This small batch chocolate cake is so RICH and CHOCOLATEY, with a fluffy gluten-free texture and fruit-dyed pink vegan buttercream. Perfect for a sweet Valentine’s Day treat, or any other occasion!
What started as a mission to create a cute mini cake for Valentine’s Day turned into a weekend of nonstop cake testing (I think there were 8 trial runs…maybe 9) and perfecting my new favorite vegan gluten-free chocolate cake recipe. Because even though I have other of chocolate cake recipes I love – like this paleo-friendly layer cake or this oil-free recipe – I just can’t resist the challenge of developing a new one, an even fluffier one, a perfect-for-heart-shaped-baking-and-pink-frosting one. This is THAT ONE.
How To Make A Small Batch Chocolate Cake
By “small batch” I mean 6-inch, but there is still enough batter for 2 thick layers and still enough slices for easily serving 8 people or so. We’ll get into the decor details in a little bit, for now let’s focus on the vegan gluten-free batter…
Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake Ingredients
My number one focus in developing this recipe was the crumb texture. I wanted it to be light, fluffy, defined, moist – all those delicious cake adjectives. Hence why it took so many test batches, and hence why this isn’t the shortest ingredient list you’ll ever see. But I promise it’s worth it, and I promise you will get the best texture results if you measure by weight instead of volume to ensure your ratios are identical to mine.
- The wet ingredients:
- Almond milk + apple cider vinegar. A.k.a. vegan “buttermilk”.
- Flax eggs. Or regular chicken eggs if you aren’t vegan.
- Coconut oil. Or another neutral flavored oil like avocado. Or melted vegan butter.
- Vanilla extract.
- The dry ingredients:
- Flours. We are using a combination of 3: gluten-free all purpose, almond, and coconut. The gluten-free binds and holds everything together, the almond adds moisture and a defined texture, the coconut adds fluff and prevents any mushy-ness.
- Coconut sugar. I did test with granulated sugar, and it was a bit dry. Coconut is perfect, brown sugar would be fine too.
- Cocoa powder. Duh.
- Espresso powder. Not essential, but great for enhancing the rich chocolatey flavor.
- Baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
I know that’s a fair few ingredients, but scroll down and just look at that texture…😍
Dairy-Free Naturally Dyed Pink Buttercream
Okay but back to the Valentine’s vibe! Now that we’ve nailed the cake part (and let it cool completely before frosting, of course), it’s time to have fun with the pink decor. I opted for all natural, fruit-based adornments for this cake: pitaya pink buttercream, a pitaya dusting, and strawberry cutout hearts. You could also use sprinkles or fresh berries or shredded coconut “sprinkles” or candy hearts or anything else festive and sweet.
Pitaya powder is one of my favorite natural food colorings because it is unbelievably vibrant and just has a very mild slightly sweet flavor. You just need a teaspoon or two for the entire batch of buttercream, but adjust to your own liking. You could also try beetroot powder, but in my experience it’s more of a dull red than a purple-pink like pitaya. You could also skip the cooling entirely, and just go with white buttercream and colorful decorations on top.
Note! This is a full-sized batch of buttercream even though it’s just a 6-inch cake. If you plan to cover the sides completely, you will need a full batch. If you want to just frost in-between the layers and on top (naked cake style), you can half the batch.
Tips For Baking The Sweetest Valentine’s Day Cake
- Do not underbake the cakes. If you bounce-back or toothpick test and you can’t quite tell if it’s done, add 5 more minutes. Egg-free cakes can easily sink in the middle if you don’t make sure it’s fully baked through in the middle, and we don’t want that.
- Don’t have a 6 inch cake pan? You can bake in a 9×9″ square pan as well and just have a single layer cake instead, but you will need to increase the bake time by 10-15 minutes.
- Let the cakes cool COMPLETELY. This is essential before layering or frosting. Ideally if you have time, I like to chill the cakes overnight to make frosting easiest.
- Bake and serve with the cutest festive Valentine’s Day towels in your kitchen! Geometry House (affiliate link) is the only brand of kitchen towels I use in my kitchen because they’re the most absorbent and come in an abundance of BEAUTIFUL designs (literally over 30 pages of pattern options!). They just release their limited edition Valentine’s collection and I snagged some sweet ones like the black and white heart and strawberry ones you see throughout this post. You can use code NATALIE15 for 15% off any of their gorgeous towels HERE.
More Valentine’s Recipes You’ll Love
Small Batch Chocolate Layer Cake
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cooling Time: 4 hours
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 5 hours 30 minutes
Yield: 3 slices 1x
Category: cakes
Method: baking
Cuisine: american
Diet: Vegan
Description
This small batch chocolate cake is so RICH and CHOCOLATEY, with a fluffy gluten-free texture and fruit-dyed pink vegan buttercream. Perfect for a sweet Valentine’s Day treat, or any other occasion!
Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake
- 1/4 cup (50g) coconut oil, melted
- 2 flax eggs (2 tbsp flax meal + 6 tbsp water)*
- 1 1/4 cup (300g) almond milk
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (135g) coconut sugar
- 3/4 cups (84g) almond flour
- 1/3 cup (40g) coconut flour
- 3/4 cup (93g) gluten-free flour
- 3/4 cup (60g) cocoa powder
- 1 tsp espresso powder (optional)
- 2 tsps baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
Pink Buttercream Frosting**
- 1 cup vegan butter, softened (2 sticks)
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2–3 tbsp non-dairy milk
- 2 tsps pitaya powder***
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease two 6 inch cake pans (heart shaped ones I used).
- Prepare the flax eggs and set aside to gel.
- Stir the apple cider vinegar into the almond milk, and set aside for 10 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flours, cocoa powder, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda, espresso powder, and salt. Whisk to sift/combine.
- In a separate bowl, combine the coconut oil, flax eggs, almond milk mixture, and vanilla. Whisk together.
- Add wet to dry, and stir to form a thick batter.
- Divide evenly between the two prepared pans (I like to use a scale for this), and smooth the tops.
- Bake for 28-30 minutes, or until the center of the cake bounces back when lightly pressed.
- Cool for 30 minutes in the pan, then flip/remove from the pans and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. (Preferably wrap and refrigerate overnight before frosting, it will make frosting easier, but not essential)
For the frosting:
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the softened butter on high until fluffy.
- Add powdered sugar slowly on low speed
- Once it is mostly incorporated, add the vanilla, milk, and pitaya (dragonfruit) powder.
- Turn the mixer up to high speed and whip for an addition 30 seconds.
- Frost and layer the cooled cakes, top with berries or decor of choice. Slice and serve.
Notes
*Or real eggs if not vegan, tested with both.
**Or try this pink raspberry frosting that is made with raw cashews if you are looking for something without refined sugar/vegan butter.
***This is my favorite natural pink food coloring, but you can use beet powder (not as vibrant) or food coloring as well.
Keywords: Valentine’s Day, mini, layer, frosting, pink, dairy free, gluten free, almond flour, dragonfruit, pitaya, buttercream
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