This Chocolate raspberry layer cake is delicious, vegan & allergy-friendly! It is filled with fresh raspberries, chocolate ganache and a fluffy buttercream frosting!
Today’s Chocolate Raspberry Cake post was sponsored in partnership with Enjoy Life Foods.
Life is sweeter when you celebrate with cake
Seems like there is no better way to celebrate a special event or holiday then with cake! And this Chocolate Raspberry Cake is the perfect cake for such an occasion. It’s a deliciously moist chocolate cake with fluffy chocolate buttercream frosting , layered with rich and glossy chocolate ganache and a gorgeous display of berries.
See, it’s the perfect cake for Valentine’s Day, a Birthday, an Anniversary or Just-Because-Kind of Day.
I L-O-V-E Vegan Chocolate Cake
Cakes are my favorite dessert to make and have a special place in my heart. It actually all started when I was 8 and made my first cake…it was a Pac-Man cake. Really it was just a round cake that had a slice cut out of it and then iced yellow to look like our favorite pellet-eating video game character…but to me, it was a big deal. I made my first cake!
Fast forward 25 years later and my world drastically changed. At that time, our son Xander was 10 months old and just confirmed he had life threatening food allergies to dairy, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts. After the initial shock, all I could think about was that his 1st birthday was less than 2 months away and he HAD to have cake! And so, I made my first allergy-friendly cake.
Chocolate 3.0
Almost 11 years later and I’m still making cakes but this Chocolate Raspberry Cake has to be one of my absolute favorites because:
- It’s chocolate 😍
- with a light chocolate buttercream frosting 🙌🏼
- and chocolate ganache layer 🍫
- plus coffee is mixed into the batter! ☕️
- OOOHHH, then there’s fresh raspberries that just brings it all together in the sweetest, freshest way🍓
- most noteworthy… it’s allergy-friendly, vegan and gluten-free 🌱
Dessert is for everyone
Everyone deserves to be able to enjoy a slice of cake, even if you live with food allergies! For me, it’s not thinking about we can’t have, but finding the beautiful, vibrant foods we can all enjoy! And with so many delicious allergy-friendly products available, it is easier than ever to create a lovely dessert that everyone to gather around and safely feast on!
Feast away my friends! This cake is for you 😘
We love Enjoy Life Foods
My Chocolate Raspberry Cake features a delicious allergy-friendly and vegan chocolate. We just love Enjoy Life Foods and if I’m not watching my kids closely, they’d eat a bag of mini chocolate chips by the handful! Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s even more delicious when used in a recipe.
Some of our favorites and most shared chocolate recipes using Enjoy Life Foods have been German Chocolate Cake , Oreo Truffles, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cups, Brookie Ice Cream Cake & 2 Ingredient Fudge .
Enjoy Life’s chocolate has been a huge game-changer for us!
Free From Living means….
- Allergy-Friendly: Their products are free-from gluten and 14 common allergens: wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, casein, soy, egg, sesame, sulfites, lupin, mustard, fish, shellfish, and crustaceans.
- Non-GMO: None of the products contain GMOs.
- Gluten-Free: They’re delicious snacks are certified gluten-free.
- All Natural Ingredients: One way to eat freely is to know exactly what’s in your food which is why they are made with all-natural ingredients, like quinoa, buckwheat, and agave .
(excuse the old photo below…it’s the only one that shows the inside since the other was for my friends birthday…SURPRISE!)
Gluten free & Amazing
One thing that this cake is NOT free from is flavor! It’s one of the most decadent chocolate desserts you’ll ever taste! It’s simply irresistible and I cannot wait for you to share it with someone you love.
Other Cake Recipes You’ll Love
Chocolate Raspberry Layer Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 3 Cups Gluten-free Flour Blend (I used Bob's 1-to-1) OR All-Purpose Flour*
- 2 Cups Granulated sugar
- 3/4 Cup cacao powder (unsweetened cocoa powder also works)
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 Cup canned coconut milk, mixed well (or dairy-free milk of choice)
- 1 Cup strong hot coffee
- 3/4 Cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 Cup vinegar
- 1 TB vanilla extract
- 2 pints raspberries
For the Frosting
- 1 Cup dairy-free butter, softened (Earth Balance Soy Free)
- 3 1/2 Cups confectioner's sugar
- 1/2 Cup cacao or cocoa powder
- pinch of salt
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 4 TB. dairy-free creamer
For the Ganache Layer
- 1/2 Cup Enjoy Life Food Mini Chocolate Chips
- 2-3 TB. dairy-free creamer or coconut milk
Instructions
For the Cake (see notes for second option)
- Heat oven to 350°. Grease and dust with cocoa powder two 9"inch round baking pans. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine.
- In a separate bowl whisk together coconut milk, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Pour this into the dry mixture then add the hot coffee. Beat on medium speed just until the batter is combined. Pour evenly into prepared cake pans.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool at least 10 minutes before removing from pans onto wire racks. (*I actually just kept them in the pans to whole time to cool)
For the Frosting
In your standup mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter for 2 minutes. Sift confectioners sugar and cacao into the bowl then turn on LOW speed until the powder starts to get incorporated. Add vanilla extract, salt and creamer then turn onto MED speed for 3 minutes to get nice and fluffy. *If too thick, add 1 extra teaspoon of creamer. If too thin, add a little more sugar.
For the Ganache
In a microwave safe bowl, melt together the chocolate chips and creamer for 30 seconds. Whisk together and return to microwave for another 15 seconds if not yet melted. Whisk until nice and smooth.
To Assemble
Large Cake Option: Spread a layer of ganache on the bottom cake layer and smooth. Top with raspberries then pipe frosting in a circular pattern on top of the berries. Add your second cake layer. Pipe frosting on top to cover, then garnish with a handful of berries. Drizzle with ganache.
Individual Cake Option: Remove cake from pans and lay on a smooth surface. Using a large circular cutout, press onto cake and cut out smaller circles. Should have 6-8 small cakes total. Spread a layer of ganache on the bottom cake layer and smooth. Alternate piped frosting then raspberry until entire ganache layer is covered. Add your second cake layer. Pipe frosting on top to cover, and pipe frosting onto the sides. Spread to cover cake then drizzle with ganache. Top with extra piped frosting and raspberries.
Thank you to Enjoy Life Foods for making amazing chocolate products that are not only delicious but allergy-friendly. This food allergy mom appreciates it!
You are just out of control with the cool baking lately Nicole! These cakes are epic!
Thanks Alisa….I do have a lot of fun baking. It’s probably my favorite thing to do.
Yes. Yes. YES! I love being able to prove eating with food allergies and dietary restrictions can is still be AMAZING. Waay to get your dairy free-chocolate on!
Haha! Thanks Laura…..I knew you’d get it for sure. I’m always drooling over your latest recipes.
Chocolate cake with raspberries, be still my heart! And you have two of those cakes!! I’m definitely going to try this recipe. That cake looks so perfect.
And I have to say, your kids and I are the same, I could eat an entire bag of Enjoy Life chocolate chips with a cup of tea. They’re so good!
I hope you do get to try it soon Linda…it’s hard to beat chocolate and raspberries ( and Enjoy Life chocolate chips ). 🙂
I LOVE CAKE TOO! This truly looks amazing. I really love the combination of raspberries and chocolate!
It’s one of my favorite combos…chocolate + berries.
Wow, this is the way to my heart! A rich, decadent chocolate cake! It looks so moist and so rich and dark, absolutely love it. I love the way you decorated it too!
It really is so decadent but yet not overwhelmingly sweet. My family and friends keep telling me I need to make it again (for the 4th time) since it’s one of their favorites!
Do you think flax or chia eggs would work here? I’d love to stick with them since I already use them for my vegan, but I don’t usually use gluten-free flour. However, this time around I have to go gluten free too! Thanks!
I do think that you can easily use chia or flax eggs. I use to always make this recipe with AP Flour, before we starting changing to more GF, so you can also sub that if you choose. Actually, all my recipes are made at home with AP & GF flour to make sure the consistency is spot on. Just make sure that if a recipe calls for Xanthan gum, you can simply omit that if using regular flour.
Is this cake best eaten the day it is made or ok made a day in advance? Refrigerate after making? Thanks! This is one of two desserts being made for Friendsgiving next week!
You can make it the day before and it will still taste great. I like to refrigerate it and keep it covered (I have a cake cover for it). If you’re icing it completely, then it’ll be great. If you are only filling the center with berries and frosting, then I’d leave that part for the day of and just wrap the cake until ready to decorate. It’s my fav cake….I’m so glad you’re making it for Friendsgiving!
Love, love, love this! Perfect for Valentine’s Day. I loved the FB post of this cake “construction birthday cake style,!” too. I may have to try my hand at that one for my son’s bday!
This cake was so decadent, the best chocolate I’ve ever had! I did used Hershey’s dutch processed DARK cocoa powder which I think probably added to the richness. For the milk I used cashew/almond milk and it worked very well. However I didn’t have enough frosting to cover the whole cake and layers in between. I ended up using two 8” cake pans and baked 34 min, then sliced them in half to make a 4-layer cake. Doubling the frosting is a good idea so you don’t run out. All in all a DELICIOUS winner!
So glad you loved this…it’s probably my fav cake ever! And yes, I always end up doubling the frosting, because I love having extra, just in case.
This looks amazing, and I’m planning to make it for my husband’s birthday tomorrow! What kind of vinegar do you recommend? Do you think white wine vinegar would be ok?
Honestly, either will work. I usually go with white vinegar for most recipes.
Thanks! I used white wine vinegar and it was AMAZEBALLS. Making it again for a friend’s birthday tomorrow! Thank you for such a great GF cake recipe! 🙂
How many layers did you use for the cake in the photo? It looks taller than just two.
I typically make 6″ cakes for our family and for others, so this was a 3 layer cake, using 6″ rounds. If I want to make it even taller, I slice the cake in half horizontally and add another layer of frosting.
If I wanted to use eggs in this how would the recipe ingredients change?
You would have to adjust a few things…the vinegar, baking soda mostly then adding in baking powder. Unfortunately, I no longer bake with eggs so I am not certain the exact exchange to make this recipe work with eggs but I can tell you that you wont be able to tell that vinegar was used.
Hi there! I am planning to make this cake recipe to go with your cake pop recipe for my daughter’s birthday. Wondering about NOT including the coffee. How would you suggest making that adjustment?
Thanks!
-Camille
Some options are decaf, just water, or milk. All will work just fine.
Second time this week making this cake! My son took his home for his birthday. My husband and I wanted more so I made another! Everyone was so surprised it is gluten free and dairy free. Definitely keeping this recipe close by!
Oh yay!!! This is seriously one of my favs too.
I made this for my daughter’s birthday and it did not disappoint! It was moist and delicious and everyone liked it. Best of all, no one would know it was vegan or gluten free. It is bookmarked on my computer and I will definitely make it again. I may try it with strawberries at some point.
So glad you loved it! It’s my favorite cake and most requested birthday cake in our home too.
Will filling the middle (top layer) with fresh mixed berries be okay… weight-wise with the 3+ layers? Thank you. I’m making my own GB birthday cake this Friday. Also, would coconut sugar vs refined sugar and coconut oil vs vegetable oil work??
Thank you!
It should be still be great on a 6″ layered cake. I still like to use cake supports once the cake is taller just to help with the gravity. Not sure about coconut sugar but it should work just fine and coconut oil in liquid form should also be good.
This is seriously my new favorite cake! Just… wow! Super moist, fluffy crumb, rich earthy dark chocolate flavors accented by the coffee. Oh my!