This vegan chocolate bundt cake is a spelt flour-based dessert en-robed in luscious non-dairy chocolate peppermint ganache! The addition of hot water to the cake batter allows the cocoa to “bloom†which enriches its chocolatey flavour. This cake has a brownie like texture; perfect for the chocoholic!
This post has been updated to include detailed information on substitutions and some helpful key points for making this cake perfectly.
Vegan Chocolate Bundt Cake for the Holidays
Every year around holiday time, I look forward to making some sort of elaborate sweet creation. December is my time to shine in the kitchen. It's also the time when I throw all caution to the wind!
And, while we do out best to watch the amount of sugar-laden foods we indulge in, there's always room for cake on our table. This vegan chocolate bundt cake with peppermint ganache is moist, fudgy and perfect for the holiday season. It's made from a base of spelt flour, which is a tad more nutritious than regular all purpose flour.
This is one of those recipes that tastes even better the next day cold from the fridge. My husband is particularly fond of tossing a slice in a bowl and pouring cold almond milk over top (it's odd, but really good).
5 Tips to make the best Vegan Chocolate Bundt Cake
Thoroughly grease the bundt pan –
this recipe will fit a 10″ bundt pan. Because this recipe doesn't contain eggs and is made with spelt flour, it can be more prone to cracking. As such, you must grease every inch of the pan to prevent sticking. Assuming your pan is properly greased, it should come out in one beautiful piece.
Hot water is essential- The addition of hot water to the batter allows the cocoa powder to "bloom" which really enhances it's flavour. This step makes chocolate cakes taste rich, fudgy and decadent.
Use a neutral tasting vegetable oil – this recipe uses extra virgin olive oil, however, I have also made it successfully with regular vegetable oil. Note that full bodied olive oils could alter the flavour of your cake. You could also opt for melted unrefined coconut oil instead.
Use an spacious bundt pan- what I mean by this, is you'll want to use a pan that doesn't have small crevices or intricate designs. A simple and spacious bundt pan, like the one pictured, works the best for vegan bundt cakes.
Wait 10 minutes before inverting – a hot cake is more prone to breaking. As such, place the cake tin on a cooling rack and wait about 10 minutes before inverting. Also, don’t extend the pan cooling time otherwise your cake will start to condensate and make it mushy on the outside.
How to Make the Perfect vegan ganache
Ganache sounds super fancy, but it's incredibly simple to make. You only need two ingredients: semi-sweet chocolate and full fat coconut milk. The addition of peppermint oil/extract adds the perfect hint of holiday flavour, however, you can omit this if you like. It's important to use whole fat coconut milk to get the right consistency. And don't worry, it tastes nothing like coconut.
Ganache takes a little while to set up properly. Be patient. You can hasten the process of cooling your ganache by placing it in the fridge for 10 minute intervals, stirring well between each interval until a ribbon-like consistency is reached.
How to make the perfect bundt cake
If you've haven't mastered baking in bundt pans, you'll want to check out this post I shared over on BAKED the Blog. It’s full of the best tips for working with molded pans. The biggest key is to have a thoroughly greased pan to help keep your cake in tact. Moreover, a bundt pan with a fairly open design (meaning, it's not intricate with small crevices) works best for this recipe.
Can I reduce the amount of sugar in this recipe?
I've tried adjusting/exchanging the amount of sugar and found that it doesn't quite work the same. The sugar content in this recipe work the best for helping the cake maintain its shape without tearing or breaking during un-molding. Feel free to use an alternative sweetener, but know that it may cause the cake to break or stick to the pan.
Can I use eggs for this recipe? If so, how many?
If you prefer not to use flax meal, you can replace it along with the 3 tbsp of water with 2 eggs. However, don't be skeptical to give flax a try- it’s undetectable in this recipe and provides ample binding power and moisture, same as eggs would.
Can I use all purpose flour in exchange for the spelt flour?
Absolutely. I have made this recipe successfully with all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and sprouted spelt flour.
Want more chocolate in your life?
This is one of my more popular recipes. And if you want more like this one, check out my other favourite chocolate recipes!
Double Chocolate Beetroot Cake
Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Lavender Frosting
Triple Chocolate Sweet Potato Cupcakes
VEGAN CHOCOLATE BUNDT CAKE w/ PEPPERMINT GANACHE
A perfect sweet addition to your holiday gathering! A spelt-based vegan chocolate bundt cake is enrobed in a luscious and smooth peppermint ganache! The addition of hot water to the batter allows the cocoa to “bloom†which enriches its final flavour! This cake is moist and has an almost brownie like texture; perfect for the chocoholic! Because Spelt contains less gluten than regular all purpose flour, be sure to grease your bundt pan very well to keep the cake intact.
Chocolate Bunt Cake
- 2 tbsp flax meal + 3 tbsp of water
- 1 ½ cups organic cane sugar
- 1- ¾ cups spelt flour
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- 1- ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1- ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup almond milk
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup hot water
Chocolate Peppermint Ganache
- ⅓ cup full fat coconut milk
- 125 g (~¾) cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces
- 4 drops food grade pure peppermint oil [or ½ tsp pure peppermint extract]
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Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 10†bunt pan and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the flax meal and 3 tbsp water and let stand for 5 minutes or until thickened. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, sift together the cane sugar, spelt flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
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To the flax mixture, add the almond milk, vegetable oil and vanilla and stir until combined. Pour into the flour mixture and stir until combined. Carefully pour in the hot water and mix until the batter is smooth and even (note that the batter will be quite thin).
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Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 55-60 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for ~15 minutes. Usuing oven mits, gently and carefully invert the cake pan onto a wire rack to release the cake. Let cool completely.
Prepare the Peppermint Ganache:
- To a small sauce pan, add the coconut milk and heat over medium while stirring frequently until a few bubbles start to form. Remove from heat and add in the chocolate pieces and peppermint extract/oil. Stir constantly until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth and even in consistency. Cool the ganache, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate forms ribbons when drizzled off the spoon (see notes below).
- Pour the ganache over the cooled cake and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.
All purpose or whole wheat will work in a 1:1 ratio for spelt flour. Any vegetable based oil will work in replacement of olive oil, however, be sure to use a light tasting oil (melted coconut oil is works as well).
You can hasten the process of cooling your ganache by placing it in the fridge for 10 minute intervals, stirring well between each interval, until a ribbon-like consistency is reached.
Hi, I read through the recipe and am midway through the ugh measuring the ingredients. Some confusion about boiling water quantity. Is it one cup (as in ingredients) or two cups as in the method. Hopefully you are reading this as I measure the rest of the ingredients. Thanks
Hi Radhika! It's just one cup of hot water for the recipe. I mentioned two in the directions to make sure there is enough water to make one cup, however, I can definitely see how that might be confusing. Thanks for bringing this to my attention; I'll adjust the notes. Let me know how it works out for you 🙂
Hi Heidi. I'm weighing out ingredients in England and converting your Canadian cups to grams. Mr Google tells me that one cup is 227grams. By my reckoning that means 3/4 cup is 170 grams. Is that right as 170 grams of cocoa seems a lot!!
Hi Sally! The gram equivalent of 3/4 cups of cocoa powder is ~75-80 grams. Hope this helps 🙂
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