NEWS! I have just posted my , go check out that version too!
This Vegan Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake really takes the cake.
Looking for a healthy cake that’s full of dense, chocolate flavor? This vegan chocolate cake is fresh and moist, and the cake and frosting are both made with sweet potatoes. Oh yes!
Yes, a long recipe name. Worth every syllable, because this healthy chocolate cake is a PPF sensation.
And, do we really need another chocolate cake recipe?
What makes this Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake special?
You could say this one is special because it’s vegan, whole-grain, oil-free.
Or, that it’s special because it has nutrient-dense sweet potatoes in both the frosting and cake.
But, I think it’s special in that the whole is far more than the sum of its parts.
And, it’s special because of how readers are embracing it, and celebrating special family times with this recipe!
I was pretty fond of this recipe when I created it. My family was too. But, I truly didn’t know how all of you would feel about it.
It’s not a classic chocolate cake with a hefty dose of sugar and fat.
So, I wondered how well a ‘chocolate sweet potato cake’ would be accepted!
I had a fair idea through recipe testing, when one of my (very) oil-free-skeptical friends tried it for the first time.
He didn’t know it was oil-free, and said he was shocked because it was one of the best chocolate cakes he had tasted!
Then, other reports came in from testers – and now from many of you.
Our facebook group has been posting pic after pic of this cake, and it’s become a bit of a sensation in the group!
That’s it, I couldn’t resist any longer.
This Chocolate Sweet Potato Cake recipe is now yours, all yours.
Dig in, guys! x Dreena
This recipe is reprinted from Plant-Powered Families. Thanks for your continued support and reviews.
P.S. I use my Blendtec with the standard jar or WildSide jar for this sauce – if you want to shop, use Blendtec Coupon Code: YAY-BLENDTEC at checkout for 20% off.
Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Sweets Frosting
Ingredients
Cake
- 3/4 cup peeled cooked, and cooled orange sweet potato (see note)
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon water divided
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole-grain spelt flour
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup mini or regular nondairy chocolate chips
- 1/2 tsp scant sea salt
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tsp scant baking soda
Frosting
- 1 cup loosely packed peeled cooked, and cooled sweet potato (see note)
- 2/3 – 3/4 cup coconut sugar or other unrefined sugar see note
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup scant raw cashew butter or almond butter
- 1/4 tsp rounded sea salt
- 2-5 tbsp nondairy milk see tip
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Lightly coat an 8” x 8” brownie/cake pan or a 9” round cake pan with coconut or other oil, and fit the bottom of the pan with a small piece of parchment paper.
- In a blender (or using a handheld blender and a deep cup or vessel), puree the sweet potato, 1/2 cup of the water, maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, and vanilla extract until completely smooth.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, coconut sugar, chocolate chips, and sea salt, then sift in the cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry (be sure to scrape out all the blended ingredients with a spatula, and use the remaining 1 tablespoon of water to rinse the blender jar and get out any remaining puree).
- Mix until just well incorporated.
- Transfer to the prepared pan, bake for 21–23 minutes, remove, and let cool on a cooling rack.
Frosting:
- Place the sweet potato, coconut sugar, cocoa powder, cashew butter, sea salt, 1–2 tablespoons of the milk, and vanilla extract in a blender or food processor and puree until very smooth.
- It’s best to use a blender or processor (versus a stand mixer) if using orange sweet potato, to fully smooth out the potato.
- Taste, and add more sweetener if desired, and also another 2–3 tablespoons of milk if needed to thin to preferred consistency (you may need more milk using yellow sweet potato as they aren’t quite as moist as the orange).
- Puree until smooth, scraping down the blender/processor bowl as needed.
- Transfer to a container and refrigerate until ready to use on the Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake. Or, get a spoon and dig in!
Notes
- Cake Note:
- Frosting Notes:
This post was originally published in November 2015 and updated on January 24, 2022.
Elaine says
Question about the coco power.
Do I use unsweetened coco powder?
Thanks,
Dreena says
Yes, standard cocoa powder.
Diane says
Wow! I’m not a chocolate cake fan, but I love this! I’ve had the recipe saved for a long time, but just today took the time too make it – it was sooo easy, I wish I’d tried it sooner. This will be my new “go to recipe “. Many thanks for your work to create and share.
Dreena says
Oh excellent! Thanks for sharing your experience, Diane.
Ro Owen says
Hi Dreena, made this AMAZINGLY YUMMY cake 2 days ago and we all loved it so much and had it on our Christmas picnic lunch. Even my 2 kids (16 and 18) who are not vegan loved it!!! ….( yay because my son normally won’t touch anything willingly that is ‘vegan’ 🙁 ) . I roasted a whole big sweet potato and actually forgot it in the oven so it leaked it’s juices (but was still fine within its skin) which caramelized on the tray and were quite amazing and almost tasted like molasses. I think I will try it next time with steaming….just to see if the taste is different, and compare the 2 methods to how the flavour changes if any. I had leftover of the icing so froze that to see if it freezes ok. Have you frozen the cake and icing? I followed the recipe exactly other than I didn’t have quite enough coconut sugar so had to top up to the required amount with Rapadura. Thank-you for this deliciousness and can’t wait to try more of your yummy looking recipes. xx 🙂 (I give this recipe all 5 stars out of 5 ***** (would give more!!!)…just can’t click on them below)
Dreena says
Thanks so much! For the sweet spud, I def prefer oven-roasting, the flavor is always much better. If it dripped in the oven, next time pop it on some parchment paper on a baking tray – and don’t pierce it to bake. You don’t need to pierce like regular potatoes, and it keeps them from oozing as much. I haven’t frozen the cake/frosting, but some of my readers have and report it works fine. Good luck, and thanks for the wonderful review!
Kathleen Carpenter says
I made this Christmas Eve substituting Monkfruit for the sugar and lakanto monkfruit syrup with maple flavor for the maple syrup. It was delicious. The frostingbis amazing. My husband declared it a keeper. I took the rest of it to my son’s on Christmas as I cannot eat the desserts that are served as I have Candida. None came home. It is definitely a dessert that everyone can enjoy.
Dreena says
Just wonderful, thanks for the feedback, Kathleen! I’ll also pass along a resource for you (if you don’t already follow) for candida diet recipes. http://www.rickiheller.com Ricki is quite a recipe wizard!
Erica Bee says
I made this last night for my boyfriend who is on the Candida diet. I substituted the maple syrup for Xylitol and used Japanese sweet potatoes in both the cake and frosting. I used a 1:1 mixture of chickpea flour and buckwheat flour. Perhaps it was because of flours I used and xylitol, but my cake didn’t rise very much. We ended up with a super delicious, albeit super short, chocolate cake. Would make again, but would double the recipe for a single layer cake and quadruple for a double layer cake.