This layered chocolicious, berrylicious vegan chocolate blueberry cake will be your new favourite summer dessert! So simple, so easy AND no processed sugar needed!
The satisfying rich flavours of chocolate combined with the fruity juiciness of the berries is like a dream come true. It’s the perfect symphony of tastes where no one flavour is overpowering.
Whether you want to make this for your bestie’s birthday, for your BBQ party, or for yourself to enjoy, this cake will not disappoint! It looks fancy but it’s seriously the easiest cake you’ll ever make!!
So, chuck on that apron, and let’s get into it!
Ingredients
For the cake
- plain flour (gluten-free flour works, too, see ‘substitutions’)
- cacao powder
- water or mylk
- vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
- maple syrup
- vanilla
- apple cider vinegar
- bicarb/baking soda
- salt
- blueberries (fresh or frozen)
For the chocolate icing
- dairy-free yoghurt
- cacao powder
- soft Medjool dates (pitted)
- vanilla
(see recipe card for quantities)
Flour of choice: I generally bake with spelt or kamut flour, but obviously, regular wheat flour works fine as well. For gluten-free, see ‘substitutions’ below.
Cacao powder: I prefer cacao over cocoa powder because it’s raw and unprocessed whereas cocoa has been heat-treated and has less nutrients. However, feel free to use cocoa instead!
Water: Honestly, in this cake, just water is fine, trust me. And if you don’t, use any vegan milk you like. An exception is tinned coconut milk because it’s fairly rich and may weigh down the cake a bit.
Maple syrup: I love using maple syrup to sweeten my desserts because it’s one of the most natural sugars in its rawest form. See ‘substitutions’ for other options.
Blueberries: It doesn’t really matter whether you take fresh or frozen blueberries. This recipe works with both.
The icing: This recipe is a very simple one and ohhhh, so delicious. You can definitely make a different chocolate icing, there are so many good recipes out there! I just love the tart flavour of the yoghurt and how it pairs with the cake.
Equipment
You don’t need anything special to make the cake. However, if you like to make my icing recipe, you will need a food processor or a high-speed blender that is designed to process dates as well (such as a Thermomix or Vitamix).
The best cake tins to use are Ø20cm (8”) round tins or spring forms. The recipe is enough for two, so you get the layers and don’t have to fiddle with slicing the cake in half.
You can skip the layers and bake the cake in a larger spring form as well. The bake time will probably be a bit longer, just so you’re aware and keep an eye on the cake while in the oven.
Instructions
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 175 °C/350 °F and grease and flour the cake tins for easy removal after baking, or line with baking paper. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cacao powder, salt and bicarb.
Step 2. Add water, vegetable oil, maple syrup, vanilla and apple cider vinegar and combine well. The batter should be thick, soft and a bit fluffy.
Then carefully stir through the blueberries.
Step 3. Divide the batter evenly between the two cake tins and bake your vegan chocolate blueberry cake for 30 minutes or until firm to touch, but still springy. Let the cakes cool down on the kitchen bench for 5-10 min before removing them from the tins.
Step 4. For the icing, place the dates in a food processor and whizz until creamy. Add the yoghurt, vanilla and cacao powder and mix on a lower speed until well combined and smooth. Adding a little bit of water often helps if the icing is too chunky.
Step 5. Once the cake layers have cooled, spread about a third of the icing on top of one of the cakes. Carefully place the other layer on top and cover the whole cake with the rest of the icing. Decorate with fresh blueberries and maybe some flowers.
Substitutions
Gluten-free: I’ve tried this recipe with a gluten-free flour blend and it worked okay. It was fine when it was fresh but got a bit dry the next day. Maybe using full-fat coconut milk could help here though I haven’t tried that yet.
Vegetable oil: I prefer using virgin olive oil for cooking but any other oil will work here too. Except for coconut oil as it’s quite heavy which results in a denser cake.
Maple syrup: You can easily substitute maple syrup with any other liquid sweetener such as agave or rice syrup (will make the cake less sweet though unless you use more of it).
This recipe also works well with coconut or raw sugar if you don’t mind processed sugar. You can replace the syrup with about ¾ cup/150g of sugar.
Storage
This vegan chocolate blueberry cake will keep for up to 5-7 days in an airtight container in the fridge. You can also freeze it for about 6 months.
📖 Recipe
Equipment
- 2 Ø20 cm round cake tins (8 inches)
- 1 food processor/high-speed blender optional, only needed for icing
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 270 g/ 1 ¾ cups self-raising flour or plain flour + ½ teaspoon bicarb soda
- 45 g/ ⅓ cup + 2 tbsp raw cacao powder or cocoa
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 250 ml/ 1 cup water or mylk
- 125 ml/ ½ cup vegetable oil I usually use virgin olive oil
- 80 ml/ ⅓ cup maple syrup or 150g / ¾cup sugar
- ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 200 g/ 1 ½ cups blueberries fresh or frozen
For the healthy Chocolate Icing
- 135 g/ ¾ cup Medjool dates pitted
- 250 g/ 1 cup plant-based yoghurt
- 35 g/ ⅓ cup raw cacao powder or cocoa
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup optional, for a sweeter icing
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175 °C/350°Fand grease and flour the cake tins for easy removal after baking, or line with baking paper. In a large bowl, combine flour, cacao powder, salt and bicarb soda.
- Add water, vegetable oil, maple syrup, vanilla and apple cider vinegar and combine well. The batters should be thick, soft and a bit fluffy. Then carefully stir through the blueberries.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two cake tins and bake the cakes for 30 minutes or until firm to touch, but still springy. Let the cakes cool down on the kitchen bench for 5-10 min before removing them from the tins.
- For the icing, place the dates in a food processor and whizz until creamy. Add the yoghurt, vanilla and cacao powder and mix on a lower speed until well combined and smooth. Adding a little bit of water often helps if the icing is too chunky.
- Once the cake layers have cooled, spread about a third of the icing on top of one of the cakes. Carefully place the other layer on top and cover the whole cake with the rest of the icing. Decorate with fresh blueberries and maybe some flowers.
