Mint and dark chocolate make the perfect combination for a deliciously delightful vegan chocolate mint cake.
I have made many chocolate cakes in my time and I always look fondly at this Super Simple Vegan Chocolate Cake recipe. It is the first recipe I tried baking after going vegan in 2016, because my husband (then boyfriend) truly believed that all other desserts were superfluous next to chocolate cake. At that time I was (and still remain) an avid follower of the legendary Stephanie Jaworski of JoyofBaking.com. I learned so much about baking from her and set out to veganize a lot of her recipes. Her rich, dark chocolate cake was the first thing I tested in my vegan kitchen.
Now, I always feel like the beginning of summer is truly the best time to bake a chocolate cake. What better way to celebrate brighter, warmer weather than derailing your “beachbody” plans from the get-go? LOLOLOL. Look, I’m all about being fit and healthy, but there should be no arbitrary “clock” that starts in May. I like eating 80% healthy year-round. And I like eating 20% chocolate cake, year-round!
The great thing about summer, of course, is that you have so many berries to choose from in terms of toppings. Blackberries, blueberries, and of course, the iconic strawberry all make wonderful toppings for your chocolate cake. If you’re my husband, the only true soulmate to chocolate cake, though, is vanilla ice cream. Sigh. Is there anything that declares “summer is here!” more brilliantly than a slice of chocolate cake with a scoop of ice cream?
Regardless of the weather, this Super Simple Vegan Chocolate Cake will make your eyes pop at how good it is and it will be one you make so often, you’ll have the recipe memorized (I do!) before you know it.
This Super Simple Vegan Chocolate Mint Cake is:
- Moist
- Intense
- Dark
- Adult
Wow, the above sounds like a description for an improper movie.
Double it to make a layer cake, triple it to wow your friends. You can bake it in a sheet pan to make a sheet pan cake. You can bake them in a muffin pan to make cupcakes. Add chocolate chips/chunks to them for the resident choco-philes in your life. The point is, I want to make this a true “starter recipe” for you—just like it was for me. It paved the way to so many other vegan cakes, cookies, breads, and pastries that I added to my little recipe box over the years and it can do the same for you!
Super Simple Vegan Chocolate Mint Cake
Ingredients
- 1 shot espresso or 1 Tablespoon instant coffee
- 1 cup plant milk
- 1 Tablespoon white or apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup organic sugar
- 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder unsweetened
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 Tablespoon bourbon
- 1/4 overripe banana mashed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease baking pan (I prefer a 6-inch springform pan for this) and line with parchment paper.
- Add vinegar to plant milk and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add all dry ingredients, except for cocoa powder.
- In a small pot, over medium-low heat, add espresso, oil, banana, cocoa powder, vanilla, bourbon, and plant milk+vinegar. Stir until cocoa powder is dissolved.
- Add chocolate mixture to dry ingredients and stir with whisk until all flour is incorporated.
- Pour batter into baking pan and place in oven until toothpick comes out clean (~28-30 mins).
- In a bind for time? Pour into muffin pan and make mini cakes! Cuts baking time by 10 minutes!
- Frost with a little vegan whipped cream mixed with melted chocolate (after it’s cooled) and top with berries!