On my blog there already is a recipe for bear cupcakes, which have a lovely, creamy chocolate frosting. You can find the recipe here.

Now I wanted some vegan, gluten-free cupcakes that are also fruit-sweetened and don’t need oil either. And even better, if they could be nut-free to make them extra allergy-friendly.

Turned out this was a bit challenging. After countless trial and error I am now very happy with the result. These cupcakes have a lovely, soft texture. And combined with the pink chai cream it’s a dream

Note: with this recipe, exact measurements of ingredients is key. I recommend a good quality kitchen scales and measuring spoons. I’m leaving a note in the recipe itself too.

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Pink Chai Cupcakes (Vegan, Gluten-free, Fruit-sweetened, Oil-free)

Super cute Pink Chai & Chocolate Cupcakes. The recipe is vegan, gluten-free, fruit-sweetened and oil-free.

For a 6 piece cupcake form with 6cm diameter.

Course Baked Sweet

Diet Gluten Free, Vegan

Keyword chocolate, cupcakes, fruit-sweetened, gluten-free, oil-free, Pink Chai, vegan

Prep Time 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Einweichzeit 4 hours hours

Servings 6 Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 130 g buckwheat flour (see note)
• 30 g FAIR-TRADE cocoa powder
• 1 tsp psyllium fiber, ground
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 140 g dates, pitted and diced
• 360 ml water
• 1 tbsp tahini (or other nut/seed butter)

For the frosting:

• 70 g sunflower seeds (soaked in water for 4 hours)
• 50 g dates, pitted and diced
• 35 g cacao butter, melted
• 2-3 tsp red fruit powder (eg pink pittaya, raspberry or beetroot powder)
• 1 tsp chai spice (or cinnamon)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 190°C (top/bottom heat). Mix the dry ingredients for the dough in a bowl.
• Blend dates, water and tahini in a powerful blender until smooth.
• Pour the date mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir to combine (don’t over stir).
• Scoop the dough evenly into the muffin form and bake for approx 20 to 25 minutes or until an inserted wooden skewer comes out clean. Take the cupcakes out of the form and let them cool down on a cake rack.
• For the chai frosting, blend all ingredients in a powerful blender until smooth (a high-speed blender with tamper is recommended).
• Transfer the blended mixture into a small bowl and let cool down in the fridge until it has firmed up (approx. 1 to 2 hours).
• Scoop the frosting into an icing bag and decorate the cupcakes. Garnish to your liking. Best stored chilled. Enjoy

Notes

Note: Precise measurements are important for this recipe. I recommend good quality kitchen scales and measuring spoons. 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml and 1/2 teaspoon equals 2,5 ml.

Buckwheat flour is not everyone’s taste. To be on the safe side you can also make a mix of 1:1 buckwheat flour and rice flour.

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

And these heart shaped cookies make the perfect edible gift for your loved one(s). You can also glaze them with chocolate. And there are so many options to garnish, like chopped nuts and cacao nibs and freeze dried fruits. Yum!

The pink chai glaze is sweetened with fruit. The lovely pink colour comes from cooked beetroot. You can also use beetroot powder or raw beetroot. I made the chai spice mix myself by blending ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and allspice.

The cookies are also sweetened with dates. They make for a lovely, soft texture. And as always this recipe for pink chai chocolate cookies is vegan, gluten-free and without oil.

Makes about 12 Cookies:

For the cookies:
• 100g dates, pitted and chopped
• 170ml water
• 50g almond butter (or other nut/seed butter)
• 130g rice flour
• 50g buckwheat flour
• 3 tbsp FAIR-TRADE cacao
• 1 tbsp ground psyllium fiber
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• some FAIR-TRADE chocolate for glazing

For the pink glazing:
• 30g cooked beetroot
• 3 dates, pitted & chopped
• 50 bis 60ml water
• 20g cacao butter, melted
• 60g cashews or blanched almonds
• 1/2 tsp chai spice

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C (top/bottom heat). Blend dates, water and almond butter with a stick blender until smooth.

2. Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl. Add the dates mixture and stir to combine.

3. Roll out the dough between sheets of baking paper. Cut out cookies and place them on a baking tray (sprinkle with some flour if the dough is too sticky). Repeat until the dough is used up.

4. Bake for approx. 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool down properly.

5. For the glaze blend all ingredients in a powerful mini blender. Spread evenly over the cookies. Place in an air-tight container and store in the fridge.

Note: The glaze doesn’t turn completely firm. It is best used as a filling between two cookies.

Enjoy

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

While the pink chai frosting was quickly created, it took me quite some time to get the texture of the chocolate cake right. Like a loong time. In other words, I don’t think I ever had that much chocolate cake in my life

In the end it was just a slight tweak of the ingredients to create this amazingly moist and chocolaty cake. All vegan, gluten-free, without refined sugars and oil-free. This time I also without dates

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Pink Chai Chocolate Cake (Vegan, Gluten-free, No Dates)

This is the result of one of those recipe ideas that I just couldn’t let go. I knew that it would be amazing once I had it right. Because pink chai and chocolate are such a heavenly match. All vegan, gluten-free, without refined sugars and oil-free. This time I also without dates.

Course Baked Sweet, Cake

Cuisine New Zealand

Diet Gluten Free, Low Lactose, Vegan

Keyword cake, chocolate, dairy-free, No Refined Sugar, Pink Chai

Servings 1 cake (18 cm)

Equipment

• 18cm spring-from
• Blender

Ingredients

For the chocolate cake:

• 200 ml coconut milk preferably with high-fat content
• 125 ml water
• 1 tablespoon psyllium fiber husk
• 90 g coconut sugar
• 110 g rice flour
• 75 g FAIR-TRADE cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

For the pink chai frosting:

• 140 g cashews soak them in water for at least 3 hours, then rinse and drain
• 1 heaped tablespoon coconut sugar or more if you like it sweet
• 30 g cacao butter melted
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon beetroot powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2-3 tablespoon water if needed
• Some extra beetroot powder and chopped pistachios for garnish if desired.

Instructions

• First blend the coconut milk, water, psyllium fiber husk and coconut sugar in a blender. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 200°C (top-/bottom heat). Line bottom of spring-form with baking paper and grease the sides lightly (I used coconut oil for this step).
• Sift rice flour, cocoa powder and baking powder into a bowl and mix it. Add the coconut cream mixture and quickly stir to combine. Don’t over stir.
• Scoop the dough into the spring-form and spread it evenly.
• Bake in oven covered* for approx. 35 to 45 minutes, or until an inserted wooden skewer comes out of the dough just slightly sticky. Let cool down a little before taking it out of the form. Then let cool down completely before applying the frosting.
• For the frosting, blend all ingredients but the beetroot powder and cinnamon in a powerful mini-blender. It helps if the ingredients are at room temperature to stop the cacao butter from setting too early. Add a few tablespoons of water if necessary.
• Once the mixture is blended to a smooth, creamy texture, add the beetroot powder and ground cinnamon and blend once more. If it is too hard to blend it, mix it manually instead of adding more water. Let cool down a little until the mixture gets a little thick.
• If you’d like to make some decorative frosting dollops, take a few tablespoons of it aside. Spread the frosting evenly over the cake. Garnish with a little more beetroot powder if you wish. Transfer the remaining frosting into an icing bag to add dollops. Garnish with chopped pistachios if desired.
• Chill for 1 to 2 hours until the frosting is set. Then keep covered until serving (the frosting tends to dry out after a while).

Notes

Enjoy!

*I insert an empty baking tray in the rack above the cake to shield it from direct heat.

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

I actually never got to enjoy this delicious hot drink though, until I came across this (German) recipe from Der Veg ist das Ziel. I made it – and loved it from the first to the last sip! And I kept thinking of it, those colours, those flavours…

After I played around with a few recipe ideas I tried a no-bake version of a pink chai flavoured cake. It was a hit! So dreamy, creamy, delicious! And as always it is vegan, gluten-free and without refined sugars!

The secret to the dreamy pink colour? Beetroot powder! And turmeric if you wish to have a dusky pink colour. Without the tumeric it will have a brighter pink colour.

Makes a 18cm (7inch) spring-form:

For the crust:
1 cup (140g) macadamias (or other nuts), soaked
3/4 cup (105g) dates, pitted and diced
3 tablespoons FAIR-TRADE cocoa or cacao powder

For the filling:
1 cup (140g) dates, pitted and diced
1 1/4 cup (310ml) water
2 cups (280) cashews, soaked
2-3 tablespoons cacao butter, melted

3-4 teaspoons beetroot powder (depending on how much colour you prefer)
2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

Preparation:

1. Place nuts and dates into high-speed blender and pulse to fine crumbles.

2. Transfer to a bowl, sift in cocoa or cacao powder and mix well.

3. Line base of springform with baking paper. Scoop the chocolate dough into the tin, spread evenly and press firm.

4. For the filling blend all ingredients but the beetroot powder and the spices. You might need to use the tamper in order to get the mixture smooth.

5. Take about half a cup of the cashew cream aside. Then add beetroot powder and spices and blend a little longer.

6. Pour mixture into the cake tin. Then add most of the ‘plain’ cashew cream and gently fold it in. You can mix it by swirling it around with a spoon.

7. Mix the remaining cashew cream with just a little water to make it runny. Then drizzle it over the cake, moving the spoon in circling motions. Garnish with cacao nibs or other ingredients of your choice.

8. Place in freezer until set (about 6 hours), let defrost a little before cutting slices, then chill until serving.

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.