Vegan & Gluten-Free Chocolate Courgette Cake
This moist, chocolatey vegan and gluten-free courgette cake is rich, dark, and utterly divine! Topped with sweet, fudgy icing, it’s wickedly indulgent, gluten-free, and a tasty way to use up leftover courgette.
We absolutely love this recipe, and it’s great to serve with soya cream of dairy-free vanilla ice cream to make it a dessert to remember.
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Why do people put vegetables in a cake?
Vegetables are a great way to add moisture to the sponge cake because of the high water content. People often use vegetables like carrot, beetroot, Pumpkin, and courgette. These vegetables are often grated or puréed to release the flavours of the vegetables without having big chunks in your cake.
When using vegetables in a cake recipe, be sure to squeeze as much excess liquid from the vegetable as possible. Too much liquid in your cake batter will make the cake too moist and won’t cook through.
What’s more, adding vegetables to your vegan cake recipes gives the cake added nutrients.
Are you a massive fan of adding courgettes to everything? Check out some of our other delicious vegan courgette recipes.
Is chocolate vegan?
We’re often asked ‘is chocolate vegan?‘, and the truth is yes and no.
Although chocolate is a natural product derived from cocoa beans, chocolate bars and products are often added with milk powder to give it a creamy taste and texture.
Thankfully, there are hundreds of delicious vegan chocolate bars readily available in supermarkets and online. You will often find these in the ‘free-from’ or vegan aisle – be sure to check the ingredients first to ensure the chocolate is vegan.
How do vegans replace eggs in baking?
Egg-free baking isn’t as scary as it seems, there are plenty of everyday ingredients that work great as egg substitutes in baking.
Banana, vegan yoghurt, apple puree, and silken tofu are all great egg alternatives that help bind the cake mixture.
Gluten-free vegan baking tips
Baking a gluten-free and vegan cake may seem like a mission, but with the help of some additional ingredients, you’ll be able to produce a well-risen, moist cake that is simply delicious.
Xanthan gum is the key ingredient in this recipe, this holds the flour together to prevent the cake from becoming too crumbly and falling apart when baked. This ingredient is commonly available in most supermarkets in the free-from aisle.
Total Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Calories: 656
Servings: 8
Rating:
Nutritional information per serving:
Serving size
220
calories
656
fat
34g
saturates
8.2g
sugars
62g
salt
1.2g
Total Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Calories: 656
Servings: 8
Ingredients
Method
Ingredients
(Servings: 8)
- For the cake
- 31.25 31.25 g gluten-free plain flour
- 10.625 10.625 g cocoa powder
- 0.125 0.125 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 43.75 43.75 g caster sugar
- 0.25 0.25 tsp vanilla extract
- 31.25 31.25 g courgettes, grated and squeezed
- 0.125 0.125 tsp xanthan gum
- 0.25 0.25 tsp baking powder
- a pinch of fine salt
- 37.5 37.5 ml soya milk
- 15.625 15.625 ml vegetable oil
- For the icing
- 20 20 ml condensed coconut milk
- 18.75 18.75 g vegan chocolate
- 11.25 11.25 g dairy-free butter
Method
- Preheat the oven to 170°C / 325°F / Gas 3. Grease a 20cm non-stick springform cake tin with dairy-free butter or oil. Line the bottom of the tin with greaseproof paper.
- In a large bowl, sieve together the flour, xanthan gum, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and bicarbonate of soda. Stir in the caster sugar.
- In a separate bowl whisk the soya milk, vanilla extract, and vegetable oil.
- Add together the dry and wet ingredients and mix well.
- Gently squeeze some of the excess liquid from the grated courgettes and add them to the batter. Mix until well combined.
- Pour the mixture into a tin and bake for 455 minutes to 1 hour. Check with a skewer and insert it into the middle until it comes out clean.
- Whilst the cake is cooking, make the fudge icing by melting the ingredients together in a saucepan until you have a thick, glossy, chocolate sauce.
- Place in a bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Once cooked, remove the cake form the oven and leave it to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, before moving it to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Take the icing from the fridge and stir. It should have thickened and become fudgy in texture.
- Spread the icing over the top of the cooled cake and enjoy a slice!
Want to bake up a showstopping cake? You need to see these recipes for beautiful vegan birthday cakes!
