One-bowl Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

My favorite part of the shift, when I was in college was closing down the movie theater diner. We could turn up the music on the jukebox (which had really great songs), dance while cleaning, and laugh with our coworkers.

My friend Katie worked as a server, and I was in charge of the dessert counter. (Are we surprised?) We both loved the chocolate cake that was on our menu. The cake was a three-layer confection of decadent chocolatey goodness. After a long shift, we would buy a piece, heat it, add fudge, and eat it. Ah, sweet bliss.

This homemade chocolate cake brought me back to my childhood. I can’t recall Katie’s last name, or else I would look her up to tell her she should bake this cake, and we could virtually eat it together.

I’m delighted that I have created a cake to rival the delectable bakery versions. It will help us celebrate and commemorate special moments in our lives regardless of special dietary requirements.

What’s the most amazing part? This EASY 1 bowl is 100% delicious and 100% vegan. Yes, dreams do come true. We’ll show you how.

In this recipe, we substituted applesauce and bananas for eggs. These ingredients give the recipe a moist texture, and they also add sweetness. The banana flavor is barely discernible, and the main taste is definitely chocolate!

This recipe is oil-free because almond butter replaces the oil.

We used maple syrup and coconut to sweeten the recipe, keeping it free of refined sugar. The coconut sugar and maple syrup provide a substance while adding moisture.

We chose a combination of almond flour with potato flour for gluten-free flour. This combination gives the cake a crumbly yet fluffy texture!

This cake is rich and chocolaty thanks to the cocoa powder, which adds moisture.

Add the batter to the cake pans and bake. Three 6-inch cake pans will give you a three-tiered look. We include in the recipe options for using different sizes of pans.

Ingredients

CAKE

• The original recipe calls for two small bananas (3 cups) mashed banana.
• Use dairy-free plain yogurt to get a richer texture. We love Culina plain yogurt.
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• You can also use almond butter, peanut butter, sunflower butter, or cashew butter.
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt (optional)
• 1 1/4 cups dairy-free milk (we used unsweetened boxed almond milk // rice or cashew milk would work as well)
• 1 cup cocoa powder sifted
• One cup (NOT potato flour/ some readers have succeeded in substituting 1/2 arrowroot and 1/2 coconut flour).
• 1 1/2 cups Almond flour (not meal // We prefer Wellbee’s brand).
• Use 1-2 tbsp of finely ground espresso or dark roast coffee. ( optional// enhances the chocolate flavor.

Optional

• Vegan Chocolate Ganache
• Vegan Chocolate Frosting

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F 176 C. Lightly grease two 8-inch round pans or one 9×13-inch pan (our preference) with avocado oil and dust them with cocoa powder. Shake off excess and place aside. Line a standard muffin pan with paper liners if you are making cupcakes.
• Add banana to a large bowl and mash it (measure the quantity to make sure you have the right amount). Add applesauce, vanilla, almond butter and whisk together. Add maple syrup, coconut, baking powder, soda, and optional sea salt to the mixture.
• Add the dairy-free milk next and combine. Add the cocoa powder sifted and mix with a whisk. Add potato starch, then whisk together.
• Add almond flour little by little until you reach a saucy, pourable consistency (see picture). The batter shouldn’t look like brownies and shouldn’t seem watery. Continue adding almond flour if it’s too thin. If the mixture is too thick, add a bit of dairy-free milk to thin it out. As per the original recipe, we used 2 1/2 cups of almond flour. You may need to use more or less depending on the ingredients you have. You can add some espresso powder at this point to intensify the chocolate flavor. ( optional). Add more according to your taste.
• Bake on the center rack for 28-38 minutes. If baking cupcakes, the bake time is 18-20 minutes. Or until the toothpick inserted in the center comes free of crumbs. Do not over-bake.
• Allow to cool for 15 minutes in the pan. Run a dull knife along the edges of the pans in order to loosen them. Place a plate, cooling rack, or other surface on top of the cake and invert it quickly. Let the cake cool completely (1hr //You can speed up the process by cooling it briefly in the fridge or freezer).
• You can now enjoy your cake. We recommend using our Vegan Chocolate Frosting or Vegan Chocolate Ganache Frosting (pictured below).
• The best way to enjoy this dessert is fresh, within a couple of days after baking. After that, the texture will tend to dry out (try substituting dairy-free yogurt for applesauce!). Store covered cake at room temperature for up to 2-3 days*, or in the fridge for 4-5. Freeze for up to a month. Thaw it at room temperature.