Let it snow! (Powdered sugar snow, that is.) Bundt cakes are a highly underrated holiday dessert. They are so much easier to decorate than cookies, which means a less messy kitchen. We’re all about that! And this recipe for rich vegan Chocolate Gingerbread Bundt Cake is the perfect centerpiece for your holiday table.
The key to a beautiful bundt cake? Start with the pan
Part of what makes a chocolaty bundt cake a perfect centerpiece is the breathtaking profile. This bundt cake is especially dense and holds its form beautifully. Dusted with a sprinkling of fine powdered sugar for that snowflake effect, the cake lets everyone eat with their eyes first!
We found this beautiful bundt cake pan at Williams Sonoma. It’s such a lovely shape that we didn’t want to cover the cake with a glaze or sticky sauce. Instead, we opted for delicate powdered sugar and some homemade sugared cranberries. These holiday-themed cake toppings are super simple tomake, yet they make a showstopper of a bundt cake.
You can find other lovely bundt pans online. I love this swirly design from Nordic Ware. And here’s a classic scalloped pan that you can use for all kinds of beautiful desserts.
Chocolate + Ginger Forever
Classic gingerbread spices like cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and nutmeg are the stars of this decadent holiday dessert. The warming seasonings pair so well with rich dark chocolate.
We tested a few methods to acheive a dense structure that wouldn’t weight the cake down. Ultimately, we found that a combination of unsweetened applesauce with pure maple syrup offered just the right amount of moisture and sweetness.
We opted for coconut oil to add richness to the cake. The result is a decadent, moist cake with perfectly crispy edges. And the taste is reminiscent of gingerbread cookies on Christmas morning.
Delicate toppings to a decadent cake: Sugared Cranberries
Once your cake is cooled completely, it’s ready to be adorned with lovely sugared cranberries. If you haven’t made sugared berries before, fear not.
We hadn’t either, until a few days ago! However, we discovered that the sweet little crans are delicious. Something about tart berries covered in crunchy sugar screams peak holiday flavor. They also make a beautiful garnish for cakes, cocktails, or just for eating. Put some out in a serving bowl at your next holiday get-together and you’ll be sure to have some happy guests. Or, adorn these Apple Cider Bourbon Cocktails with a sugared berry or two, and you’ll have extra happy guests 🙂
We used this recipe/tutorial to make the cranberries from our friend Traci at the blog Vanilla and Bean. She even included step-by-step photos so it’s very easy to follow.
Finally, we topped this moist vegan Chocolate Gingerbread Bundt Cake with a garland of green. We thought fresh herbs would bring a bit more festivity to the cake. So we added rosemary and thyme around the cake’s base before serving. Note that we don’t necessarily recommend adding the fresh herbs to the cake for eating 🙂
Other Gingery Recipes to Try
Once you’ve mastered this impressive, but simple, vegan cake, you may have a hankering for other chocolate desserts with ginger, if you’re like us. Here are some of our favorites to try out:
- Chocolate Cupcakes with Orange & Ginger from The Kitchn
- Vegan Chocolate Ginger Truffles from Pickles and Honey
- No-Bake Chocolate Tart with Ginger from Domestic Gothess
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This rich, moist bundt cake makes a beautiful addition to your holiday dessert table.
Ingredients
- 2 flax eggs (1 tbsp flax meal + 2.5 tbsp water for each egg)
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp softened coconut oil
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 2 tbsp molasses
- 1 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 cups gluten free all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup melted dark chocolate
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F and coat bundt pan with nonstick spray.
- Make flax eggs by stirring together flax meal and water. Let sit for 10-15 minutes to thicken.
- In a stand mixer or large bowl, beat together flax eggs, softened coconut lil, vanilla, maple, sugar, molasses and applesauce.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together remaining dry ingredients except pecans.
- Continue beating wet mixture, and slowly incorporate dry mixture until well incorporated. Fold in pecans.
- Pour batter into bundt cake pan and bake for 60-70 minutes, though we suggest starting to test for doneness at 50 minutes as the baking time differs depending on the exact size of the bundt pan you’re using.
Notes
The bundt pan we used is quite large, so it took nearly 75 minutes to bake. If you’re using a smaller pan, we suggest starting to check for doneness around 50 minutes!
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