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    Home » Desserts » Cakes & Cupcakes » Cinnamon Chocolate Cake

    Cinnamon Chocolate Cake

    Sep 24, 2018 · Updated: Jun 18, 2021 by Dee Dine · Affliate links disclosure.

    Jump to Recipe

    A spectacular show-stopper Cinnamon Chocolate Cake! This cake has a deep cinnamon and chocolate flavor, and is free of dairy, gluten and even oil and yet holds shape beautifully! And has a special baking trick involving boiling water that you'll want to learn!

    Overhead of iced cinnamon chocolate layer cake with one slice on a dish and a striped cloth to the right.

    Cinnamon Chocolate Cake

    When it comes to classic cakes, this cinnamon chocolate cake is right up there at the top of the list. And there is nothing more fun than veganizing a classic recipe and giving it a spicy spin.

    So welcome to my simplest chocolate layer cake recipe to date! All you need is a pot, a bowl and two pans, and can be whipped up in 20 minutes or less, excluding baking.

    I think you'll love in particular the flavor, texture and the interesting technique that achieves it.

    Unusual Moisturizer in This Chocolate Layer Cake

    I learned this trick from my mother, actually. She took a scientific approach to cooking.

    Over the years, she has shared many tricks using temperature and moisture manipulation to, in unlikely ways, make ingredients do what she wanted. I myself went on to study biology and have graduate degrees in science, an interest I'm sure she ignited.

    One of her useful tricks is featured in this recipe. The texture of the cake is quite moist, and is not due to the addition of oil, but in fact to a boiling water step you'll see in the method below. I also share a no-stick-to-the-pan method I love.

    How to Make This Cinnamon Chocolate Cake

    1. Start by preparing the pans. Butter them, then dust with cocoa powder. This is my secret trick to allow you to pop those layers out of the pan, but without white flour dust marks.

    2. Preheat your oven to 350 F.

    3. Combine your dry ingredients, and make the flax eggs if using and set aside. You can also use 6 tbsp of aquafaba, the liquid from a can of unsalted chickpeas, if you prefer that to making flaxseed eggs.

    4. Melt the sugar by boiling a cup of water, turning off stove, pouring in the sugar and stirring until melted. To that, add the chocolate and butter, stirring until melted. And then add in the vanilla and flaxseed eggs. Stir again until combined.

    5. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients, and blend with a hand-mixer until combined.

    6. Fill pans, bake at 30 minutes at 350 F.

    How to Make Cinnamon Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

    1. Prepare your butter by either setting it out two hours ahead of baking or microwave each stick separately on a dish for 10 seconds to soften.

    2. Melt the chocolate chips in a pyrex measuring cup for 1 minute.

    3. Mix all ingredients with a hand-mixer. Frost cooled cake.

    Facing shot of cut cinnamon chocolate layer cake with a slice on a dish and cinnamon sticks on front.
    Another aspect of this recipe that I was pleased with is the frosting. I typically make buttercream frosting. This time I tried a different recipe, one that I have been using at home for quite a while and finally decided to share. I creates a smooth, shiny and swoopy texture.

    If you want to keep this recipe, you can pin the image below!

    Overhead of iced cinnamon chocolate layer cake with one slice on a dish and a striped cloth to the right.
    I invite you to keep up with me on: Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Food Gawker | Twitter

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    Simple Cinnamon Chocolate Layer Cake (dairy-free, vegan, gluten-free)

    Cinnamon Chocolate Cake

    Created by Dee Dine
    A spectacular show-stopper Cinnamon Chocolate Cake! This cake has a deep cinnamon and chocolate flavor, and is free of dairy, gluten and even oil and yet holds shape beautifully! And has a special baking trick involving boiling water that you'll want to learn!
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 30 mins
    Total Time 45 mins
    Cuisine vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free
    Servings 18

    Ingredients
     

    large bowl

    • 3 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour (or use all purpose if you don't need it to be gluten-free)
    • 2 tsp baking powder
    • 2 tsp baking soda
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 3 tsp cinnamon

    medium pot

    • 1 cup organic cane sugar
    • 1 cup boiling water
    • 1 (3.5oz bar) unsweetened dark chocolate
    • 6 tbsp butter I used vegan Earthbalance. Or use ⅓ cup apple sauce to make this cake Oil-Free.
    • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    • 2 flax eggs 2 tbsp flax seed + 5 tbsp water

    Vegan Frosting

    • 3 cups vegan powdered sugar (vegan means no bone char)
    • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
    • ⅓ cup cocoa powder (I use Valhrona)
    • 1 tsp cinnamon
    • 1 tsp vanilla
    • 3 tbsp dairy-free milk
    • ¾ cup chocolate chips, melted (I use Enjoylife semi-sweet mini chips)

    Instructions
     

    Prep Work

    • Preheat the oven to 350 F.
    • Prep two 8 inch round cake pans by greasing with vegan butter, then dusting with flour or - my new trick - cocoa powder.
    • For the frosting prep, set two sticks of butter out to reach room temperature or microwave each separately on a dish for 10 seconds.

    Make the Cake

    • In the large bowl, stir flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt until well combined.
    • Make the flax eggs and set aside (stir together 2 tbsp ground flaxseed and 5 tbsp water) or use 6 tbsp of aquafaba, the liquid from a chickpea can.
    • In the medium pot, boil the 1 cup of water, and stir in 1 cup of organic cane sugar, turn off stove and stir until the sugar is melted.
      Into the pot, add the chocolate and butter to this mixture and stir until melted. Then stir in vanilla and flax eggs (or aquafaba).
    • Pour this mixture into large bowl and blend until creamy with a hand mixer. The batter should be a normal cake-batter texture.
    • Pour the batter evenly into the pans, and bake 30 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
    • Cool cakes for two minutes in pans, then remove and cool on a cake rack while you make the frosting.

    Make Frosting

    • Add the butter and sugar to a bowl, and hand-mix until combined.
    • Add in the powdered sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, salt, vinegar and milk. Mix again until combined.
    • Melted the chocolate chips in a pyrex measuring cup in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir chips until melted. Pour melted chips into frosting and mix again until all combined.
    • Once the cake is cool, frost the bottom layer, and put the second layer on top, then frost that...enjoy!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 298kcalCarbohydrates: 58gProtein: 3gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5gSodium: 285mgPotassium: 105mgFiber: 3gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 178IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 42mgIron: 1mg
    Keyword boiling water baking trick, chocolate layer cake, cinnamon chocolate cake, dairy-free cake, vegan chocolate cake
    Leave a ReviewLet us know what you think of my recipe!
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    About the Author

    Dee Dine is founder of Green Smoothie Gourmet, a plant based recipe blog, and author of two recent cookbooks, Crazy Healthy with 4 Ingredients and the immunity-boosting smoothie /juice/wellness shot book, 4-Ingredient Smoothies + Juices . On this blog you'll find incredibly healthy easy recipes with hidden veggies for anyone wanting to eat healthier, regardless of diet. Dee has graduate degrees in sciences and journalism, is editor at The Feedfeed and a nutritional expert at WikiHow. More about Dee Dine here.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jess

      January 02, 2019 at 8:35 am

      What a delicious cake Dee! Love the combination of chocolate and cinnamon!

      Reply
      • Dee Dine

        January 02, 2019 at 7:25 pm

        Thank you Jess!

        Reply
    2. Paba

      January 01, 2019 at 6:07 am

      I made it to celebrate over the new year's eve dinner. It cameout perfectly. The best chocolate cake i've made. I added less sugar for the frosting and it was runny. But that made it even better. I would like to try it again with orange flavouring instead of cinnamon. Thanks alot and looking forward to more amazing recipes from you!

      Reply
      • Dee Dine

        January 01, 2019 at 6:05 pm

        Super glad to hear that! Dee

        Reply
    3. Verna

      December 11, 2018 at 3:01 pm

      Hi Dee,

      Cake looks amazing! I would like to make it but i need to ask is 1 cup sugar essential? I understand sugar helps with the lovely texture but we are slowly eliminating sugar in our home. Do you think this recipe would work with reducing to 1/2 cup and use coconut sugar as an alternative? I love cinnamon and chocolate together and would love to try your mother's technique of boiling water, sounds interesting 🙂

      Thanks,
      Verna.

      Reply
      • Dee Dine

        December 16, 2018 at 5:11 pm

        I bet both changes would work! Let me know if you try it! Dee

        Reply
    4. Tove

      November 28, 2018 at 11:18 am

      This was the best vegan cake I have ever made! So moist and fluffy unlike most cakes I have made. My husband prefers vanilla cake though and his birthday is coming up. Would it be possible to just not add the chocolate and maybe just add vanilla instead?

      Reply
      • Dee Dine | Green Smoothie Gourmet

        December 06, 2018 at 4:00 pm

        Hi Tove, thank you, so glad the recipe worked out so well. I am not sure about converting it to vanilla. But I have a wonderful fluffy vanilla vegan cake recipe that would work perfectly! Here. Dee

        Reply
    5. Elavegan

      October 13, 2018 at 9:11 am

      5 stars
      Dee, you make the most amazing chocolate desserts! This layer cake looks out of this world and I want a big piece right now!
      Lots of love, Ela ❤️

      Reply
      • Dee Dine

        October 13, 2018 at 11:48 am

        I would love to share a slice of cake with you Ela! Dee

        Reply

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    picture of dee dine.I'm Dee, and I make healthy dessert recipes that often include hidden veggies. All are vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and egg-free. Visit me on Instagram where I always post new recipes first!

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