Vegan Chocolate Birthday Cake
This vegan Chocolate Birthday Cake with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting is sure to be a hit with party goers from 1 to 100! Rich, moist, and full of flavor...plus so easy to make!
Servings: 8 people
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cake:
- 3/4 cup dairy free milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup applesauce
- 1/4 cup neutral flavored oil (I use avocado)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Strawberry Buttercream (see note):
- 1 bag freeze dried strawberries (1 ounce, see notes)
- 1 cup dairy free butter (I use Earth Balance)
- 1 pound powdered sugar (see note)
- 1/4 cup dairy free milk (plus more as needed to get the right consistency)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
For the Chocolate Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 375°. Spray two 6 inch pans with cooking spray and set aside.
- Pour non dairy milk and apple cider into a small bowl and whisk together. Set aside to allow the vinegar to curdle the milk.
- Place flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir together. Set aside.
- Add applesauce, oil, maple syrup, and vanilla to the milk mixture. Whisk together.
- Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and whisk together until completely incorporated.
- Divide the batter into the two 6-inch baking pans. Bake for 45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean with only a few crumbs.
- Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting.
For the Strawberry Buttercream:
- Place the freeze dried strawberries in a food processor and blend until completely turned to powder.
- For easier mixing, cut the butter up into smaller pieces.
- Add the strawberry powder, butter, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla into an electric mixer. Mix, working from low to high speed, until completely smooth. Add additional milk, a tiny bit at a time, until desired consistency is reached.
- Once the cake is completely cooled, frost and assemble the cake. Decorate as desired with sprinkles or strawberries! Serve and enjoy!
Notes
I buy my freeze dried fruit at Whole Foods. You can also find it at Trader Joe's. Be careful when blending, as some bags contain a silica packet for freshness. Remove that FIRST before blending.
Strawberry Buttercream recipe makes enough frosting for two cakes (4 layers). I usually make the full batch anyway, as I love to spread it on waffles, pancakes, and spoons!
You can try to reduce the powdered sugar in the frosting to 3 1/2 to 4 cups if you'd like, but you'll also have to reduce the amount of milk. Add it 1 Tablespoon at a time until you get the consistency that you like.
For Cupcakes: this recipe makes 1 dozen cupcakes. Bake for 30 minutes and then check with a toothpick. The toothpick should come out clean, with a few crumbs sticking to it. Bake for 5 minutes more if needed.