My friend Kate was willing to sacrifice a birthday dinner so she could watch a co-ed softball game that her friends play on. That's friendship. To show how special she is, I thought I would surprise Kate with cake!
Kate is also vegan, which makes baking a little, but not a lot, trickier. I also had to make something gluten-free if I wanted to make sure everything tasted okay, as any good baker will do. (How do you discover you forgot the sugar unless you taste the batter?) So I went to a website she shared with me, and found this recipe for gluten-free and vegan Mini Chocolate Bundt Cakes.
The cakes were delicious. The cupcakes and the Bundt cakes were moist and soft. The flavor was rich and chocolatey. The frosting was very sweet and faintly coconutty, and went well with the cakes. That said, omit the coconut oil if you don't like coconut. When I originally sampled a cupcake, I preferred the cake without frosting, but I changed my mind the next day. I think the coconut frosting added a nice something special. Both vanilla and chocolate versions of the frosting were delicious.
Overall, the cakes were very tasty and easy to make. They're definitely worth making again some time.
Want different gluten-free cupcakes? Try Gluten-free Vanilla Cupcakes. Want a non-chocolate vegan cupcake? Try these Vegan Orange Cupcakes (although they're not gluten-free). Want a different, not-vegan option? These Brownie Cakelets could be made gluten-free if you substitute cocoa powder or gluten-free flour. Don't have to be vegan and gluten-free? Try Chocolate Stout Cake or Chocolate Sheet Cake.
📖 Recipe
- 1 ½ cups gluten-free flour (you can also use regular flour if you don't need it gluten-free)
- 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum (omit if not making gluten-free)
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup soy milk (cow's milk should also work fine if you don't need them vegan)
- ⅓ cup oil
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ cup non-dairy chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (Trader Joe's are good; Shoprite brand and other store brands are also sometimes dairy-free)
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoon melted coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon hot water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon melted chocolate (optional)
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Grease 12 mini Bundt pans; if you don't have enough, grease some muffin cups as well. Combine dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until well combined. Mixture will thicken as you mix. Stir in chocolate chips. Divide among greased pans and cups. Bake at 350F for 16-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. My Bundt pans released easily, but I ran a toothpick around the edges of the muffins to get them to release.
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Mix together powdered sugar and melted coconut oil. Add hot water and vanilla. Stir in chocolate if using; add cocoa powder as necessary to thicken. Drizzle over cake.
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