Secret Chocolate Cake

Shh, let’s keep this Secret Chocolate Cake recipe between us, okay?

A bonus recipe for the last day of 2015, this secret chocolate cake is EASY to assemble and contains no butter or eggs. If you can find non-dairy chocolate chips, you can make it a completely vegan cake. I recently took this cake to a holiday party and it was gobbled up in no time. (And no one knew it was vegan, so don’t tell, okay?)

If you have followed diginwithdana at all this year, you know I LOVE to make basic cakes that require minimal work and decorating. Even if you are a beginner baker, baking can be fun – just read the recipe carefully a few times, gather your ingredients and follow the instructions.

You don’t need a special occasion to make Secret Chocolate Cake. Rich, light and topped with fudge frosting (also called ganache), it’s easier to make than this fancy three layer cake my daughter and I made for her birthday, but every bit as delicious. No mixer required. Just mix together wet and dry ingredients, pour into a pan and bake!

This secret chocolate cake is my way of saying THANK YOU to all of you who read and support diginwithdana. It may not be as fancy as the cake below ( a slice of Heaven and Hell cake from the restaurant Stephan Pyles in Dallas where I trained as a baking intern in 2012), but it’s a lot easier to make and Heaven on a plate!

DIG IN to Secret Chocolate Cake.

You don’t have to tell anyone it’s (almost) vegan.

It’ll just be our little secret.

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★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews

Secret Chocolate Cake

• Author: Dana Gerard
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 32 mins
• Total Time: 52 mins
• Yield: 16 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Cuisine: American

You’d never guess that this rich chocolate cake contains no butter or eggs. Use non-dairy chocolate chips for a completely vegan cake. Three ingredient fudge frosting is so versatile you’ll make it often. It’s good all by itself or with ice cream too.

Ingredients

• 1 cup full fat coconut milk (or your favorite non-dairy milk)
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup coconut oil (melted) or canola oil
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• For the fudge frosting:
• 2/3 cup coconut cream or milk (or non-dairy milk of choice)
• 8 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped, or chocolate chips
• 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
• Pecan halves, sprinkles or other decorations

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and line with parchment paper an 8-inch round or square pan.
2. Combine wet ingredients: Whisk together milk and vinegar and set aside to curdle for a few minutes. Then add sugar, oil, vanilla and mix well.
3. Combine dry ingredients. In another bowl sift together: flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Don’t over mix or cake will be tough.
5. Pour batter into pan and bake for 30 – 32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
6. Place on cooling rack before icing.
7. To make the fudge frosting: In a medium sauce pot, bring coconut cream or milk of choice to a boil over medium heat. Remove boiling milk from heat, stir in chocolate and maple syrup and continue to stir until chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Let cool.
8. Frost the cake: When cake is cool, transfer to a serving plate. Pour frosting a little at a time over the top of the cake and let pool down the sides. Use an offset spatula or knife to smooth frosting evenly over the cake. Refrigerate leftover frosting (it’s good plain and cold.) Garnish the top with pecan halves, sprinkles, berries or decoration of choice.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Isa Chandra Moskowitz‘s book Isa Does It,
Just Chocolate Cake