Chocolate and peanut butter are a classic dessert combo!
I would have sworn when I was a kid that I could have live off of chocolate peanut butter cups.
Now as an adult, I would swear I could live off of this cake.
Creamy peanut butter frosting on top of the perfect vegan chocolate cake. It’s everything you think it would be and probably more. We added a pinch of almond extract to the frosting for an extra nutty kick, and topped the cake with salty roasted peanuts, and shaved vegan chocolate.
Vegan baking is no harder than regular baking, it is all about learning how to replace eggs and dairy. I like to use oat milk when baking because it gives vegan bakes a better brown! I like to also use aquafaba to replace eggs, and sometimes powdered egg replacer or flax eggs. It is all about leaving how to swap a few things out and you will get a cake that is just as good as the non vegan version if not better!!!
We use WHIPPED aquafaba in this cake to replace the eggs. We are measuring the product AFTER it has been whipped so keep this in mind. You do not need 1 1/2 cups of chickpea liquid! You will have leftovers of the whip and it will keep in the fridge and whip back up later for later use! Save the chickpeas and add them to a salad, roast them as a snack, or mash them into hummus!!!
. This cake is a sweet, salty, chocolatey, peanut buttery, vegan dream that no one will ever even guess is vegan!!!!
Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups aquafaba (chickpea liquid that has been whipped with cream of tarter resembling whipped egg whites)
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup neutral oil (I use Grape seed oil)
1 cup brewed coffee
1 cup plant based milk (I like oat milk for baking) plus 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Peanut Butter Frosting:
1/2 cup vegan butter
1/2 cup vegan shortening
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
3 cup powdered sugar
pinch of salt
splash of plant based milk
Optional decorations: shaved chocolate, peanuts, chocolate bar pieces
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, or another large bowl if using a hand mixer, add the milk, oil, brewed coffee, and vanilla. Slowly pour in the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Once the batter is all mixed up, slowly fold in the whipped aquafaba using a rubber spatula, just until incorporated. Do not over mix, this deflates the aquafaba, resulting in a less fluffy cake.
Grease and lightly flour two eight inch cake pans and divide the batter evenly between them.
Place the pans on the top rack of your oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until a tooth pick comes out clean when poked in the center of the cakes.
Once cakes are finished baking, place them on a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
To prepare the frosting, beat the butter, shortening, and peanut butter together in a stand mixer, or in a large bowl, using your electric hand mixer. Once the mixture is completely creamy, beat in the vanilla and almond extract. Slowly begin to beat in the powdered sugar, and mix until there are no more lumps. Add a tablespoon at a time of plant milk until the frosting is creamy and smooth, and a spreadable consistency. If you accidentally get it too thin, add a little more powdered sugar to thicken it back up.
To even out each cake, take a large sharp knife, and carefully shave off a thin, even layer from the top of each cake. This will insure the cakes stack evenly. Add a few spoonfuls of icing to the top of one cake, and spread it evenly. Take the other cake and turn it upside down on top of the iced cake ( this way the top of your cake is perfectly smooth and flat.) Evenly cover the cake with the remaining frosting, using an icing spatula or butter knife if you do not have an icing spatula.
If you want to decorate the cake, you can shave a vegan chocolate bar on a box grater, and press the shavings into the sides and top of the cake. Sprinkle roasted peanuts around the edge of the cake, and stack some chocolate bar squares in the middle.
Store at room temperature in a covered container.
