Let me guess, your first thought when seeing this recipe was ‘how exactly is healthy vegan chocolate cake a traditional Maltese recipe?’ The short answer here is: ‘it’s not’. Then why is it on my blog? Let me explain…
I was invited to make a chocolate cake and some sweets for the 3rd edition of the Women in Me event! I was super excited and obviously wanted to be part of the event, although, I’ll admit I was slightly nervous. This was my first time catering for so many people. Just to give you an idea, I baked over 250 servings of cake and over 500 servings of my healthy baci and kwarezimal!
Most of the ladies present at the event got to taste the cake. Thankfully, there wasn’t a bad word around! Everyone loved this healthy chocolate cake, and many of those present even asked me for the recipe. And now I’m sharing this vegan cake recipe with all of you, so you can make your own at home.
And just in case you’re wondering, the event turned out to be really fun! I was joined by Roberta who is my lifetime best friend and the designer behind The Healthy Malteser. We even stole 5 minutes to take silly photos in the photo booth, which you can check out below 😁
My vegan chocolate cake was served without frosting during the event – it would have been too messy to eat! So it doesn’t need any frosting and tastes divine without it. Wait, who am I kidding? Everyone loves frosting on their cake! You can make your cake more decadent and special, with a layer of Healthy Vegan Chocolate Frosting.
Let’s talk about Vegan Chocolate Cake
This dairy free chocolate cake recipe is very similar to the sponge cake in my Prinjolata, but with plenty of chocolate added. I love how that sponge cake turned out. I loved it so much that, while making Prinjolata, I ended up eating the cake on its own before it made into the actual mixture. Therefore, creating a chocolate version of that sponge cake was a no-brainer to me.
In my first attempt, I used the exact same proportions and simply added some unsweetened cocoa powder and dark chocolate. I asked some family and friends to test it out and surprisingly, they all had one thing to say … more chocolate! I obliged.
The second time round, I used a different cocoa powder which had a more robust dark chocolate flavour. I also increased the amount of melted chocolate. The result – a vegan chocolate cake with a rich chocolatey taste and an airy, yet still moist, and slightly fudgy texture. The perfect combination I was after.
Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
Not everyone has the time or patience to wait for a cake to cook and cool. No problem! You can use the exact same recipe to make vegan chocolate cupcakes instead. This reduces bake time by half. If you’re making cupcakes, simply divide the healthy chocolate cake recipe mixture into 13-14 cupcake liners, bake in the oven for 20 minutes and voila!
If you decide to frost your cake or cupcakes, there’s one thing you absolutely need to do. Make sure they COOL COMPLETELY before you frost and decorate your creations. If you skip this step, the coconut milk will melt and make a mess.
Another thing to keep in mind while making frosting is that the coconut milk can remain a bit lumpy if not beaten properly. It is therefore very important to ensure there are no lumps or little balls in the frosting. If there are lumps, these will get stuck in the piping bag and ruin your decoration. Finally, Do not over-beat the coconut milk or it will turn watery again.
Don’t feel like chocolate? Check out this healthy vegan carrot cake recipe! And if you’re not in the mood for vegan cake, why not try one of these healthy vegan desserts? You’ll also find plenty of healthy recipes for savoury options too if that’s your thing.
Healthy Vegan Chocolate Cake
Equipment
- Food Processor
- 25cm Springform Pan
Ingredients
- 225 ml Almond Milk or other dairy free milk
- 2 tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
- 100 g Soya Yogurt
- 2 tsp Vanilla Essence
- 3 Tbsp Olive Oil 21g
- 100 g Oat Flour you can make your own by blitzing oats in a food processor for around 2 minutes
- 150 g Wholemeal Wheat Flour
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- Pinch Salt
- 50 g Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 100 g Sweetener I use Xylitol
- 50 g Sultanas
- 60 g Stevia Sweetened Dark Chocolate
- 1 recipe Healthy Chocolate Hazelnut Frosting optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 175°C.
- Mix in the Chocolate and Sultanas with the oat flour and keep processing until all ingredients are finely chopped. Set aside in a separate bowl.
- Add the wet ingredients (milk, lemon juice, soy yogurt, vanilla, olive oil) to the bowl of your food processor and give them a quick mix.
- Add all the remaining ingredients, including the oat-sultana-chocolate mixture to the wet ingredients and process for a couple of minutes to achieve a smooth cake batter texture.
- If you’re making a cake: pour the mixture into an 8-inch pan or silicone mold and bake for 35-40 minutes. You’ll know that the cake is cooked if a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- If you’re making cupcakes: pour the mixture into 14 cupcake molds and bake for 20 minutes. Do not overfill the cupcake mold, the mixture should fill around ¾ of the mold as the cupcakes will rise in the oven.
Video
Notes
If you use My Fitness Pal to log your food, you can find this recipe listed on the database as ‘The Healthy Malteser Healthy Vegan Chocolate Cake’.
*The nutritional info is for the cake only. The frosting is listed separately as ‘Healthy Chocolate Hazelnut Frosting’.
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