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  • Prep-time: / Ready In:
  • Makes one 9-inch round cake
  • print/save recipe

You’d never guess that orange sweet potatoes are the secret ingredient behind this lusciously moist vegan chocolate cake. The tasty tubers lend their creamy texture and subtle sweetness to both the cake and the frosting to create an undeniably delicious dessert sans dairy. Nut butter makes the decadent frosting extra smooth while the batter delivers a one-two punch of chocolate goodness thanks to both cocoa powder and vegan chocolate chips, which get tantalizingly gooey as it bakes. This sweet potato cake would be great topped with fresh berries, edible flowers, or a light dusting of powdered sugar—with or without the frosting. So what are you waiting for? Get out a fork and satisfy your sweet tooth!

Tip: Orange sweet potato is ideal for this cake because it is a little sweeter and looser than yellow sweet potato. It’s best to use a blender or food processor (versus a stand mixer) to ensure the sweet potato in the batter and frosting become deliciously smooth.

Adapted from dreenaburton.com

For more chocolate vegan desserts, check out these tasty ideas:

By Dreena Burton,

Ingredients

Frosting
  • 1 cup peeled, cooked, and cooled orange sweet potato (see tip in intro)
  • ½ cup coconut sugar
  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ½ cup cashew butter or almond butter
  • 2 tablespoons plant-based milk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
CAKE
  • ¾ cup peeled, cooked, and cooled orange sweet potato
  • ¼ cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup whole grain spelt flour
  • ⅓ cup coconut sugar
  • ¼ cup miniature or regular nondairy chocolate chips
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon regular or sodium-free baking powder
  • 1 scant teaspoon baking soda

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9-inch round or 8-inch square silicone or other nonstick cake pan with parchment paper.
  2. For frosting, in a blender or food processor combine sweet potato, coconut sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, cashew butter or almond butter, plant-based milk, vanilla extract, and sea salt. Cover and blend until very smooth, scraping sides as needed. If necessary, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of milk and 1 to 2 tablespoons of coconut sugar to make desired consistency and sweetness. Cover and chill until ready to use.
  3. For cake, in a blender combine sweet potato, maple syrup, vinegar, vanilla, and ½ cup water; cover and blend until completely smooth.
  4. In a large bowl stir together flour, coconut sugar, chocolate chips, and salt. Sift in cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda. Add sweet potato mixture to flour mixture. Use 1 tablespoon water to rinse blender to remove any remaining puree and add to flour mixture. Mix just until well incorporated. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
  5. Bake 21 to 23 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Remove cake from pan and top with frosting.
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5 Comments

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(5 from 2 votes)
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Christy1 day ago
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This was too good! I subbed Japanese sweet potatoes because I already had some baked & ready to go.

The directions have 1/2 cup of water for the batter, but it’s not listed in the ingredients. Just FYI.

Will definitely make again & again.

Vonda1 day ago
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I will add. I didn’t have the flour so used regular flour. But not eating GF.

Vonda1 day ago
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Made the cake as cupcakes. It doesn’t need frosting. Very good.

Silvia ferro6 days ago
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Is there a gluten free flour you’d recommend instead of spelt flour?

Jane4 days ago
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I was going to ask the same thing. Yes, a GF flour needed please.

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about the author

Dreena Burton

Dreena Burton has written six cookbooks charting her journey as a plant-powered cook and at-home mother of three. Always passionate about creating nutritious recipes, she is an advocate of using the “vegan basics” (beans, nuts, seeds, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables) to create dishes that are healthy but also very satisfying and delicious! For more on her plant-powered recipes and newest cookbook, Dreena’s Kind Kitchen: 100+ Whole-Foods Vegan Recipes to Enjoy Every Day, visit dreenaburton.com, and follow her on Instagram and Facebook.

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