Who says vegan food is boring? Not anyone who’s tried this vegan chocolate chip date cake recipe!
This is the best because it’s delicious, has added nutrition, less refined sugar from the dates, and- it’s vegan (no animals exploitation in this recipe)!
Disclaimer: You should do your own due diligence and work with your own health care provider to determine what foods and dietary pattern is suitable for your unique needs. This post is not personal dietary or health advice. See our Disclaimers for more details.
You’ll Love this Vegan Date Cake
- It’s delicious: Don’t be surprised if you get requests for this recipe- it’s that good!
- Cut down on refined sugar with dates: You won’t even miss the sugar because dates provide a more nutrient dense sweetness that also contributes to the moistness of this cake. A win-win!
- It’s vegan, egg, and dairy free: Whether you’re trying to reduce animal suffering or just want to avoid dairy and eggs, this recipe is it (because you don’t need those for a delicious cake)!
Why Use Dates?
Not only are whole dates an excellent addition to cakes for extra moisture and less refined sugar, they also provide some nutrition!
Fun facts: Dates are actually fresh fruits that are nutrition power houses.
1 cup of chopped deglet noor dates (the type I use in this recipe) provide around(1):
- 12 grams of fiber
- 964 milligrams of potassium
- 28 milligrams of folate
- virtually zero grams of saturated fat
- antioxidants
So, if some of your goals are to include more fruit in your diet, adding dates to your cake can help without compromising on decadent flavor.
Toppings
This cake goes well served with:
- Vegan whipped topping
- Vegan ice cream
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Blackberries
Storage
This cake should be stored in an air tight container and eaten within about 5 days.
Alternatively, you can freeze leftovers.
My guess is that if you are bringing it to a celebration or holiday gathering, you’re unlikely to have leftovers – it’s that good!
The Best Vegan Chocolate Chip Date Cake Recipe
Equipment
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 2 cup measures (1 cup and 3/4 cups)
- 3 measuring spoons (teaspoon, 1/2 teaspoon and tablespoon measures)
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegan margarine, softened can microwave for about 10-15 seconds if needed
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 and 3/4 cup white flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup finely chopped dates I used deglet noor dates
- 1 cup hot water can microwave water for about 1 minute in microwave
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
- 6 tablespoons water
- 1 cup semi sweet or dark chocolate chips (vegan)
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Mix ground flaxseeds with 6 tablespoons of water, mix, and let sit for 10-15 minutes (until slightly thickened).
- Use one cup of finely chopped dates, or chop your whole dates (pits removed).
- Mix 1 cup hot water (can microwave water for about 1 minute) with dates and baking soda. Stir and let sit 5 minutes.
- Mix flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Put softened vegan margarine, flax 'egg,' and the date mixture with the dry ingredients and mix until well combined .
- Mix in half a cup of vegan chocolate chips.
- Pour mixture into a 9 x 13 greased pan, and then sprinkle the rest of the chocolate chips on top.
- Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 35 minutes, or until cooked through. Let cool down before serving.
- Optional: sprinkle cinnamon on top for added color and flavor.
Video
Notes
- Sure, you could cut the dates into larger chunk, but that will make the cake less moist.
- You can use vegan ‘mylk’ chocolate chips, but the flavor isn’t as rich with those my opinion (I’ve tried using a oat milk chocolate chips before)
- Berries nicely complement the rich chocolate flavor of this date cake!
This recipe was inspired by a date cake that my mother in law made for me for my birthday! It has been slightly modified with flax ground eggs to add more volume, and optional sprinkle of cinnamon for color and flavor
It’s a classic that everyone in my house enjoys, and I’ll continue to make it for many more celebrations.
I just took it to a family gathering the other day, and people took leftovers – aka: it’s a hit!
Did you enjoy this date cake? Let me know in the comments!
If you loved this recipe, check other vegan recipes and round up posts right here!:
–The Best Vegan Kidney Bean Chili Recipe
–Whole Food Plant Based Snacks
–Easy Vegan Popcorn Recipe
–Tofu Recipe Roundup
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❓Ready to go vegan? 📓Check out my book: ‘Going Vegan: A Vegan Lifestyle Journal!’ It makes the puurfect gift for yourself or someone interested in this philosophy/lifestyle.
That seems kind of like a lot of sugar in one form or another to me. Since it has a whole cup of dates, i’m curious as to why it also has a cup of sugar. That doesn’t seem to be much of a reduction in sweetener to me. Can i leave out the white sugar?
thanks.
jacquie
I think these are great questions! The post mentioned that adding dates to this cake makes it sweet with less refined sugar. Certainly, both dates and white sugar contain sugar. However, dates contain extra nutrients and important dietary components, like fiber – that make it more nutrient dense. I was comparing this recipe to several other common cake recipes that don’t use dates. Many of these can easily call for double the amount of refined sugar.
In this recipe, the white sugar helps to add to the ‘fluffy-ness’ (if that’s a word?) of the cake. I have not tried omitting it. If it is omitted, I’m don’t think it would bake properly. You might want to look for a different recipe if you want to completely eliminate the white sugar. Again, thanks for the question! 💚
I can’t wait to try this!
It’s a winner in my house!