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Vegan Chocolate Peppermint Cake

Fudgy & moist vegan chocolate peppermint cake that's easy and simple to make.

Course Dessert
Keyword holiday dessert recipe, vegan chocolate peppermint cake
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 1 -8" square cake
Author Taavi Moore

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (282g) all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup (62g) dutch-processed cocoa powder
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • 1 cup unsweetened, non-dairy milk
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 ½ cups (318g) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup (120g) brown sugar
  • ½ cup (94g) vegetable oil
  • ⅔ cup (169g) unsweetened applesauce
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp peppermint extract
  • 1 cup boiling/hot water
  • 1 tbsp instant espresso powder

Vanilla Buttercream

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) room temperature vegan butter
  • 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 2 tsp unsweetened, non-dairy milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Crushed peppermint, for topping

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease one 8-inch square baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.

  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and powder, and salt. In a liquid measuring cup, measure out non-dairy milk and whisk in apple cider vinegar. Let sit for 2 minutes.

  3. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the sugars, milk/vinegar mixture, applesauce, oil, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract until creamy. Fold wet batter into dry until just combined with a few streaks of flour remaining.

  4. In a liquid measuring cup, measure out 1 cup boiling water and and whisk in 1 tbsp espresso powder. Whisk espresso liquid into cake batter until combined. Add the batter to the baking dish. 

  5. Bake cakes for 30-32 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few moist crumbs are ok. You do not want to overbake! The center of the cake should slightly spring back when indented. Cool cake for 15 minutes in the pan then carefully invert on to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

  6. While cake is cooling, make the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer using the whisk attachment, beat the room temp. butter and powdered sugar for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. 5 minutes may seem like a while, but it's crucial for a light and fluffy buttercream!

  7. After the 5 minutes, beat in the non-dairy milk and vanilla extract until combined. Frost the cooled cake and top with crushed peppermint. Enjoy!