Vegan Chocolate Coffee cakes with a Peanut Butter Mocha frosting!

Hi everyone!

Thank you so much to those that started following me! I have tons of vegan recipes in store from key lime pie to Italian cannolis! I can't wait to share them with you all! :)

My next recipe is a vegan chocolate coffee cake! These "chocolatte" cakes were inspired by my love of coffee and I really wanted to create something really chocolaty with a strong taste of coffee behind it, one you can really taste after the cake is cooked. These scrumptious cakes are topped with a peanut butter mocha and a salted caramel drizzle that is delicious. They don't need a really heavy coating of frosting so just pipe a little on, drizzle some caramel sauce and enjoy!

Thanks,

Alexis

CHOCOLATTE CAKES

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup coffee cooled
• ½ cup vegan butter
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¼  cup vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
• 1 ½ tsp instant coffee powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt

Directions

While gathering your ingredients, preheat your oven to 350° F.

Start by sifting all of your dry ingredients in a bowl; the flour, cocoa powder, instant coffee powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and baking powder. In a separate bowl with an electric mixer or by hand, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add in the vanilla and applesauce and mix until combined. Slowly add in the dry ingredients to the wet ones ¼ - ½ cup at a time, making sure to mix until there are no chunks of flours left, scrapping down the bowl when necessary. Keep adding the dry ingredients until completely incorporated then mix in the oil and coffee, ¼ cup at time, tasting periodically to see if the coffee flavor suits you (I say this because everyone is different and I personally love a strong coffee flavor in the cupcakes).

After you’re done, spoon the batter into desired baking pan. If using a cupcake tray, fill your cupcake liners ¾ of the way with a spoon or a ¼ cup measure.

Bake at 350° F for 20 – 22 minutes or until the middle is set, this varies depending on your oven.

Cool them down and top them with the peanut butter mocha (recipe below) and drizzle of salted caramel sauce or a frosting of your choice!

Peanut Butter Mocha Frosting

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• ½ cup vegan butter
• 3 tablespoons non-dairy milk (more or less depending on your preferred consistency of frosting)
• 6 teaspoons cooled coffee (to taste, I wanted mine to have a subtle coffee flavor)
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Directions

Cream together the vegan butter and peanut butter until well incorporated and then slowly add in the powdered sugar ½ cup to a cup at a time until combined, making sure to scrap down the sides (I actually added in a tablespoon of milk after I creamed the butter and peanut butter because it was already too thick). After adding all of the powdered sugar pour in the vanilla and slowly one teaspoon at a time add the coffee checking the taste frequently to make sure it suits you. If it’s still too thick after incorporating the vanilla and coffee, add in the milk, a tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency.

Vegan Caramel Sauce recipe from: http://greytveganlife.wordpress.com/2010/12/14/%E2%99%A5-vegan-caramel-sauce/ (I added more salt to make it a salted caramel)