Chocolate Vegan Cake | Sugar-Free

Ingredients

Cake

• 2 cups whole wheat flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1 cup date paste (3/4 cup unrefined sugar for those not doing sugar-free)

• 3/4 cup applesauce

• 1-1/4 cup plant milk

• 2 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Frosting

• 1 cup cooked sweet potato (peeled)

• 1/2 cup almond butter (or cashew butter)

• 3/4 cup dates (pitted) (3/4 cup unrefined sugar for those not doing sugar-free)

• 1/4 cup plant milk

• 1/2 cup cocoa powder

• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

• 1 tablespoon vanilla

Instructions

Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and make some date paste (if using).

2. Date paste is simply 1 cup pitted dates and 3/4 cup water blended well in a blender or food processor. For more instructions, please see notes in the article above. Once the date paste is ready, set it to the side to be added to the wet ingredients shortly.

3. Place all of the dry ingredients–flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder–in a large mixing bowl and whisk together well. If you're using sugar instead of date paste, add the dry sugar in this step.

4. In a medium-sized bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients–applesauce, plant milk, vanilla, vinegar, date paste (if using)–and whisk together thoroughly.

5. Next, pour the wet ingredients into the large bowl with the dry ingredients and whisk them together well.

6. Pour the cake batter into a silicone baking pan (or line a regular pan with parchment paper to prevent sticking) and bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes. This recipe will make two 8" round cake pans.

7. Oven temperatures vary, so around the 25-minute mark, remove the cake from the oven and test for doneness. To do this, insert a toothpick into the highest center point. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done, otherwise place back into the oven and test again in 5-10 minutes.

8. Once the cake or cupcakes are done, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool before frosting.

9. The heart cupcake pans are also great if you would rather have cupcakes

Frosting

1. I like the take the easy way out and cook my sweet potato quickly by poking a few holes in it with a knife, wrapping it in a wet paper towel, and placing it in the microwave for about 5-6 minutes depending on the size of the potato.

2. Once it’s done, I simply remove the peelings and use the potato flesh in this frosting recipe.

3. Simply place all the frosting ingredients–including the cooked sweet potato– in a blender or food processor and mix until smooth. More frosting tips can be found in the article above.

4. When the cake or cupcakes has cooled, frost and serve!