Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Truffle Cake

This Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Truffle Cake is a mixture between my Chocolate Hazelnut Cake and Chocolate Truffle Cake!

This delicious cake consists of a fudgy, hazelnut-infused, deeply chocolatey sponge made extra indulgent by lashings of Sweet Potato Chocolate Buttercream.

The grain-free sponge is a simple affair made using ground hazelnuts for Nutella-like flavour, and is naturally sweetened with puréed dates.

It’s a versatile recipe that works with any type of oil you want, such as olive, coconut or vegetable oil, but several readers have also had success substituting this with applesauce, so you could go down that route if you’d prefer to keep it oil-free.

It’s not a fluffy sponge, but rather a fudgy, gooey one that really resembles the melt-in-your-mouth texture of a chocolate truffle!

The luxuriously smooth, rich and velvety chocolate buttercream frosting is a truly magical recipe made using a few simple ingredients, all thanks to the secret addition of the sweet potato that provides the perfect naturally sweet and creamy base.

Then you can decorate the cake with whatever you wish – I went for rose petals as I love how pretty and delicate they look. This cake is perfect for birthdays or special occasions, but also conveniently happens to be secretly healthy, so you could even eat it for breakfast if you like!

I hope you’ll love this Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Truffle Cake! For more chocolate cakes, check out my:

• Chocolate Torte
• Tahini Frosted Chocolate Cake
• Chocolate Sponge Layer Cake
• Black Forest Cake
• Peanut Butter Chocolate 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.

You can watch this quick video to see how to make the frosting;

Helpful tools to make this Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Cake:

For the cake:

food processor

blender

hand-held stick blender

glass mixing bowl

measuring jug

18 cm / 7 inch sandwich baking tin

baking paper

cooling rack

For the frosting:

food processor

blender

hand-held stick blender

palette knife for frosting

Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Truffle Cake

This Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Truffle Cake is easy to make, super rich and indulgent and secretly healthy too! 

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Keyword: gluten-free chocolate hazelnut cake, vegan chocolate truffle cake, vegan hazelnut cake

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Servings: 8

Calories: 289kcal

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 130 g (3/4 cup) pitted dates soaked overnight in cold water or for 10 minutes in boiling water
• 200 g (2 cups) ground hazelnuts
• 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 30 g (1/8 cup) coconut oil* (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
• 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
• Optional: Salt, to taste

For the buttercream:

• 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes (about 400g/14oz in total)
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Salt, to taste
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup to taste (or sub any other sweetener)
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil*

Instructions

For the cake:

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
• Drain away most of the water from soaking the dates, leaving behind a few tablespoons
• Use a food processor or blender (or hand-held blender) to blend the dates into a smooth purée (leaving a little water will make it much easier)
• Add the puréed dates into a bowl along with all the other ingredients and mix well
• Divide the mixture between two greased and lined round baking tins lined with baking paper (I used 18cm/7inch tins)
• Bake in oven for around 15 minutes
• Once out of the oven, transfer the cakes to a wire rack to cool completely

For the buttercream:

• Cook sweet potatoes by boiling, steaming or roasting them until very soft and tender
• Discard any skins, and add to a food processor or blender (or hand-held blender) along with all other ingredients
• Whizz until completely smooth. Taste and adjust ingredients as necessary - add more maple syrup for sweetness, more salt for saltiness, more cocoa powder for chocolate flavour etc
• Leave to cool before using to frost the cake

To frost and decorate the cake:

• Place one half of the cake onto a plate and spread just less than half of the buttercream onto it
• Place the other half of the cake on top of that and use rest of buttercream to spread on top and around sides of cake
• Decorate with rose petals or whatever else you fancy!
• Keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days

Video

Notes

*Several readers have told me they made this cake oil-free by substituting the oil with applesauce, which seems to have worked well. So please do this if you're looking for an oil-free cake! The coconut oil in the buttercream can be omitted, but the taste may not be quite as delicious!

Nutrition Facts

Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Truffle Cake

Amount Per Serving

Calories 289

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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