Today's rich healthy vegan chocolate cake recipe is the perfect decadent vegan dessert recipe. I could not be more excited to share this recipe with you guys! This chocolate cake is made using simple whole foods plant based ingredients and is naturally sweetened. It is so delicious nobody will think it's healthy!
Making a vegan healthy chocolate cake recipe has been something I've been wanting to create for such a long time. Baking was one of the first hobbies I really loved and practiced a lot growing up. Needless to say cakes hold a special place in my heart. When I was working on developing this vegan chocolate cake recipe I knew that I didn't want to create just any healthy chocolate vegan cake recipe, but a cake recipe that is only made with the purest and healthiest ingredients out there. That's exactly what this plant based recipe is: the best healthy vegan chocolate cake recipe! If you're interested in more decadent healthy vegan desserts, I have plenty on my blog already and I am always adding more! Make sure to subscribe to my email list so you're the first to know when the next one drops!
Some of my favorite healthy vegan dessert recipes:
Is vegan chocolate cake healthy:
You may be reading this question and thinking: "um obviously not, it's cake!". Normally I would agree with you. However, at it's very core, chocolate cake can be healthy. This healthy chocolate cake recipes takes all the fundamentally healthy aspects of chocolate cake and none of the unhealthy ingredients to make the best healthy chocolate cake recipe!
What are the healthy aspects of chocolate cake you may ask? Well, first and foremost, cacao (not cocoa) is one of the highest sources of antioxidants out there! It also contains fiber, protein, and other essential vitamins and minerals. Second, chocolate cake contains whole grains. Even the most unhealthy cake recipe out there still contains some kind of grain. Instead of using a highly processed white grain, I opted for a gluten-free whole grain mix of oat and almond flour. Last, but not least this refined sugar free chocolate cake is naturally sweetened with maple crystals and date syrup. What are maple crystals? You can read more about them in the next paragraph!
How to make healthy vegan chocolate cake:
Like I said in the intro, this healthy vegan chocolate cake has been something I have been working towards for a long time. There were many cakes made in the process of making this cake, but given the fact that cakes are my favorite thing to bake, this healthy chocolate cake recipe had to be absolutely perfect in order to share it. How did I make this vegan chocolate cake healthy? There were a couple important ingredients that I used to achieve a healthy whole foods plant based chocolate cake:
Key ingredients to making refined sugar free chocolate cake:
- Maple Crystals: If you're new here, let me put you on one of the best natural sweeteners for baking out there! I only recently (in the last 6 months of so) discovered maple crystals from Wilderness Poets, and my goodness are they a game changer! Maple Crystals are essentially maple syrup in its purest form. They are a low glycemic, high fiber sweetener that works just like sugar! They are sweeter than sugar, so less is more. I love using them for recipes like this healthy vegan chocolate cake, because they make they don't dry out the cake, or make the batter too watery. You can use my code: "VEGAN10" for $10 off your Wilderness Poets order!
- Avocados: Yep, you read that right. I knew when I was developing this recipe that I didn't want to icing base to be cashew based, or coconut based, because let's be real: every vegan chocolate cake recipe out there uses those ingredients. Since I wanted this to be the healthiest vegan chocolate cake recipe I knew that I needed to get creative. That's where the trusty avocado came in. It might seem crazy, but trust me, you won't even be able to tell that this recipe uses a secret vegetables.
- Oat flour: Whether you're gluten-free or not, oat flour is an amazing whole grain to use in baking. It is high fiber and high protein making it a super filling option. I always go for flours like oat, or almond when I am making a gluten-free baking recipe, because they are healthier than using a simple gluten-free flour mix.
Why make refined sugar free chocolate cake:
Like I previously touched on, this healthy vegan chocolate cake is made using maple crystals to make the chocolate cake refined sugar free, but what about the frosting? How do you make refined sugar free vegan frosting? Date syrup baby! It's no secret I love using dates around here, I mean they are natures candy! I love using date syrups to make recipes like this refined sugar free chocolate cake, because it is more solid than other plant based sweeteners, so it hold its shape better. The combination of date syrup and avocados makes the perfect healthy plant based chocolate frosting!
How to make super moist vegan chocolate cake:
Real quick I am going to share a little backstory with you. When I was little I was obsessed with making cakes. Not just any cakes though, I was into making cake boss types of cakes with fondant and everything. With that said, I've made more cakes than most people probably will in their entire life. I've made birthday cakes, wedding cakes, Holiday cakes, gender reveal cakes, you name it! Over the years of making and perfecting my cake recipes, I learned one simple trick that is sure to make the most moist cake ever.
When you remove your cake from the oven, allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Then you will want to flip the cake onto a cooling rack that in lined with aluminum foil. Cover the cake completely with foil and place in the freezer to freeze overnight. The next day cover the cake in frosting while still cold, and allow to defrost in the fridge. This trick works great for this healthy chocolate cake recipe, or any cake recipe!
What makes this the best vegan chocolate cake:
If I have yet to convince you about how amazing this healthy chocolate cake recipe is, allow me one final chance to persuade you into making it. If all the previous points sound great, but you hate all the work that goes into cooking, do not fear. This refined sugar free chocolate cake is so simple to make! I seriously just threw all the cake ingredients together and baked, then tossed all the frosting ingredients into a blender, and boom! Just like that you get the best healthy vegan chocolate cake recipe!
Ingredients for this healthy vegan chocolate cake:
- Almond flour
- Oat flour
- Flaxseed
- Maple Crystals "VEGAN10" for $10 off!
- Applesauce
- Vanilla extract
- Apple cider vinegar
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Cashew Butter "VEGAN10" for $10 off
- Cacao Powder
- Sea salt
- Plant based milk
- Avocados
- Date Syrup
- Coconut Milk Powder "VEGAN10" for $10 off
Healthy Vegan Chocolate Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 2 ½ cups oat flour
- 2 cups almond
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- ⅓ cup cacao powder
- 1 cup applesauce
- ¼ cup maple crystals
- 2 flax eggs 2 tablespoon ground flaxseed with 6 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon cashew butter
- 1 ½ cup Plant based milk of choice I used oat
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch salt
For the Frosting:
- 3 large hass avocados
- ⅓ cup cacao powder
- ¼ cup date syrup
- ¼ cup coconut milk powder
Instructions
To make the vegan chocolate cake:
- Begin by preheating your oven to 350.
- Make your flax egg and set aside to solidify. Sift together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the applesauce, plant based milk, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract, and cashew butter in a small bowl and whisk together. Add to the dry goods and stir until combined.
- Pour into your sprayed cake dishes and bake for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool before taking out of the pan. I like to freeze mine wrapped in aluminum foil to absorb the moisture. Make sure the cake is COMPLETELY cooled before frosting.
To make the plant based chocolate frosting:
- In a high speed blender, combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. Allow to cool in the fridge for 30 minutes before using. Enjoy!
Kris says
This cake is so rich and fudgy! So amazing. No one would guess it is vegan!
Lucas says
This cake is so stunning! What I love the most is the frosting made out of avocados! Such an incredible and healthier option. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Michelle says
The chocolate dipped strawberries on top are brilliant! Such a simple but elegant and special touch, especially for valentine's day.
Andrea says
this chocolate cake is spectacular! so sweet and delicious!
Shilpa says
This cake is so delicious and perfect. I totally loved the frosting. Thanks for this amazing recipe.
Anaiah says
I love this vegan chocolate cake! Such a nutritious and wholesome way to enjoy sweets.
Tavo says
Great to have a chocolate cake that is guilt-free and not miss out on flavor! Great recipe, thank you!
Samantha says
This is so good!!! And I love that it is vegan. Yum!
nancy says
perfect dessert for a romantic night in or when you want to satisfy the kiddos
Teena says
Can I use egg in this receipe ?
Katie says
I am sure that you could! Since I am vegan I have never tried it with eggs, but I am sure they would work perfectly fine!
dave says
wow what a decadent looking piece of cake!! can't wait to try this recipe
Ana says
I like your healthy spin on desserts! Looking forward to giving this guilt-free dessert a try.
Andrea says
so moist and delicious! love how guilt-free it is too!
Anna - Vegnfit says
It's amazing how something that looks so tempting can be so healthy. I love the idea of avocado-dates frosting. Fantastic cake ?
Connie says
No one has asked, but what should the second ingredient be - 2 cups almonds or 2 cups almond flour (a total of 4 1/2 cups flour, including oat flour)? The cake sounds delicious and I don't want to mess it up by using the wrong ingredient. Thanks.
Katie says
Hi Connie, yes 2 cups of almond flour is correct! I am going to be updating this post soon to include better photos and a more detailed recipe!
Connie says
Now I see almond flour is listed above the recipe as an ingredient. Four and 1/2 cups of flour seems like a lot of flour for a relatively small cake, though.