It’s my sister’s birthday today and since I’m not home, I made her a virtual chocolate cake! She’s not vegan/vegetarian, but she’s interested in healthy eating and doesn’t eat much dairy, so I went with a healthier double chocolate vegan snack cake sweetened with banana and coconut sugar.
Usually I stick to light spelt flour for cakes but since this is a snack cake, it’s whole grain, low fat, and low sugar. Still really chocolatey and tasty, though! The end result is a little dense and not too sweet, perfect for snacking. Chocolate is definitely the dominant flavour and who doesn’t like cake for breakfast?
The tradition was always to make black forest cake for my sister’s birthday, but since I’m not big on refined sugar and frozen cherries are crazy expensive, plain chocolate was just fine. There is a recipe in the archives for dairy & grain free black forest cupcakes (from her birthday 3 years ago!) if you love cherries. I chatted with Heidi about it too and she encouraged me to do a more basic chocolate cake since they can be a bit tricky to find both vegan and whole grain/refined sugar free.
Since it’s pretty simple, you could add lots of different flavours to the cake, like any kind of red berries, orange, nuts, spices, and so on. Think of it as a base cake; you can have it as is, which is very good, or use it as a blank canvas to add to. It’s a nice valentine’s option if you want to make something, and I listed a few other nice romantic-ish recipes at the end of the post if you’re looking for a little inspiration.
Let’s connect! If you liked this recipe, make sure to leave a comment below, I love hearing from you! Tag me on instagram @occasionallyeggs and #occasionallyeggs so I can see what you’re making, and stay in touch via facebook, pinterest, and bloglovin.
Vegan Chocolate Snack Cake
This low sugar and vegan chocolate snack cake is sweetened partly with banana, and made with whole grain spelt flour for a healthier version of a chocolate cake. Perfect for snacking and I've eaten it for breakfast, too.
Ingredients
- 280 grams / 2 cups whole spelt flour*
- 100 grams / 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 50 grams / 1/2 cup cocoa
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder
- 50 grams dark chocolate, chopped (1/2 a bar)
- 375 ml / 1 1/2 cups oat milk**
- 60 ml / 1/4 cup sunflower seed oil***
- 1 large overripe banana, mashed****
- Extra chocolate, for drizzle
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F and grease a 20cm / 8 inch square baking tin.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, coconut sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla. Stir in the chopped chocolate.
- In a smaller bowl, mix the milk, oil, and banana until combined. Add to the flour mixture and stir until just mixed and no streaks of flour remain. Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin and bake on the centre rack for 40-45 minutes, or it passes a toothpick test.
- Place the cake onto a rack and cool for ten minutes in the tin before removing and cooling completely. It keeps well in a sealed container on the counter for about three days and may be frozen.
- To make the chocolate drizzle, melt a few squares of chocolate in a heat-safe bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cake and serve immediately. The chocolate will set after a while but it'll still taste good.
Notes
* I'm sure you can substitute light spelt flour or another whole grain flour like einkorn or kamut with good results.
**Oat milk or another light milk, like almond or cashew, can be used.
*** Any light-tasting oil will work here, as does olive oil if you don't mind a bit of a fuller taste. Coconut oil makes it very dense so it's best avoided here.
**** This was a 200 gram banana, weighed with the peel still on it. You know, so you don't peel a banana in the grocery store to weigh it. Any large-ish banana will be fine.
• I'm sure you can use a regular round tin or a springform, but I haven't tried it. The baking time will differ slightly so just keep an eye on it if you do use a different type of tin.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1 pieceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 222Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 5gSodium: 227mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 4gSugar: 16gProtein: 5g
This data is provided by a calculator and is a rough estimation of the nutritional information in this recipe.
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Asha Shivakumar says
Happy Birthday to your sister!!
This looks absolutely amazing and snack cake, how perfect!!!
xoxo
Traci | Vanilla And bean says
Happy birthday sister! You're so sweet to make this for her… then devour it for her too! lol. Oh the power of bananas and chocolate. This looks absolutely scrumptious Alexandra. And Oh how you tease us with that drizzly chocolate! So much goodness!
Alexandra Daum says
Thanks so much, Asha! <3
Alexandra Daum says
lol! She texted me to say she's going to make it – maybe I'll be there one year for her birthday, who knows! Thanks, Traci 🙂 A little dark chocolate (or a lot!) is good for the soul!
Nicky Hawthorne says
Did you drizzle chocolate syrup on top? I’m gonna make this this wkend for a party. Want mine to look as cool as yours!
Alexandra Daum says
It's melted chocolate! I forgot to note that in the recipe, I'm going to update it. It does set though after about half an hour, so if you want it to be really shiny you could either do it just before serving or mix a little oil (like hazelnut, maybe?) with the chocolate when you melt it. It still tastes good when it's set though!
Heidi | The Simple Green says
Happy belated birthday to your sis! I'm looking forward to trying this over the weekend…the photos/styling make me want to eat this so bad!
Nicky Hawthorne says
Thanks! I’ll try your oil idea ?
Alexandra Daum says
Thanks Heidi! Can't wait to hear how you like it 🙂
Helen says
I just mad this, and I can honestly say it is the best chocolate cake I have ever had. I am not a big fan of super sweet cakes so this was perfect! It is also filling in a good way, will sure make again soon!
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
So happy to hear that Helen, thank you!
Carson says
Is there a sub for applesauce? Made this before with banana and really enjoyed it.
Alexandra Daum says
I haven’t tried it, but you should be able to make it with a slightly lower amount of applesauce in place of the banana. I’m thinking between 50-70g but would have to test to get an exact amount.