A healthy chocolate cake with applesauce, fluffy and dark, lower in calories and more delicious than the rich chocolate ganache cakes served in gourmet restaurants. Yet this cake is ready in 30 minutes. A healthier cake perfect for holidays and birthdays.
Coat the inside of two (6-inch round) cake pans or 1 (8-inch square) pan with butter and dust with cocoa powder. Or double the recipe to use 2 (8-inch round) pans.
Activate your milk by adding lemon juice to it and let it sit for 5 minutes.
Make cake
To the large mixing bowl, add in the sugar, curdled milk, veggie puree, apple sauce and vanilla. Mix until combined, about 30 seconds.
1 cup dairy free milk, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, ⅓ cup canned pumpkin puree, 3 tablespoon unsweetened applesauce, 2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cup cane sugar
To another bowl, add the flour/cocoa mixture, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Or add directly to the wet ingredients through a strainer.
1 ½ cups all purpose flour, ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
Combine the dry and wet mixtures, and mix until combined, but don't overmix.
Add coffee if using. Pour the batter evenly into prepared cake pans.
1 teaspoon coffee
Bake 2 (6 inch round) cakes for 25-30 minutes. Bake 1 (8-inch square) pan for 35 minutes.
Flatten warm cakes with a spatula or use flattening bands if you want flat layers.
Let cool for a ten minutes in pans, then put cakes onto a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Make frosting
Add powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vegan butter, vanilla extract and 5 tablespoon of the milk to a large mixing bowl. If butter is cold, microwave it for 10 seconds to soften.
Use a hand-mixer or an electric mixer to combine. Add an additional 2 tablespoon of milk if you need to to create a creamy consistency. You can add more or less milk, but be careful, it can turn too liquidy very fast.
Add frosting to a frosting bag with your chosen tip.
Assemble the cake
Frost cakes or cupcakes
Store
To store cakes or cupcakes in the freezer for a month, pack them unfrosted in a sealed container.Once frosted, the cake or cupcakes are fine at room temperature for about 3 days and then they begin to dry out.
Video
Notes
Store this cake at room temperature, loosely covered and frosted. It will be okay for about 2 days before it will begin to dry out. You can also freeze the cake before frosting it for months.This recipe can also make cupcakes. Make 12 and bake at 350 F for 12 minutes.The nutritional information is for a slice of unfrosted cake. Add another 200 calories if you use my frosting recipe above.