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    Recipes » Recipes

    Gluten-Free Vegan Tahini Frosted Chocolate Cake

    Last updated - July 15, 2021; Published - September 2, 2017 By Rhian Williams 4 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    This Gluten-Free Vegan Tahini Frosted Chocolate Cake may just become your new favourite flavour combination.

    Gluten-Free Vegan Tahini Frosted Chocolate Cake

    For the cake, I used my go-to gluten-free, vegan and refined sugar free chocolate sponge recipe. Not only is it moist and fluffy and perfectly sweet, but also really easy to make, requiring just one bowl and familiar ingredients.

    Gluten-Free Vegan Tahini Frosted Chocolate Cake

    But the real star of the show is the gorgeous tahini buttercream frosting. I love using sweet potatoes to make a luxuriously rich, creamy and naturally sweet dairy-free buttercream. I've used this trick to make a chocolate buttercream and a peanut butter buttercream, so was keen to experiment with new flavours.

    Gluten-Free Vegan Tahini Frosted Chocolate Cake

    Tahini may sound strange in a sweet recipe, but the nutty sweetness of the sesame works so well to balance the earthy flavour of the chocolate.

    Gluten-Free Vegan Tahini Frosted Chocolate Cake

    I've already used black sesame in a lot of sweet treats, for example:

    • Black Sesame Latte
    • Black Sesame Crème Caramel
    • Black Sesame Shortbread

    But I hadn't made many white sesame desserts, so I knew a tahini frosted chocolate cake was a good way to get started!

    Gluten-Free Vegan Tahini Frosted Chocolate Cake

    The buttercream is so easy to make, and once you add the tahini, vanilla and your sweetener of choice you honestly can't taste the sweet potato at all. It's really fun to try to get people to guess what the secret ingredient is!

    I absolutely love the combination of the rich, chocolatey flavours of the cake with the nutty, halva-like tahini buttercream frosting, and I hope you will too!

    Gluten-Free Vegan Tahini Frosted Chocolate Cake

    Gluten-Free Vegan Tahini Frosted Chocolate Cake

    I hope you'll love this Gluten-Free Vegan Tahini Frosted Chocolate Cake! For more delicious chocolate treats, you might like my:

    • Cashew Chocolate Truffles
    • Hazelnut Chocolate Truffles
    • Chocolate Sweet Potato Fudge
    • Strawberry Chocolate Truffles
    • Chocolate Truffle Cake
    • or browse the whole collection of chocolate cake recipes!

    Gluten-Free Vegan Tahini Frosted 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.

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

    For the cake:

    glass mixing bowl

    measuring jug

    square baking tin

    baking paper

    cooling rack

    For the frosting:

    food processor

    blender

    hand-held stick blender

    palette knife for frosting

    Gluten-Free Vegan Tahini Frosted Chocolate Cake

    Gluten-Free Vegan Tahini Frosted Chocolate Cake

    Gluten-Free Vegan Tahini Frosted Chocolate Cake made using sweet potato tahini buttercream.
    4.75 from 4 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: Mediterranean
    Keyword: chocolate tahini brownie, chocolate tahini cake, vegan chocolate tahini cake
    Prep Time: 25 minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes
    Total Time: 55 minutes
    Servings: 12 squares
    Calories: 269kcal
    Author: Rhian Williams

    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 buttercream:

    • 400 g (14 oz) sweet potatoes (about 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes)
    • 1 tablespoon tahini
    • 3 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    To decorate (optional):

    • Cacao nibs
    • Freeze-dried raspberries

    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
    • Transfer the mixture into a greased baking tin lined with baking paper (either a round tin or a square tin is fine- I used a 23cm/9inch square baking tin)
    • Bake in oven for 20-30 minutes until risen slightly and an inserted skewer comes out clean
    • Once out the oven, transfer the cake onto a wired rack and leave to cool completely before applying the frosting

    For the buttercream:

    • Cook the 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 tahini etc
    • Leave to cool before using to frost the cake

    To frost and decorate:

    • Once the cake is completely cool, spread the buttercream evenly over the top
    • Scatter over cacao nibs and freeze-dried raspberries if desired
    • Tastes best on the day it's made, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days 

    Notes

    *You an alternatively use almond flour
    Nutrition Facts
    Gluten-Free Vegan Tahini Frosted Chocolate Cake
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 269 Calories from Fat 117
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 13g20%
    Saturated Fat 5g25%
    Sodium 72mg3%
    Potassium 255mg7%
    Carbohydrates 37g12%
    Fiber 5g20%
    Sugar 17g19%
    Protein 5g10%
    Vitamin A 4729IU95%
    Vitamin C 1mg1%
    Calcium 110mg11%
    Iron 2mg11%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Made the recipe?Tag @rhiansrecipes on instagram and use the hashtag #rhiansrecipes!

    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.

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Anne

      May 01, 2018 at 4:11 pm

      5 stars
      I admit I was a little dubious about the tahini frosting at first, but it was delicious! Goes so well with chocolate thank you!

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        May 01, 2018 at 4:19 pm

        Thank you!

    2. Kadecia

      February 01, 2019 at 2:15 pm

      5 stars
      Baked this yesterday and I love it. So did my son. Tahini and chocolate?!? Yes please!!!

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        February 01, 2019 at 4:20 pm

        Yay thank you so much, so glad you liked it! The combo is amazing right!

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    Hi, I'm Rhian! I make easy, undetectably vegan + gluten-free recipes, including healthy comfort food and naturally sweetened desserts using plant-based ingredients.

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