Let’s kick off 2021 with this simple, vegan, whole grain chocolate loaf cake. It’s tender, moist, made in 1-bowl, and super easy to throw together. This is definitely one of those no-one-knows-its-vegan type of recipes, as it truly just tastes like a traditional chocolate loaf cake. Feel free to tell people it’s made without eggs and butter…or not.
This cake is good enough to snack on as is, but of course I opted to to send it into chocolate-cake-of-my-dreams territory with a thick layer of frosting. Salted peanut butter frosting, to be exact.
If you’re a fan of salty-sweet desserts, you’re going to obsess over this rich chocolate cake.
Let’s make it!
how to make a vegan chocolate cake
It’s simple, really. Everything gets mixed together in 1 bowl with a whisk and/or a spoon, poured into a loaf pan, and baked for 45 minutes.
Despite technically being a vegan cake, this recipe doesn’t have any weird ingredients or vegan egg replacers…it just has your standard cake ingredients, minus the eggs.
I’m talking whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, coconut sugar (or brown sugar), oil, vanilla, and coffee- yes, coffee.
Coffee is used as the liquid here to add both acidity and a deeper flavor to the cake. This cake does not, even a little bit, taste like coffee. It just makes the cake taste more rich and chocolatey!
Despite having zero eggs replacers or unusual ingredients, it still holds it’s structure well and yields a tender, moist, deeply chocolatey cake.
I’m not fighting it.
don’t skip the salted peanut butter frosting
If you are a chocolate peanut butter lover, I cannot urge you strongly enough to make this frosting.
It gets stirred together by hand in just a few minutes with some basic pantry ingredients, and takes this cake to a whole other level.
To make it you’ll need:
- Peanut butter. We’re using the all natural kind made from just peanuts and salt, not the stabilized kind (like skippy/jif) made with hydrogenated oils and added sweeteners.
- Coconut oil. I always use unrefined coconut oil and don’t think it’s particularly coconut-y tasting, but you could use refined coconut oil if needed for zero coconut flavor whatsoever. Likewise, vegan butter, ghee, or softened butter all work here instead as the base of this frosting (but obviously not all of them are vegan-friendly, so keep that in mind if using a substitute and you want this cake to be fully vegan!).
- Powdered sugar. Just 1/4 cup adds a nice level of sweetness to this frosting without taking away from the peanut butter flavor. I don’t use powdered sugar all that often, so when I need some, I just make my own. Blend organic cane sugar in a small food processor/blender until powdered, and you have powdered sugar! You could also do this with coconut sugar if you’re looking for a less refined sugar option.
- Vanilla. Just a little bit, for added depth of flavor.
the best part?
Once the cake is cooled and frosted, it gets a generous sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top. Not only does this make it look extra pretty, but the pop of salt in each bite is a game changer.
It takes this cake from strictly sweet, to a more balanced, nuanced, anytime-of-day-snack type of cake.
Truthfully, I can’t get enough. We’re only two weeks into the year and I’ve already made this loaf three times. I might need to make another one this weekend because a life without cake is a sad life, indeed.
If you make this chocolate loaf cake with salted peanut butter frosting, be sure to let me know what you think! Leave a comment below, or take a picture of your cake and share it with me on Instagram so I can see!!
Chocolate Loaf Cake with Salted Peanut Butter Frosting
Ingredients
cake
- 1 1/3 cups strong coffee, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup avocado oil or olive oil
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar or organic brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat all-purpose flour white whole wheat, whole wheat pastry, or whole spelt flour can all be used interchangeably here
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
salted peanut butter frosting
- 1/2 cup salted peanut butter
- 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil, soft at room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- generous pinches flaky sea salt, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Grease a loaf pan with a drizzle of avocado or olive oil, and use your fingers or a paper towel to spread evenly in the pan.
- Place coffee, oil, sugar, and vanilla into a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add all remaining cake ingredients (flour, cocoa, baking powder + soda, salt) and whisk again to fully combine.
- Pour batter into prepared loaf pan, and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and let cool completely before frosting (about 1 hour)
- Once cake is cool, make the frosting. Stir together peanut butter and coconut oil in a small bowl until completely smooth. Add vanilla and powdered sugar, and stir again until smooth. Taste and add more powdered sugar, if needed, to achieve your desired sweetness level.
- Place cake on a serving dish and cover top with frosting. Sprinkle generously with flaky sea salt- using more or less depending on how much you enjoy the combination of salty-sweet. Slice and serve immediately.
- Leftovers can be kept covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.