Scott’s Chocolate Birthday Cake
Hi! It was Scott’s 35th birthday the other weekend and I made him what has been our go-to chocolate birthday cake in recent birthday years. It isn’t my original recipe so I’ll give all the credit to Amanda of My Goodness Kitchen — I share my version of the recipe I made below with just a few tweaks! But make sure to visit her website for the original if you’d like and to peruse her other lovely recipes. She is wonderful.
I am notorious for making terrible birthday cakes — I simply cannot decorate anything properly and always bite off more than I can chew. (I personally prefer something like s’mores or lemon bars for my birthday!) However, I have oodles of fun making one for Scott each year and settled on a sheet-cake style with a simple frosting I’ve made oodles of times before. And sprinkles. Sprinkles make everything look super happy and make up for not knowing how to do fancy decorations :).
I hope you make and enjoy this cake sometime, when in need, because it is our favorite we have ever had! The cake is the loveliest texture and the frosting pairs with it perfectly. Simple, delicious, and festive enough for a birthday. thanks for being born, Scotty! Love ya!
x Jessie
CHOCOLATE BIRTHDAY CAKE
Makes 1 8x11 sheet cake (shown above) and many other sizes Amanda notes in her original recipe instructions here.
1 3/4 cups whole white wheat flour or whole spelt flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
½ tsp fine sea salt
¾ cup cocoa powder
1 cup coconut sugar
1 ¼ cups soy milk or dairy-free milk
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
½ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup boiling water
Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, and coconut sugar together in a large mixing bowl.
Make a well in the center of the dry mix and add the soy milk, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, vanilla, and boiling water.
Whisk together until smooth and immediately poor into your prepared baking dish.
Bake in the over for 30 to 45 minutes, depending on your pan size, or until a knife entered in the center comes out clean. (Our cake takes 45-50 minutes in this 8x11 size baking dish.)
Let cook fully before frosting. We leave ours in the baking dish, wrap it up, and refrigerate before topping with chilled frosting. (I typically bake this cake the day before his birthday so it is ready the following day to decorate quickly.)
CHOCOLATE FROSTING
Makes enough for to top the birthday cake above, however, making 1.5x or 2x this amount could be useful if making a 9x13 cake or multiple layers.
1/2 cup smooth, unsalted peanut butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup soy milk or any plain plant milk
1/4 cup cocoa powder
Add all ingredients to a 48 ounce or smaller high speed blender and blend on low, increasing to high, until silky smooth.
Transfer to an airtight container and chill in the fridge (it will harden slightly to a still-smoothable consistency).
Use whenever you’re ready to decorate the cake! (Let it warm up a bit on the counter if your fridge is really cold and makes the frosting too stiff to spread.)
We decorated with vegan sprinkles and beeswax birthday candles — and served with vanilla ice cream.
