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Gorgeous, beautiful, rich in flavour, guilty-free, easy to make, gluten and egg free… These are just a couple of words that come to my mind to describe this cake. I’m a big fan of this vegan cake not only because it doesn’t require a lot of effort but because it has incredible taste and I don’t get that feeling of regret I usually get after eating sugary stuff.
Beetroot & Cacao = A Perfect Match
What gives this cake such an epic taste are definitely the ingredients. Beetroot and cacao go very well together and beetroot will keep your vegan gluten-free cake moist too. You will then need good-quality coconut sugar and neutral oil, such as macadamia or avocado oil. And the last bits are milk and flour. You can choose any milk you like – macadamia nut milk, almond, soy, hemp seed milk, and even kefir. As for the flour, my favourite is definitely Bob Red Mill’s gluten-free flour. It’s natural, as a matter of fact, it’s so natural that you have to sift it to remove all the bits of grain and seed husks.
I usually start by combining coconut sugar and oil. When that’s done, I start adding the remaining ingredients but you should do it slowly because it can get messy.
What you are looking for here is a shiny, chocolate mixture, with a bit more liquidy consistency than a regular cake batter. Make sure there are no lumps but don’t overmix the batter. Instead, mix for about 30 seconds, stop, scrape the sides and mix again until you get rid of all the lumps.
I divided my batter into two round cake tins but you can use only one as well. The end result will be the same – epic and vegan gluten-free chocolate cake – you will just need to bake it a bit longer.
So far, it has been easy but now comes the difficult part. You need to wait for the cake to cool down completely. When you get it out of the oven, let the cake rest for about 15 mins and then pop it out and leave to cool down completely.
Taking Your Vegan and Gluten-Free Cake To The Next Level
This cake is amazing as it is on its own, but…
Wait for it…
All you vegan souls out there, you are going to love this. I’m going to flood the cake with vegan chocolate frosting! It calls for only 3 ingredients and it’s finger-licking good!
If you made two thinner cakes as I did, you can put some strawberry or blueberry jam in between before you spread the frosting. The jam will give a new “flavour dimension” to this epic chocolate cake!
Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake Recipe!
Ingredients
- 4 cups Coconut Sugar
- 200 mls Macadamia Oil or Avocado Oil
- 600 grams Bob Mill’s Gluten-Free Flour, sifted
- 2 cups Cacao Powder, sifted
- 850-900 mls 1/2 water and 1/2 milk of your choice ( like Almond Milk or Cashew)
- 2 ½ Tbsp Baking Powder, sifted
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 cups Finely Grated Beetroot (loosely packed)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 170C / 380F.
- Mix the sugar and oil with cake beaters.
- Slowly add the remaining ingredients and mix until combined. Do not overmix.
- Line two (or one big) round cake tins with baking paper.
- Pour the batter into the tins and bake for 45 mins. If you use one tin, bake for 1 hour and 15 mins.
- Allow to rest for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the tins and let the cakes cool down completely.
- Store well covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Prep time: 8 mins
Cooking time: 45 mins / 1h 15 mins
Cooling time: 1 hour
Did it turn out well? Is it rich in taste and decadent? Share photos with me on Facebook!
With love from my kitchen to yours,
Chef Cynthia Louise
