This Gluten-Free Vegan Brooklyn Blackout Chocolate Cake is truly a chocolate lover's heaven!
I'd never actually eaten a Brooklyn Blackout Cake before, but after seeing several mouthwatering ones on Pinterest, I was keen to give it a go.
For fellow newbies, Brooklyn Blackout Cake is a moist chocolate sponge cake sandwiched with a chocolate pudding frosting and finished off by being coated with crumbs from the cake.
As I've already got a trusty vegan, gluten-free + refined sugar free Chocolate Sponge Layer Cake and an easy Chocolate Pudding recipe up my sleeve, I was pretty sure I could make a Brooklyn Blackout Cake without too much trouble!
I really wasn't sure about coating the cake in cake crumbs, so I went for chopped up dark chocolate, which is much more delicious. To keep it refined sugar free, you can try to find a naturally-sweetened dark chocolate or use cacao nibs instead.
For more chocolate cakes, check out my:
- Chocolate Torte
- Tahini Frosted Chocolate Cake
- Black Forest Cake
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Truffle Cake
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Helpful tools to make this Gluten-Free Vegan Brooklyn Blackout Chocolate Cake:
For the cake:
glass mixing bowl
measuring jug
18 cm / 7 inch sandwich baking tin
baking paper
cooling rack
For the frosting:
measuring jug
palette knife for frosting
Gluten-Free Vegan Brooklyn Blackout Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 60 g (¼ cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
- 250 ml (1 cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- 12 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
- 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) *
- 150 g (1 ¼ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
- 2 heaped teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 50 g (½ cup) cocoa powder
For the chocolate pudding:
- 500 ml (2 cups) unsweetened cashew milk (or any other plant-based milk - unsweetened oat milk is a great nut-free substitute)
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup to taste (or sub any other sweetener)
- Pinch salt
- 5 heaped teaspoons cornflour (cornstarch)
To decorate:
- 40 g (1.5 oz) dark chocolate , chopped into very small pieces (ensure vegan and/or refined sugar free if necessary)
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other oil)
- Once melted, add the milk to the same bowl along with the vinegar, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and ground almonds
- Sift in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa powder
- Mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it’s looking too dry
- Divide mixture between two greased baking tins lined with baking paper (I used two 7inch/18cm baking tins)
- Bake in oven for around 15 minutes until risen slightly and an inserted skewer comes out clean
- Once out the oven, transfer cakes from baking tins onto a wired rack to leave them to cool completely before applying the frosting
For the pudding:
- Add all ingredients to a pan and mix very well (before heating)
- Cook on a low heat for around 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until a thick custard has formed
- Taste and adjust flavours accordingly (more cocoa powder for chocolate flavour, more maple syrup for sweetness etc)
- Leave in the pan to cool completely before using to frost the cake
To frost and decorate the cake:
- Place one half of the cake onto a plate or cake stand and spread a little less than half of the chocolate pudding onto it
- Place the other half of the cake on top of that and use rest of the chocolate pudding to spread on top and around the sides of the cake
- Sprinkle the chopped dark chocolate over the top and sides of the cake
- Best when fresh but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days
Notes
Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you purchase any of these products, a small percentage will come to me with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.
Laura
I've made another one of your chocolate cakes, and this one was amazing too! Looking forward to trying more recipes!
Rhian Williams
Thank you!
Lenny
I look forward to trying this since I eat gluten free now. My family is from Brooklyn and we grew up eating this cake. The crumb topping is actually really good. I will make this with the crumbs in keepin* with tradition!
Rhian Williams
Great, thank you so much so happy to hear that! I hope you'll like it!
Lea Primost
Dear Rhian,
Can i use Vanilla powder instead of Vanilla extract? How much?
Thank you so much
Rhian Williams
Yes! I would use 1/2 teaspoon!
Ros
Hi, I love your recipes so much! What if I don't have apple cider vinegar, is there a substitute?
Thanks x
Rhian Williams
Thank you! 2 tablespoons lemon juice!