Rob’s Chocolate Gluten-Free Vegan Birthday Cake
This chocolate gluten-free vegan cake is beyond amazing.
I needed to find an egg free cake recipe for Rob due to his spontaneous allergy. In addition, since the cake would be served at our condo association meeting (what a great way to spend a birthday, right?), and one of our dearest friends in the group cannot tolerate gluten, so, I needed a solution!
I found a several different vegan/gluten-free cake recipes. In the end, I located one by the Loopy Whisk (somehow, this sounded appropriate) that I attempted to follow. However, me being me, I found it difficult to truly follow the recipe. For those who really know me, you’ll recognize that Laura likes to be creative and experiment with food. Following a recipe has always been a challenge. I generally use recipes as starting points.
The following recipe is the exact procedure that I used to make Rob’s 2019 birthday cake. I know that if his egg-allergy is with him for life, this cake recipe will be too! It was sincerely delicious. I even enjoyed it and I’m my own worst food critic. How could icing with just 2 ingredients taste good? Don’t question it. Just enjoy.
Rob's Chocolate Gluten-Free Vegan Birthday Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten free flour
- 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
- 3/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups almond milk, unsweetened
Toppings
- 1 cup coconut cream
- 7 oz dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 pint raspberries
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
Optional Decorations
- chocolate shavings
Instructions
Cake
- Prepare: pre-heat the oven to 350 ºF and grease two round cake pans with vegetable oil, OR line with parchment paper.
- Mix all dry ingredients together.
- Soak sugar in almond milk. Stir until dissolved.
- Mix remaining wet ingredients together. Add to dry ingredients. Stir well, until you get a smooth cake batter.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two greased cake tins. Smooth out the tops, and bake in the pre-heated oven at 350 ºF for 45 minutes or until the tops are springy/bouncy to the touch and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow to cool.
Topping
- In a saucepan, heat coconut cream until boiling hot.
- Place the chopped dark chocolate in a heat-proof bowl, and pour over the boiling hot coconut cream. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, then stir it well until you get a glossy, dark, intense chocolate ganache. Allow to cool until only slightly warm.
- In a separate bowl, place the other 1/2 cup of coconut cream. This should be at room temperature or only very slightly cold. Slowly (a tablespoon at a time), stir the chocolate ganache into the coconut cream. At the end, you should be left with a smooth, easily spreadable frosting ideal for decorating.
- Assembly:
- Place bottom cake level on plate, spread topping on top. Top with next layer.
- Decorate with remaining topping, raspberries and chocolate shavings, or other decorations of choice.
Notes
Coconut cream can be crafted by putting coconut milk into the fridge for a few hours. The coconut milk will separate into coconut cream and water content.
