Vegan Whole Wheat Chocolate Cake (Super Easy!!)

Baking a chocolate cake is one of my absolute favorite things to do 🙂 !! I find the entire process so therapeutic, starting from preparing the wet ingredients, sifting the flour, mixing the batter, and then lovingly putting the cake tin into the warm, pre-heated oven with a heart full of hope that it would turn out good. Baking something chocolaty always puts me in a happy mental space, a blissful, “vibey” state of mind I wish I could sustain forever… And that feeling when someone arrives at your door when the oven is doing her magic and says, “Wow! What’s baking? Smells so divine!” So heart-meltingly precious, right 🙂 ??

This vegan chocolate cake is economical, super easy to make, and tastes so good! You don’t need any special ingredients, not even plant-based milk. In all probability, you’d be having all the ingredients needed for this cake stocked in your kitchen right now. Due to the whole wheat flour, the cake is a little on the denser side, more like a “brownie cake.” You could even add some chopped vegan dark chocolate pieces to the batter to make it more brownie-like. Just slather on some vegan ganache, sprinkle slivers of assorted nuts, and decorate with halved cherries, and you’re ready to go!

**Thanks a lot, Mugdha, for the pic 🙂 **

Preparation time: 15 minutes + 45 minutes baking time

Yields: One medium-sized cake

1 cup = 150 ml

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour (substitute with maida, if desired)
• 1 1/3 cup brown sugar, tightly packed (substitute with 1 cup of jaggery/white sugar, if desired)
• 1 2/3 cup water
• ¾ cup cocoa powder
• 2/3 cup coconut oil
• 1 heaped teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (ACV) (or lemon juice if ACV is not available)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
• A pinch of salt

For decoration:

• 3-4 tablespoons vegan ganache
• 2 tablespoons roasted nuts (almonds, cashews, pista, etc.)
• Halved cherries, as required

Method:

1. In a deep-bottomed saucepan, combine the brown sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon powder, coffee powder, salt, water, and coconut oil. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar is fully dissolved and the liquid looks glossy. Let it cool to room temperature. Add the ACV. This step is *important.*
2. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C/340 degrees F.
3. Sift together the flour and baking soda twice.
4. Add the liquid mixture prepared in step 1 to the flour and combine well, but don’t over mix.
5. Pour into a greased cake tin (7.5 inches diameter). Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the tin from the oven and cover with aluminum foil (it helps seal in the moisture) and bake for 15 more minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and let the cake cool down.
6. Spread a generous layer of vegan ganache and decorate with roasted nuts and cherries.