like saffron, but well worth it and one bottle lasts a long time.
How Do You Make A Super Moist Chocolate Cake From Scratch?
Sure! This is a wonderful made-from-scratch chocolate cake recipe. Just mix up dry ingredients, mix up wet. Add wet to dry, and bake.
What Does A Cardamom Cake Taste Like?
It tastes like a deep fresh chocolate cake, with a hint of some spice that at first is unidentifiable. I believe it boosts the flavor of the chocolate.
My Best Frosting Tip
Use a quality cocoa or cacao powder. I have my favorite brands listed in my Amazon Fav Ingredients store here.
And don't forget the coffee. You won't taste it, it just elevates the taste of the chocolate.
Consider These Other Chocolate Recipes
- Sugar Cookie Truffles
- Chocolate Spice Truffles
- Vegan Cookie Dough
- Easy Truffles Recipe
- Protein Ball Recipes
- Crunch Bars
- Vegan Fudge
- Dark Chocolate Zucchini Loaf
- Soft Granola Bars
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Chocolate Cardamom Cake with Whipped Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
Large bowl - dry ingredients
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder or cacao powder
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour Or GF all purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups organic cane sugar
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp Ground cardamom
- 2 tsp vanilla powder (or extract but then add it to the wet ingredients)
- pinch of salt
Small bowl - wet ingredients
- 1 ½ cup almond milk
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- ¼ cup unsweetened apple sauce or sweet potato or pumpkin purée
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil or your favorite oil
For the Frosting
- ½ cup vegan butter melted but cooled before adding to sugar
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar (vegan brands have no bone char)
- ⅓ unsweetened cocoa powder or cacao powder
- 2-4 tbsp dairy free milk (I used cashew milk)
- 1 tbsp cold coffee
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Prep
- Add the apple cider vinegar to the milk and set aside.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.Rub coconut oil (refined to avoid a coconut flavor) on the inside of two 8-inch round pans.Dust the oiled pans with cacao or cocoa powder
Make the cake
- In a large bowl, stir the dry ingredients together. Yes, this recipe does require the sugar be added to the dry ingredients, a departure from most cake recipes.
- Mix together the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
- Blend the batter until smooth, then divide evenly between the two baking pans, tapping them on the counter to level the mixture.
Bake 35 minutes or until tester is clean. - Let the layers cool in the pans about 15 minutes, then run a knife around the inside, turn each over onto a cooling rack and tap until it falls out.
Let them cool completely on the racks before frosting.
Frosting:
- Melt the butter in the microwave at 10 seconds. Let it cool.Stir up the sugar and cocoa in a bowl. Add melted butter to the sugar and cocoa mixture.
- Use a hand-mixer to blend up the mixture, and add in the vanilla and coffee.Then, add the milk 1 tbsp at a time, blending between, until you have a frosting texture.
- Cover the bowl with a soaking wet paper or cloth towel if not ready to frost immediately.Blending this frosting "whips" it into a fluffy texture, however feel free to use a mixer instead if you'd like.
- Assemble cake by stacking layers, frosting each.Or, to replicate our cake pictured, slice each layer lengthwise to make a 4-layer cake. I also piped rosettes of the same frosting and sprinkled with my favorite vegan sprinkles...
Michael
Will this recipe work with regular milk and butter?
Dee Dine
Yes! And I updated the frosting recipe, no longer use shortening. Good luck! Dee
Noah
Great recipe!! I really love to try this recipe. Can I use coffee pods in this recipe??
Dee Dine
Any coffee is fine!
Mary
This was absolutely great. Made it for my vegan stepdaughter's birthday and everyone loved it. My almond milk was unsweetened vanilla flavor, so I omitted vanilla in the recipe. The texture of the cake was excellent--slightly firmer than most cakes I've made, but not at all stodgy. And it made it easier to slice into 4 layers, and to frost. I used my stand mixer to make the frosting (strangely there was no instruction to "whip" the frosting in the recipe, but it worked well with the mixer). My veg shortening was past its prime, so made with all vegan butter. That made the frosting a little wet--no need for milk added. But it was just delicious.
Dee Dine
So glad you liked the recipe. It's our family favorite. And yes, haha, I tend to blend everything, even whipped frosting. And I liked your substitutions. Dee xx
Edwina
You didn’t list how much baking powder! It only says “1 baking powder.”
Dee Dine
Thanks Edwina, fixed it. Actually the recipe app updated and tossed that label out for some reason. Thank you for the tip! Dee xx
Dee Dine
When I first made this recipe, I used a flaxseed egg, but the next few times I used a combination of baking soda and baking powder to achieve the airiness! I have updated the text, thank you! Dee xx
Sarah
I don't have vanilla powder. Can I use vanilla extract, and if so how much should I use?
Debbie
Hi Sarah, sure you can use vanilla extract instead of vanilla powder. You will need more extract since it is diluted with alchohol, so I suggest 1 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract. Dee xx
Nisha / @rainbowplantlife
This cake is SO divine, Dee! I can't stop staring at this cake. It's a masterpiece! I love the addition of coconut cream!
Debbie
Thanks Nisha, so happy you like my cake. Coconut cream does make everything magical. Dee xx
Karly
This is truly the perfect cake for anyone and everyone. Looks SO good- especially with that touch of cardamom! YUM!
Debbie
Well what a nice comment, thank you so much Karly! I agree, cardamom makes cakes special.