Make Ahead

Anita Shepherd's Vegan Chocolate Birthday Cake With Super-Fluffy Frosting

by:
July 13, 2016
3.7
10 Ratings
Anita Shepherd's Vegan Chocolate Birthday Cake With Super-Fluffy Frosting
Photo by Mark Weinberg
  • Makes a double-layer 8- or 9-inch cake
Author Notes

Disappointed by vegan buttercreams, Anita Shepherd consulted the back of a Cool Whip container and spied a whole lot of corn syrup. She turned to its more wholesome equivalent: brown rice syrup. Added on its own, the syrup made the frosting sleek and glossy, but still heavier and stickier than she wanted. But she discovered that the syrup helped stabilize the base enough that adding almond milk (a whole cup!), made it poof into pillowy ripples in the mixer. Recipe from Anita Shepherd of Anita's Creamline Coconut Yogurt, cake recipe adapted via Joy the Baker.

We've partnered with Bosch, makers of modern appliances like the Benchmark Induction Slide-In Range, to showcase a few ways to keep your friends and family together at the stovetop all winter long. To read more about this cake, check out Kristen Miglore's post The Story—and Secret Ingredient—Behind Our Genius Vegan Chocolate Cake with Super-Fluffy Frosting. —Genius Recipes

What You'll Need
Watch This Recipe
Anita Shepherd's Vegan Chocolate Birthday Cake With Super-Fluffy Frosting
Ingredients
  • The cake
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1/4 cup neutral oil like vegetable oil (or nut oil like almond oil)
  • 1 cup soft avocado, very well-mashed, about 2 medium avocados
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons white vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • The frosting
  • 9 1/2 ounces good-quality baking chocolate (we used 100% Dagoba bars)
  • 1 1/2 cups non-hydrogenated shortening
  • 4 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 cup almond milk, divided
  • 1 cup brown rice syrup
Directions
  1. The cake
  2. Heat the oven to 350° F. Grease and flour two 8 or 9-inch rounds.
  3. Sift together all of the dry ingredients except the sugar.
  4. Mix all the wet ingredients together in a bowl, including the super mashed avocado.
  5. Add sugar into the wet mix and stir.
  6. Mix the wet with the dry all at once, and beat with a whisk (by hand) until smooth.
  7. Pour batter into a greased cake tins. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  8. Let cakes cool in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto cooling racks to cool completely before frosting with fluffy chocolate frosting below.
  1. The frosting
  2. In a heat-proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt the chocolate, whisking as needed. Set chocolate aside to cool completely.
  3. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat shortening till smooth. Stop the mixer, add all the sugar and beat on low, but stop when it still looks ugly and not completely incorporated. Add half the almond milk, the vanilla, and the salt.
  4. With the mixer on medium-high, slowly pour in the brown rice syrup, then the rest of the milk. Continue beating as it smooths out and gets super-fluffy.
  5. Beat in the cooled chocolate. Taste and tweak the salt or sweetness if you like. Use to frost the cooled chocolate cakes.
  6. Notes: If you're in a rush, you can set the bowl of melted chocolate in a bath of cold water and whisk to cool it down faster, but don't let the chocolate get solid again! If at any point the frosting starts to look ugly and separated, don't worry—just keep beating on high until it smooths out. If your kitchen is hot and the frosting is still looking separated or flat, stick the bowl in the fridge to cool it down, then continue.
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41 Reviews

Wawa
Wawa May 11, 2021
Baked the cake as mini bundts but the texture turned out a little gummy.. wondering if it's supposed to be squidgey or if i shld have baked it longer..
 
Melissa W.
Melissa W. September 27, 2020
I have made this cake twice now with great success and reviews. I made a three-layer 7-inch cake. The first time I held back on adding all the milk as it seemed to go a bit sloppy but it firmed up a little too much by the time I iced the cake so this time I took the risk and followed the recipe exactly. It did go too sloppy but after a short time in the fridge it was perfect. I also followed the advice to blend the avocado with the liquids and it was undetectable. My husband, who has a sensitive radar for vegan dishes, though it tasted like a delicious regular cake. I do however have a lot of frosting leftover...
 
Freelancer77
Freelancer77 September 25, 2020
Hi Kristen,
Do you mind answering a quick question for me, please? In the Genius Desserts book, the frosting recipe differs from what the online recipe above shows (for example, the book calls for 7 oz. chocolate and 3 cups confectioners' sugar; online, you ask for 9.5 oz. and 4 cups, respectively, amongst other changes). Does the online recipe simply yield MORE frosting? Or are the proportions different? (Forgive me, my math is working.) Which set of measurements should I follow to yield a stable, fluffy frosting? Thank you in advance! (Also I should mention that your Genius Desserts book is worth its weight in gold--thank you for bringing it into the world.)
 
Freelancer77
Freelancer77 September 25, 2020
*isn't. My math *isn't* working; nor, apparently, is my typing. Sorry.
 
JP
JP July 13, 2020
The frosting initially fluffed up when I added the rice syrup, but then lost its fluff when I slowly poured in the almond milk. I continued beating, then refrigerated the mixture, then switched to a whisk attachment. The chocolate had cooled too much by the time I added it, so the frosting texture was grainy though tasty for a vegan frosting.

As for the cake — I’ve been making six minute/crazy chocolate cake for decades, never with avocado. The texture was good, but this recipe uses about half as much cocoa as in the “classic” recipe, so the chocolate flavor was lacking.

I’ll keep this recipe in mind if I need to make a vegan birthday cake, but it’s not going to displace my go-to chocolate layer cake with buttermilk in the batter and ganache-like frosting.
 
Theresa
Theresa October 1, 2019
Not sure what I did wrong but the frosting was a flop. The shortening never got fluffy.
 
Nicole S.
Nicole S. August 26, 2019
Should we use natural cocoa or dutch?
 
Sabrina C.
Sabrina C. June 24, 2019
I got to say! This is the ultimate chocolate cake! I baked for my son’s bday. Was a HUGE success! Thanks Anitta for sharing! ❤️
 
ariel A.
ariel A. January 28, 2019
Tasted great! I used Earth Balance instead of shortening which worked well. Didn't need to add all of the almond milk to reach the desired consistency. We all thought the frosting tasted just like canned store-bought chocolate frosting (in a good way!) I would encourage using 100% chocolate if possible to balance out the sweetness of all the sugar (which I did find was needed for structure.)
 
Caroline L.
Caroline L. December 6, 2018
i made the frosting (to put on a cupcake version of margaret fox's amazon cake, also on food52) for a friend's son's birthday. due to dietary restrictions, i had to do some futzing, but was able to successfully substitute coconut oil for the shortening, oat milk for the almond milk, and corn syrup for the rice syrup (i just had a hard time finding the rice syrup). i did need to add a tiny bit more powdered sugar and beat it a TON in the stand mixer to get it to a good thick consistency. it's so delicious!
 
okmosa
okmosa September 18, 2018
Could I substitute soy or rice milk for the almond milk?
 
Kristen M.
Kristen M. September 18, 2018
Definitely!
 
Danielle
Danielle June 7, 2018
Can I make these into cupcakes?
 
Kristen M.
Kristen M. September 18, 2018
I'm sorry I missed this, Danielle—this would definitely work as cupcakes, with a shorter baking time.
 
Danielle
Danielle June 7, 2018
Can I make these into cupcakes?
 
Laura M.
Laura M. May 28, 2018
Should this cake be kept in the refrigerator?
 
Kristen M.
Kristen M. May 28, 2018
No need!
 
C F.
C F. March 31, 2018
The flavours were lovely but I really could not get the frosting to thicken up enough to stay on the vertical surfaces, even with cooling it in the fridge - served it as a drip cake instead . I couldn't find a non-hydrogenated shortening and tried using a vegan butter sub (Melt). I'll look around some more for the shortening before trying again.
 
Sunita V.
Sunita V. March 8, 2018
Hi. Is it possible to use it as a simple buttercream without the choclate..
 
Kristen M.
Kristen M. March 9, 2018
Yes, actually, I know Anita does this—just stop before adding the chocolate! The brown rice syrup will give it a caramelly flavor.
 
Esvee
Esvee April 18, 2018
My daughter has requested pale blue frosting - what color is the buttercream without the chocolate? Wondering if I can tint it. Thanks!
 
Kristen M.
Kristen M. April 19, 2018
It's a creamy-beige color, so tints should work just fine.
 
Anne G.
Anne G. November 15, 2017
I found the whisk for the mixer worked better than the paddle. Also, even though my kitchen was not warm, the frosting was a bit wet, so I chilled it before frosting the cake. And, like all vegan frostings I've tried so far, the cake really needs to stay in the fridge or the frosting starts sliding down a little. Otherwise, this was a fabulous recipe. Thank you so much.
 
Amy
Amy February 22, 2017
Oh my Gosh this came out so nice! Thank you for sharing! My coworker is vegan and will appreciate this tomorrow at work :)
 
alissa D.
alissa D. January 30, 2017
If I use gluten free flour,do i still use 3 cups? First time vegan baker! Thank u.
 
Kristen M.
Kristen M. January 30, 2017
Yes, it should be a one-to-one substitution—hope you love this cake.
 
Elle S.
Elle S. January 29, 2017
I found the ingredients at Amazon Smile freeshipping - and got to help my favorite cause with my purchase, but will buy at Whole Foods too.

Also: excited that the gluten free flour works - and issue for me.

ONE QUESTION: I would like to use powdered cacao NOT the sort that needs melting...is this ok? Excited to try this recipe.
 
ERodMcG
ERodMcG September 16, 2016
I made this with Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour and it turned out great! This frosting is a game changer. I would use it in place of any chocolate buttercream. I tried Spectrum shortening and it whips up so light and fluffy and is not cloyingly sweet (but still sweet enough!). I added about a 1-2 tsp of espresso powder to the frosting and 1 tbsp to the cake for more chocolate flavor. I would recommend putting the avocado in a blender or food processor with the wet ingredients because green specks kind of give away that it's vegan. This cake will stay moist in the fridge for a week but would also freeze well. Great recipe!