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The Perfect Vegan Chocolate Cake (vegan + gluten-free, date-sweetened) from "Simply Vibrant" - The First Mess
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Vegan Chocolate Orange Cake

Vegan chocolate orange cake is so rich and delicious without any gluten or refined sugar. Perfect for a special occasion.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Gluten-Free, Plant-Based, Vegan, Vegetarian
Diet Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Keyword all seasons, almond flour, apple sauce, applesauce, brown rice flour, cocoa powder, coconut oil, fall, holiday baking, holiday entertaining, holidays, medjool dates, orange, orange juice, winter
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Resting Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes
Servings 10 mini bundts
Author Laura Wright

Ingredients

FOR THE CHOCOLATE ORANGE CAKE:

  • 1 cup soft Medjool dates, pitted
  • 2 tablespoons neutral coconut oil, at room temperature, plus extra for oiling the pan
  • 1 cup brown rice flour
  • ½ cup almond flour
  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • pinch of sea salt
  • zest of 1-2 oranges
  • 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
  • ⅓ cup unsweetened apple sauce
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

FOR THE GLAZE:

  • ¼ cup finely chopped dark chocolate
  • 1 teaspoon neutral coconut oil

Instructions

  • Soak the dates in hot purified water for 10 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a bundt pan with coconut oil.
  • Combine the flours, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and orange zest in a large bowl; mix thoroughly.
  • Reserve ½ cup of the date soaking water and add it to a blender along with the drained dates and orange juice; blend until smooth. Add the applesauce, coconut oil, and balsamic vinegar, and pulse to combine. Pour the date mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir just until everything is incorporated.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan, transfer it to the oven, and bake for 55-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool for at least 20 minutes, then invert the cake onto a plate or cake stand.
  • Make the glaze: Melt the chocolate and coconut oil in a double boiler setup until liquified and combined. Pour the glaze over the vegan chocolate orange cake and garnish as you please (more orange zest, chopped pistachios or dried rose petals).

Notes

  • Anya’s original recipe calls for one big bundt cake, and I’ve left the baking time/instructions for that version here. If you have mini bundts like I do (this pan by Nordic Ware), I’ll let you know that I got 10 total out of this recipe, and that they took about 18-20 minutes to cook.
  • This cake is for lovers of chocolate + orange together. There’s just no way around it!
  • Skip the chocolate sauce glaze at the end if you want this to be totally sugar-free.
  • To make this nut-free, I recommend replacing the almond flour with sunflower seed flour, which I talk about making in this post. Anya notes that you can just use more brown rice flour as well!
  • Anya suggests garnishing the cake with chopped pistachios and more orange zest. I used dried rose petals because I was out of pistachios, but also because ROMANCE.