This Vegan Almond Butter Cake with Chocolate Frosting is a crowd-pleaser! Made with whole grain pastry flour and roasted almond butter, it is full of flavor, yet healthier than your average cake. Yet, it is rich, delicious and moist! The cake is only 8 ingredients for this amazing oil-free cake!
VEGAN ALMOND BUTTER CAKE
I’m super excited to share with you this amazing Vegan Almond Butter Cake with Chocolate Frosting! It takes only 10 minutes to prep and 25 minutes to bake and is absolutely delicious! Bonus that it is whole grain and oil-free, yet you’d never know because of it’s rich and moist texture. You all have gone crazy for the Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins in my cookbook. So much, that I’ve been wanting to create an almond butter cake ever since creating that recipe. I think your family and friends will love this cake as much as we did.
Using pastry flour keeps the cake tender and soft. All-purpose flour has a higher gluten content and it makes chewier cakes when there is no oil or less fat, therefore pastry flour is a better choice.
Cornstarch adds another layer of tenderness, as well as acting as eggs. Since pastry has a lower gluten content, it makes for more fragile cakes that don’t rise as much. This is where cornstarch makes up for that. The combo is perfection.
THE IMPORTANCE OF WEIGHING WHEN BAKING
It is always very important to weigh your ingredients with baking. Most of you know how much I stress the importance of this. When somebody tells me their cake didn’t rise or the texture didn’t look like my photos, my first question is always “Did you follow the recipe and did you use a scale?” We all measure differently with cups, which is totally normal. The difference of adding too much or not enough flour will affect the end result. Baking is a science. Period. That doesn’t mean that subs can’t work, which is why I often list them, but it does mean in most cases, it won’t work as perfectly as the written recipe.
Following my gram weights will ensure accurate results. My recipes are all tested with exact gram weights, this is how and why you will follow mine, not a standard chart online, as their can be variances. I can’t vouch for other recipes online, only mine, so this is just to be helpful to you to have success when making the recipe. You never need to use measuring cups. You only need a bowl and a large spoon or mini cup for adding the ingredients to the bowl. I love how baking gives best results by using weight, after all, that is the goal, right, to have the recipe be a success!
How to weigh properly: Just simply place the bowl on the scale, turn it on and when it says zero, add the first ingredient using a spoon or mini cup. Hit zero in between adding each ingredient. Pour the liquids slowly so you don’t add too much too quickly. With small amounts less than a tablespoon, you just use the teaspoons. This is because it is hard for a small kitchen scale to accurately weigh such small amounts and you don’t want to accidentally add too much baking powder or baking soda.
HOW TO MAKE A VEGAN ALMOND BUTTER CAKE
First, you will need to gather these 8 ingredients (+salt):
- whole wheat pastry flour
- cornstarch
- baking powder
- baking soda
- pure maple syrup
- roasted creamy almond butter
- almond milk
- vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and lightly spray an 8×8 square baking dish with nonstick spray.
To a large bowl, add the pastry flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk very well. To another bowl, add the syrup, almond butter, almond milk and vanilla extract. Whisk it until smooth.
Slowly pour the wet ingredients over the dry and gently and slowly whisk just until smooth, about 10 seconds. You don’t want a lumpy batter but you don’t want to overmix it either. The batter should be smooth and pourable.
Pour the batter into the dish and smooth out the top and jiggle it side to side to flatten out the top.
Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out totally clean. Cool the cake a minimum of 1 hour before adding the frosting. The cake must finish cooling before adding it or it will melt all on the sides into the pan. Also, the cake will finish cooking, so don’t cut into the cake until it has completely cooled.
Top with glorious vegan chocolate frosting!
USING THE RIGHT ROASTED ALMOND BUTTER
It is important to use a really smooth, drippy almost, roasted almond butter. If you use a raw or really stiff/thick almond butter, then your cake will be much drier and more dense. I love the Simple Truth brand from Kroger as well as the Sprouts brand. Both are roasted and without salt, sugar or added oils, which is important. Make sure to stir the jar VERY well before use. I find pouring it into a separate container and/or blending it to a smoother consistency in my food processor to make for a smoother almond butter. The oil tends to separate from the almonds in the jars, which makes it annoying trying to stir it to get it smooth. I use almond butter in a ton of recipes like these chocolate chip cookies, as well as these.
MORE VEGAN CAKE RECIPES
- Vegan Funfetti Cake
- Best Vegan Pumpkin Cake
- Vegan Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cake
- Vegan Gluten-free Vanilla Cake
- Best Vegan Lemon Cake
- Easy Vegan Vanilla Cake (7 Ingredients!)
- Vegan Gingerbread Cake
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If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Vegan Almond Butter Cake with Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (192g) whole wheat pastry flour
- 3 tablespoons (24g) cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (200g) pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup (128g) roasted super creamy almond butter (SEE POST!)
- 3/4 cup (180g) almond milk, shaken first
- 2 teaspoons (10g) vanilla extract
CHOCOLATE FROSTING
- 1 cup (240g) dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup (120g) almond milk or coconut milk for a richer frosting
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and spray an 8x8 square baking dish with nonstick spray.
- To a large bowl, add the pastry flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk very well.
- To a another bowl, add the syrup, almond butter, almond milk and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
- Slowly pour the wet ingredients over the dry and gently and slowly whisk just until smooth, about 10 seconds. You don’t want a lumpy batter but you don’t want to overmix it either. The batter should be smooth and pourable.
- Pour the batter into the dish and smooth out the top with the back of a spoon and jiggle it side to side to flatten out the top.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out totally clean. Cool the cake a minimum of 1 hour before adding the frosting. The cake must finish cooling before adding it or the frosting will melt all on the sides into the pan. Also, the cake will finish cooking, so don’t cut into the cake until it has completely cooled. I like to wait 1 1/2 hours.
- To make the frosting, add the chocolate chips and milk to a microwave-safe bowl. Place the bowl in the microwave and heat for 30 seconds or so. Whisk the chocolate until it's 100% melted and smooth. Place in the freezer for about 15 minutes until it is just thickened and firm, but soft enough still to spread as a frosting on top of the cooled cake. I prefer this method over just pouring the melted chocolate directly on top. It creates a beautiful presentation.
Notes
Nutrition
Flavor is awesome! No frosting is needed. I baked it in a small Bundt pan and it cooked in 25 minutes. I followed the recipe exactly this time, but would like to know how to use an egg and maybe replace some of the maple syrup with white sugar. Sort of an expensive cake especially since it is so delicious and irresistible.
Hey Brandi,
Is there a way to make it Gluten-Free?
And where can I find your Best Chocolate Cake recipe please?
The one on Cookbooks page presentation…
Many thanks
Henri 😉
I’ve not tested this cake gluten-free yet with success. Stay tuned!
My chocolate cake is the best ever and it is only located in my cookbook here! https://thevegan8.com/the-vegan-8-cookbook/
Outstanding cake! (I used up some vanilla icing I had frozen, looking forward to making chocolate icing next time) Truly enjoyed it by itself last night, OR (this is AMAZING) with ur sweet potato / peanut butter ice cream with a little chocolate drizzle! Incredible!! (Really) Thanks again Brandi.
I’ve made this many times. My 5 yr old granddaughter loves it and so do I! Here’s the thing about all the cake recipes that you have developed, they are NEVER gummy. I’ve made countless vegan cakes by others that are awful and people rave about them! The others never seem cooked in the center. Always gummy and rubbery. Thanks for all you do, love you, your recipes and your cute lil side kick!
Absolutely delicious and so decadent. My family loved this cake! I used a Bundt pan and it turned out perfect. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!
Delicious! Everyone in the family loved it.