Dessert

June 23, 2015

Chunky Monkey Nice Cream Bars

Have you all jumped on the “nice cream” bandwagon yet? Although there isn’t a technical definition, nice cream is a frozen dessert, similar to ice cream, without dairy, eggs, or sugar. It usually consists of blended frozen fruit and, if any, natural sweeteners.

The most popular is the banana based nice cream which is just blended frozen bananas. I know, I totally didn’t believe it either until I tried it for myself one day. It truly turns from hard, frozen banana chunks into a creamy soft serve in just a matter of minutes, no additional ingredients necessary! …

May 26, 2015

Vegan Chocolate Cake With Whipped Ganache

This is a delicious chocolate cake that’s dairy, egg, gluten, and refined sugar free. An easy 2-ingredient whipped chocolate frosting is also included! Recipe includes instructions for a two or three layer cake.

Several years ago, while my children were still very little, I used to make custom cakes for weddings, birthdays, etc. I loved baking and would often make cakes for friend’s and family member’s birthdays. I started getting orders from friends of friends and pretty soon, had a little side business working out of my home. I made everything from scratch, buying pounds of butter, sugar, flour and dozens of eggs on each trip to the grocery store. Many of the cakes I made were similar to pound cakes and because they were more dense, stacked well and could be cut into shapes easily without falling apart.

Do you know why they’re called pound cakes? Because they call for a pound each of butter, sugar, flour and eggs! Add that to the loads of butter and powdered sugar in the buttercream and you have almost a whole stick of butter and cup of sugar in each slice. Yikes!

I was determined to create a cake that was gluten-free, made with healthier ingredients, and still be not only edible, but delicious. I mean, what’s the point of eating cake if it doesn’t taste good?! This recipe is very loosely based off of an old chocolate cake recipe I used all the time. The original recipe uses regular flour, sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, and sour cream, which I replaced with gluten free flour, pure maple syrup, coconut oil, and plain yogurt (or mashed avocado.)

I paired the cake with this easy and delicious whipped ganache, which only has two ingredients. TWO INGREDIENTS, PEOPLE! Chocolate chips and coconut milk are all that is needed to make this fluffy masterpiece. (If you need dairy-free chocolate chips, I like this Enjoy Life brand.)

Ganache is essentially heavy cream mixed with melted chocolate to make a thick glaze, which is great on cakes and truffles. This ganache is made dairy-free by substituting heavy cream with coconut milk. Instead of using it as a glaze, it’s then whipped up and becomes fluffy by incorporating air.

I adapted a recipe I found on Pastry Affair. (Thanks, Kristin!) This was the first time I’ve been able to achieve a fluffy buttercream without the use of powdered sugar or egg whites! It’s not a very sweet frosting, which also depends on the type of chocolate chips you use. I used dark chocolate chips, and although rich, it was absolutely AH-mazing and is my new go-to chocolate frosting!

When frosting the cakes, I like to place some pieces of parchment paper under the edge of the bottom layer, just to help keep the plate clean. Trust me, frosting a cake can get pretty messy and you’ll be happy you took the extra step when after you finish frosting and remove the parchment your plate is still squeaky clean!

Garnish with chocolate shavings or fresh berries. Super simple, yet elegant!

Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting is my favorite combo, but it can also be super rich. I always have a tall glass of cold almond milk with my slice of cake to wash it all down. It’s seriously a MUST!

This cake is simply the BEST vegan & gluten-free chocolate cake EVER, and I hope you try it for yourselves! Enjoy, friends!

Vegan Chocolate Cake With Whipped Ganache

Author: Joscelyn Abreu
Total Time: 1 hour 35 mins
Yield: 8 servings 1x

Print Recipe

Description

This is a delicious chocolate cake that’s dairy, egg, gluten, and refined sugar free. An easy 2-ingredient whipped chocolate frosting is also included!

Ingredients

Scale

TWO Layer Chocolate Cake: (3 layer variation below)

2 cups gluten-free flour – I use King Arthur Gluten Free Multipurpose Flour or Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour OR 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup melted Coconut Oil, avocado oil, or vegetable oil
1/2 cup plain non-dairy yogurt or 1 small ripe avocado, (pureed with no chunks)
1 cup Pure Maple Syrup
1 cup strong coffee (just to enhance chocolate flavor, but you can also use water or almond milk)
1/2 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
whipped ganache for TWO layers, recipe below
chocolate shavings from chocolate bar, optional
parchment paper, extra coconut oil and flour for cake pans

Whipped Ganache for TWO layers:

2/3 cup full-fat coconut milk
2 cups chocolate chips or chopped chocolate of choice (dark, semi-sweet, milk, white, etc.)

THREE Layer Chocolate Cake: (As pictured. See note 1)

3 cups gluten-free all-purpose – I use King Arthur Gluten Free Multipurpose Flour or Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour or regular unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup melted coconut oil, avocado/olive oil or other oil of choice
3/4 cup non-dairy plain yogurt or 1 medium ripe avocado (pureed with no chunks)
1 1/2 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 cup coffee (can also use almond milk or other milk of choice)
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla
whipped ganache for THREE layers, recipe below
chocolate shavings from chocolate bar, optional
parchment paper, extra coconut oil and flour for cake pans

Whipped Ganache for Three Layers:

3 cups chocolate chips or chopped chocolate of choice (dark, semi-sweet, milk, white, etc.)
1 cup full-fat coconut milk

Instructions

Make Ganache: (see note 1)

The ganache needs an hour or so to chill, so best to make this ahead of time or at least before you start on the cake. Heat the coconut milk and chocolate in a large heat-safe mixing bowl over a double boiler (stirring often) until chocolate is thoroughly melted and mixture is smooth. Cover and place mixture into the fridge or freezer for 1–2 hours or until chilled and firm. If mixture isn’t cold and hardened, the frosting may be a bit more loose.
After the chocolate mixture is firm, beat with an electric mixer on high speed for several minutes until light and fluffy. If it’s too thick, add extra milk a little splash at a time while mixing, until frosting is fluffy.

Prepare Pans:

Lightly grease two or three (whichever recipe you’re making) 8-inch round cake pans with coconut oil or palm shortening. Line the bottom with parchment paper and use a knife to cut out a circle to fit the bottom of the pan. Parchment paper helps the cake not to stick to the bottom of the pan. Grease top of parchment paper and set aside until needed.

Mix Batter:

Preheat oven to 325F. In a large mixing bow, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir together and then add in coconut oil, yogurt/mashed avocado, maple syrup, coffee, vinegar, and vanilla. (If using avocado, make sure your avocado mash is free of any clumps. You can puree the avocado in a food processor or push through a sieve with a rubber scrapper if it is clumpy.)
Mix everything together until thoroughly combined. Use a rubber scrapper to stir the bottom of bowl, making sure to mix in any excess flour.
Evenly distribute batter into the prepared cake pans. Place on the middle rack of your oven and bake for 18-22 minutes, just until the center of the cake is set and no longer jiggly. Do not overbake. Remove from the oven and let pans thoroughly cool on cooling racks.

Frosting Cakes:

The cakes must be thoroughly cooled before frosting or the frosting will melt off. When you remove the cake from the pan, use a knife or offset spatular around the edge of the cake if it is sticking to the pan. Carefully flip onto a plate or rack, removing the parchment paper round that may come out with the cake.
If making the cake ahead of time, you can wrap and freeze the cake layers until needed.
To frost the cakes:
Place your first cake layer on a plate or serving platter. I like to place additional pieces of parchment paper just under the edge around the bottom layer to keep the frosting from getting on the serving plate.
Scoop a dollop of frosting on the bottom layer and use an offset spatula or rubber scrapper to spread the frosting evenly across the layer. Place the other layer on top and repeat, frosting the sides of cake with remaining whipped ganache. Carefully remove parchment pieces from around the cake and serve. I like to top the cake with fresh berries or chocolate curls, which you can get by running a vegetable peeler down the side of a chocolate bar (warm chocolate in the microwave for a few seconds to get better curls.) Depending on the size of the slices cut, this cake serves 8-12 people.

Notes

1. I’ve made this whipped ganache with more and less coconut milk with varying results. It may depend on how watery your coconut milk is, but most of the times that I’ve made it with more milk, the frosting was too loose for my liking. I prefer it firm enough to hold its shape, especially if you want to pipe it on a cake or cupcakes. In order to get the best consistency, I’ve found it easier to use less milk in the beginning and add a little more while whipping, if needed.

Prep Time: 1 hour 15 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Category: Dessert

More Recipes Like This:

Chocolate Sheet Cake with Whipped Ganache

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate Raspberry Layer Cake

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April 21, 2015

Chocolate Coconut Cream Pie

This chocolate coconut cream pie has a delicious raw brownie crust, a velvety smooth chocolate pudding filling, and fluffy whipped coconut cream on the top!

What’s better than chocolate for dessert?!

How about a chocolate on chocolate dessert…

or better yet, a chocolate on chocolate dessert that doesn’t require the use of your stove? Yeah, now we’re talkin’!

This pie. Words cannot describe how in love I am with this creation. It’s a bunch of my favorite things wrapped up in a slice of chocolatey yumminess….

April 8, 2015

Healthier Lemon-Blackberry Bars

These healthier lemon-blackberry bars are a perfect balance of tart and sweet. They’re also gluten, dairy, & refined sugar free!

When life gives you lemons, make some yummy LEMON BARS!

I’m a lemon person. Like, I really LOVE lemons! Lime’s okay too, I guess, but if a silly scenario ever occurred where I had to choose only one or the other to eat for the rest of my life, lemon would win, hands down. To imagine a life without lemonade, lemon poundcake, lemon poppyseed muffins, or lemon wedges to squirt onto my seafood, is kind of depressing. And what about lemon bars?! It’s only one of the greatest lemon desserts EVER! It’s the dessert I always seek out at baby showers and tea parties. It’s that quintessential lemony treat that mixes the perfect amount of tart and sweet.

So, needless to say, lemon bars were one of the desserts I had to find a way to make a little healthier so that I could make it guilt-free for my family. I mean, I wouldn’t want to have to wait until the next person had a baby to hopefully have a piece;-)

I wanted the ingredients to be simple, using stuff I already had in my pantry. I understand occasionally needing a specialty ingredient, but I love finding ways I can make something out of the stuff I already have (My husband thinks I make way too many trips to the grocery store, so he would be happy to hear me say that:)

Some of these ingredients can be substituted if you don’t have the particular one I used. I’ll include some of those substitutions in the recipe….

February 13, 2015

Homemade Jello Jigglers

My kids LOVE helping out in the kitchen. It could also be that, like me, they love being near the food;) Whatever the reason, we especially enjoy making yummy treats together during the holidays!

This year to celebrate Valentine’s Day, we made these easy, homemade jello jigglers with cutout hearts! They are delicious, simple to make, require only 2 ingredients, and are just the prettiest little things!

Gelatin has long been labeled as a healthy snack for its ability to improve the growth of hair, skin and nails, and for its added source of protein. I’m not talking about the prepackaged boxed jello that’s filled with sugar and artificial colors and ingredients. Why make that when you can just as easily make a pan of this homemade, healthy jello!…

December 19, 2014

Gingerbread Madeleines

These delicious gingerbread madeleines are gluten free and made with natural sweeteners so you can enjoy a few extra!

I love the Christmas holiday season. Spending time with friends and family, watching classic Christmas movies, decorating the Christmas tree are some of my favorite things to do this time of year. I’m also a big baker and it gives me the perfect excuse to bake! There were so many recipes I wanted to try this month, gingerbread being one of them. I wanted to make something with a gingerbread flavor that was not your typical loaf cake or cut-out cookie.

I came across my long lost madeleine pan and I knew I had to make some for the holidays. Madeleines are one of my favorite treats to enjoy with a cup of tea. I usually make them with a hint of lemon. This time of year, I thought I’d try combining this tea cake with the flavor of gingerbread. I was so happy with the result!

I love madeleines because they’re the perfect cross between a cake and a cookie, my two favorite sweet treats! They also make such a pretty presentation at any holiday gathering. Did I mention these are gluten free and made with natural sweeteners?

That is, they’re made with natural sweeteners if you don’t sprinkle them with powdered sugar! I typically don’t use powdered sugar on the ones I make for my family, but many people do add it for presentation purposes. Feel free to add some or leave it off, it’s totally optional. Hopefully these bring you some holiday cheer! Enjoy, friends!