Easy gluten-free vegan chocolate cake with peanut butter! Served with a simple frosting, this dessert is very chocolatey, fluffy and moist, as well as beginner-friendly. No complicated preparation methods required! Perfect with a cup of tea or for special occasions.
If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I’m all about balance. I love green smoothies, but definitely not just green smoothies. Sometimes all I want is a thick slice of cake, and that’s exactly what I have. The process of making a cake is also a lot of fun, and definitely not as intimidating as it sometimes seems.
Regardless of what time of year it is, there are recipes that are just completely fail-proof. Of course, we are all craving chocolate and comfort around winter and the holidays. But, not even the hottest day of the year can stop me from enjoying my favourite desserts.
So, this brings us to this decadent, rich, and non-vegan approved chocolate cake. Yep, this beauty is made with no oil/butter, eggs, or dairy!
About this easy gluten-free vegan chocolate cake
I actually started testing this recipe right before Christmas, and when we made it on Christmas Day the cake disappeared within a couple of hours! Yes, it really is that yummy.
I think the thing that really takes it to the next level is the addition of peanut butter. You might wonder how to achieve a wonderful spongey and moist texture without eggs, butter or dairy, and that’s where the peanut butter comes in.
The cake also has just the right amount of sweetness, which works super well with the frosting.
I used a mix of rice flour and buckwheat flour for this cake, as store-brought gluten-free mixes are all so different and give varying results. Making one yourself leads to the best consistency. I wouldn’t recommend swapping these as the final result may be different in terms of flavour and texture. However, if you decide to change it for anything else, do let me know how it goes.
The cake is sweetened with coconut sugar (my favourite sweetener at the moment) and is super chocolatey thanks to cacao powder. Feel free to add some vegan chocolate chips to up the chocolate factor even more!
The frosting is probably my favourite thing about this cake. It was quite hard not to eat all of it by itself lol. And it’s ridiculously simple, requiring just two ingredients, which are coconut cream and vegan chocolate. Super decadent, super indulgent, super creamy. Because this coconut frosting is so versatile, you could add it to other treats too, such as brownies or cookies.
What’s to love about this cake?
This gluten-free vegan chocolate cake is…
- Incredibly yummy and flavourful.
- Very chocolatey. And we all know that the more chocolate the better.
- Fluffy and moist.
- Gluten-free.
- Oil-free.
- Easy and beginner-friendly. Trust me, you need no baking experience to make this!
- Perfect for sharing. (Although, you probably won’t want to).
- Great for special occasions.
How to make gluten-free vegan chocolate cake
Firstly, preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/150 degrees F. Whisk together the dry ingredients (coconut sugar, rice flour, cacao powder, buckwheat flour, baking powder and baking soda).
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Start with the peanut butter, then gradually add the plant based milk, using a handheld whisk to break apart any clumps. Then, add the apple cider vinegar and flax eggs.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix them together really well, before transferring to two 9-inch round cake tins. Bake in the preheated oven for around 20-25 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the frosting (not forgetting to leave the coconut cream in the fridge for 24 hours beforehand). Drain away the liquid from the coconut cream, then whisk using a handheld electric whisk while pouring in melted vegan chocolate.
I used a mixture of sweet dairy-free chocolate and dark chocolate to achieve a good balance of flavour, but you can adjust this depending on your preference (e.g., using no dark chocolate will result in a very sweet frosting). If the frosting looks too liquidy at the end, leave it in the fridge for around 10 minutes.
Once the cake is ready, allow it to cool for at least 15 minutes before arranging. To arrange, spread a thick layer of the frosting on one of the sponges. Place the other sponge on top followed by another layer of frosting. Decorate as desired and serve immediately. This cake keeps well in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Other vegan dessert recipes
- Gingerbread cake with coconut frosting
- Sweet potato brownies
- Peanut butter cookies with tahini
- Cranberry orange muffins
- Berry and almond polenta cake
Let me know in the comments – what’s your favourite dessert at the moment? If you give this gluten-free vegan chocolate cake a go, be sure to tag me on Instagram (@earthofmariaa) so I can see your creations!
Gluten-free Vegan Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar + 2 tbsp
- 2/3 cup rice flour
- 1/2 cup cacao powder
- 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1 cup plant based milk
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseeds soaked in 1/4 cup water for 5 minutes
For the frosting
- 1 cup coconut cream canned, refrigerated for 24 hours (measure just the solid part)
- 5 oz vegan chocolate of choice melted
Instructions
- Firstly, preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/150 degrees F. Whisk together the coconut sugar, rice flour, cacao powder, buckwheat flour, baking powder and baking soda.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Start with the peanut butter, then gradually add the plant based milk, using a handheld whisk to break apart any clumps. Then, add the apple cider vinegar and flax eggs.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix them together really well, before transferring to two 9-inch round cake tins. Bake in the preheated oven for around 20-25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the frosting (not forgetting to leave the coconut cream in the fridge for 24 hours beforehand). Drain away the liquid from the coconut cream, then whisk using a handheld electric whisk while pouring in melted vegan chocolate.
- I used a mixture of sweet dairy-free chocolate and dark chocolate to achieve a good balance of flavour, but you can adjust this depending on your preference (e.g., using no dark chocolate will result in a very sweet frosting). If the frosting looks too liquidy at the end, leave it in the fridge for around 10 minutes.
- Once the cake is ready, allow it to cool for at least 15 minutes before arranging. To arrange, spread a thick layer of the frosting on one of the sponges. Place the other sponge on top followed by another layer of frosting. Decorate as desired and serve immediately. This cake keeps well in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Made the cake today for my husband’s birthday as he loves chocolate cake. I used wholemeal flour as we are not gluten free – it was just so delicious! As you said it was easy as anything. Thank you very much for this recipe, I am going to write it in my cookbook.
Aw I’m very happy to hear that you liked this recipe! I guess chocolate is always the way to go! Thank you very much for trying it out 🙂
Not a cookbook I am writing but the one I use a lot – just to be clear!
Can I sub the peanut butter for something else?
Yep, you can leave it out or replace it with tahini 🙂