Chocolate Molasses Cake with Cream Cheese Icing (Vegan & Gluten-free)

It's been a minute since I posted. I had my last Munch & Meditate event of 2018 and it was so nice. The menu is always vegan, of course, but this time I did gluten-free as well and it was easier than I thought. I taught a beginner's gentle yoga class followed by vegan appetizers and desserts. Come to my next one on Jan 6th!

Those who attend Munch & Meditate get all the recipes for the food that I serve them but a few other people asked me for this chocolate molasses cake recipe. This was made with chickpea flour, which I've learned is not appropriate for all baking; in fact only this cake was made with chickpea flour-I made cookies with oat flour. This cake ended up moist, chocolatey and super decadent. I added chocolate chips to give it an even more rich, chocolate flavor.

Get some blackstrap molasses! It's high in iron, it's sweet but with a kick and it's not as many calories as maple syrup. You don't need a ton of molasses for this recipe because it also calls for maple syrup.

1 cup chickpea, oat or any GF flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tsp of maca powder
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 flax eggs: combine 2 tbsp of ground flaxseed with 6 tbsp of warm water and let sit 2 min
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup molasses (I used blackstrap)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup of dairy free chocolate chips

Cream cheese frosting: combine 1 cup of vegan cream cheese, 1/4 cup of maple syrup, 2 tsp of vanilla extract, juice from 1/2 lemon. Whip together by hand or with a mixer.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a loaf pan with oil. Set aside the chocolate chips. Combine the flaxseed meal with the water and let sit for 2 minutes. Combine and mix the wet ingredients in a bowl and the dry ingredients in another bigger bowl.
Combine all ingredients in the bigger bowl and mix by hand. The mixture will be smooth and rich, a little hard to mix and very thick but pourable.
Pour the batter into the loaf pan, sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the batter and bake in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until the sides are pulling away slightly and the cake comes out of the pan easily. Let cool completely before icing it.

Notes: This cake is amazing without the icing, though. You can butter it for a quick breakfast or an after-dinner sweet. The chocolate and molasses together is so epic. You can also add the chocolate chips to the batter and mix in. If you are not a molasses fan, just add the coconut sugar and double the maple syrup. Use any flour you want. Use olive or avocado oil instead of coconut. Add more spices as you wish. You can also use a mashed banana in place of the flaxseed egg. Or make a chia egg (1 tbsp of chia seeds plus 3 tbsp of warm water). Or 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce.

Happy Holidays! I may bring this cake to my family's Christmas party so even though I won't be on social media a ton over the holiday, I'll post some pics on my IG and FB.