I have never had much of a ‘sweet-tooth’ so I have to really fancy a biscuit or a piece of cake. So these Vegan Date & Chocolate Cake bites that are also gluten free and nutty, are perfect, especially with a pot of fresh coffee!
How did these Vegan Date & chocolate Cake Bites become Gluten Free?
This recipe came about because I had some coconut flour that I needed to use up. I needed to mix it with another flour and, as the Gram flour was in the cupboard next to it, I thought why not make them gluten free?
But to be honest, I have fallen in love with Gram flour anyway and I like to experiment with it. And, so far, every time I have used Gram flour, I have not been disappointed.
I do admit though, when I first made the cake bites, I hadn’t included the dates and they were a little too dry, and it was actually my husband who suggested using dates.
I have to say, I was a bit reluctant as I have never liked dates and, to be fair, I still can’t just eat them out of the packet.
However, as part of this recipe, I have changed my opinion and will use them more often to add texture and colour to recipes.
Please note that not all sugars are suitable for vegans!
I have used Tate+Lyle Fairtrade Dark Brown Soft Sugar in this recipe and in my Vegan Apple & Blackberry Crumble, as it is states ‘Suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans’ under the nutrition box on the side panel. If it is not stated on the packaging, you can google to see which sugars are vegan friendly.
Another big brand in the UK is Silver Spoon. Most of their sugars are vegan, but they do not put it on the label! However, because I have read their FAQs on sugar, I use Silver Spoon’s caster sugar in some of my other recipes, such as – Vegan Blackberry Coulis.
I used a pre-cut mould that makes 24 cake bites approximately 3.5cm/1.75ins square. But if you do not have a pre-cut mould, you can use a lightly greased tray instead, approximately 14cm x 21cm / 5.5in x 8 ins, then cut to bite-sized pieces when the chocolate has set, using a sharp knife.
Please note, if you use a different sized tray, you may not have the same yield of 24, but you can increase, or decrease the ingredients depending on the size of your tray but this will affect the number of calories per cake bite.
Also note – Time given for this recipe does not include chilling time.
Vegan Date & Nut Chocolate Cake Bites
- 01/07/2020
- 24
- 30 min
- 121 Cals/Serving
- Print this
Ingredients
- 120g vegan butter
- 50g vegan brown sugar
- 75g stoned dates, finely chopped
- 60g coconut flour
- 40g gram flour
- 2 tablespoons soya milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 100g walnuts, roughly ground (or your choice of nut)
- 100g vegan chocolate
Directions
- Step 1
- Pre-heat oven to 180℃ fan/200℃/400°F/Gas 6.
- Step 2
- Cream the butter and sugar in a link-chef or food processor.
- Step 3
- Add the dates and blend for a few seconds, until evenly mixed.
- Step 4
- Now add the coconut and gram flour, soya milk and vanilla extract, and 20g of the roughly ground walnuts, and blend until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
- Step 5
- Spoon into a pre-cut mould, or tray, and bake in the middle of the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Step 6
- Once they are cooked, remove from the oven but leave in the pre-cut mould (or tray, if using) and, using a microwave-proof bowl, break the chocolate into small pieces and melt in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until the chocolate starts to melt. Decrease to 10 seconds at a time until there are only very small pieces of chocolate left, which you can melt by stirring into the melted chocolate. This way, you will avoid over cooking the chocolate.
- Step 7
- Next, stir the remainder of roughly ground nuts into the melted chocolate, ensuring they are evenly coated, and spread over the cooked cake mixture.
- Step 8
- Leave to cool in the fridge. Once cool, carefully remove from the pre-cut mould. If you used a tray, once thoroughly chilled, turn out on to a chopping board, with chocolate side up, and cut to your preferred size. Store in an air-tight container, preferably in the fridge. Please note, when cut to 3.5cm/1.75ins square, the mixture will make 24 cake bites.
