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Vegan Chocolate Cake with Pear

An easy vegan chocolate cake filled with slices of juicy pear. Tips and free printable recipe included.

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Pear Slices


Vegan Chocolate Cake with Pear


This is a cake I created years ago, later I wanted it to be a vegan treat so I played about with it and found a few easy tweaks that made this luxuriously rich chocolate cake dairy-free and egg-free.

This cake has a rich brownie like texture  and is topped with thick sliced of juicy pear, which takes this cake to a whole other level.

I hope you try it and enjoy it as much as we do.



Vegan Chocolate Cake with Pear on baking paper, just cooled

Making chocolate cake vegan


My original chocolate pear cake was made like a traditional chocolate cake with butter and eggs. To make this vegan version I simply replaced the butter with dairy-free spread and the eggs with flax eggs and it worked perfectly.

The cake didn't have the same rise, but it was fudgy and chocolatey and utterly divine!



flax seeds and gloopy flax eggs in a bowl


How to make flax eggs


Flax eggs are so simple to make and make a great substitution for eggs in cakes. However I would only use them in heavier style cakes like chocolate cake, brownies or fruit cake. 

Flax eggs

  1. Grind or whizz up flax seeds into a powder. 
  2. Add 1 tbsp flax seed powder to a bowl and top with 3 tbsp of water. 
  3. Pop it in the fridge for 20-30 minutes until it is gloopy. 

Notes: This is enough for one egg, just double or triple up the ingredients for 2 or three eggs.


What are flax seeds?


The flax plant has many uses. We use the seeds in cooking and baking and they are also turned into an oil. The fibrous stalks are made into linen.

Top Tip


Flax seeds are also known as linseeds. 

When shopping for flax seeds, look for linseeds first. Flax seeds have become a trendy ingredient and with that label the price has increased. Buy them as linseeds and they are much cheaper.




cup of black coffee


Adding coffee to chocolate cake



Adding coffee to chocolate cake boosts the flavour of the chocolate. You don't taste the coffee, but the flavour of the chocolate is so much richer.

If you didn't know that wee trick, do try it next time you make a chocolate cake.

Fine coffee granules can be added when the cocoa powder is added into a cake batter or if a cake calls for liquid, either water or milk, you could add some warm coffee as the liquid instead.



pear

Adding pear to chocolate cake


Pears and chocolate go so well together and juicy slices of pear can elevate a chocolate cake.

There is no need to peel the pears, just wash, remove the core and slice thickly. You can also slice around the core, discarding the core if you don't have an apple corer. Of course there isn't a lot of core in a pear.

You want a fairly ripe pear when adding it to a cake in slices.

Love chocolate? Also try this Chocolate Truffle Torte.

A slice lifted out of whole Vegan Chocolate Cake with Pear on cake slice

How to serve vegan chocolate pear cake


Everyone will love this cake, but there is more than one way to serve it. Here are a few ideas.

  1. Serve with a cup of coffee for an afternoon treat
  2. Serve cold with dairy-free pouring cream 
  3. Serve cold with dairy-free creme fraiche (which is slightly tart and a great contrast to the rich sweet cake.
  4. Serve warm with hot dairy-free custard
  5. Serve warm up with vegan vanilla ice cream


For transparency I'm not working and have never worked with any of these brands and of course other brands are available. These are our family favourites. Hopefully it's helpful to know what we enjoy as a family in case you aren't sure which brands are good.



pin it for later

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Pear - a fudgy dairy-free and egg-free chocolate cake that makes a wonderful dessert for special occasions like Easter and Christmas #veganchocolatecake #vegancake #veganpearcake #chocolatepearcake #dairyfreechocolatecake #veganchristmascake #veganchristmasdessert #veganchristmasrecipes

Sharing cake



Look at that fudgy chocolate cake with a juicy slice of pear!

Doesn't it look good?

It tastes even better than it looks, if that is possible. Remember to save the recipe for later, you will want to try this one. Pin it for later, bookmark the page or print out the recipe below.

If you're on Pinterest and make the cake do click the tried it button on the pin and save a photo and comment to let other people know what you thought or share it on twitter tagging me @tinnedtoms.



Vegan chocolate cake with whipped coconut cream, topped with raspberries



10 vegan chocolate recipes

This cake is a good all-rounder, but it's also a great cake to make for special occasions when you want to share something a bit special with family and friends like Christmas and Easter.

Here are a few more rather special chocolate recipes you may like to try.

  1. Vegan Chocolate Cake with Coconut Whipped Cream - this one is perfect as a birthday cake or serving for Christmas dinner (well dessert).
  2. Quick Blackberry Chocolate Cake - this is one of those instant cakes made with a can of cola, which we think is a real winner and perfect if you are short of time or baking skills.
  3. Easy 3 Ingredient Chocolate Fudge - an easy chocolate treat, when you need a chocolate hit, but also makes a great edible Christmas gift.
  4. Chocolate Caramel Tart - this is a good one for special occasions too.
  5. Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Mousse - this vegan dessert is whipped up using aquafaba (chickpea water) instead of egg whites and is easy to make.
  6. Fudgy Pineapple Chocolate Brownies - fudgy and extremely chocolaty with a bite of juicy pineapple, an amazing combo and another great edible gift.
  7. Dark Chocolate Magic Pudding - a luxurious self-saucing chocolate pudding.
  8. No-Bake Peanut Butter & Cornflake Chocolate Tiffin - an easy traybake that's fun to make.
  9. Triple Chocolate Donuts - these chocolate and sprinkle topped chocolate donuts are baked.
  10. Vegan Prune and Chocolate Fudge Brownies - soft fudgy brownies with a big chocolate hit.


Close up of Vegan Chocolate Cake with Pear



vegan chocolate cake, vegan chocolate dessert, chocolate pear cake, pear cake, vegan pear cake, dairy-free chocolate cake, egg-free chocolate cake, vegan cake, Christmas dessert, Christmas cake
dessert
British, vegan
Yield: 8
Author:

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Pear

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Pear

An easy vegan chocolate cake filled with slices of juicy pear.
prep time: 30 Mcook time: 1 hourtotal time: 1 H & 30 M

ingredients:

  • 2 ripe pears
  • 125g dairy free margarine
  • 250g caster sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 flax eggs (see below)
  • 200g self-raising flour, sieved
  • 50g cocoa powder, sieved
  • 150 ml strong coffee (2 tsp coffee)

instructions:

How to bake Vegan Chocolate Cake with Pear

  1. First make your flax eggs. Grind 2 tbsp flaxseeds (also called linseeds), pour into a small bowl and top with 6 tbsp water. Stir well, then leave in the fridge for 20 - 30 minutes to thicken.
  2. Preheat oven to 180c/160c fan/gas mark 4.
  3. Line a 20cm cake tin. I like to use a spring release cake tin and cake liners, but you can use a standard cake tin and butter and line the tin.
  4. Beat together the margarine, sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy by hand using a hand whisk or electric stick whisk. You can also pop then in your stand mixer.
  5. Fold in the flax eggs along with a spoonful of the flour, this will stop the mixture separating. Gradually add the rest of the flour and cocoa and fold or whisk in until you have a smooth cake batter. Don't over whisk.
  6. Pour into your lined cake tin and smooth the surface. Place thick slices of pear in top of your batter and push in slightly.  
  7. Bake for 1 hour, checking with a skewer after about 50 minutes. If it comes out clean it is ready, if not give it a few more minutes.
  8. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for a while before moving to a wire rack to continue cooling, then serve.
  9. Enjoy!

NOTES:

You can warm slices of this cake to serve as dessert in the microwave or in a moderate oven. If warming in the oven, cover with foil.

If you make your flax eggs the night before you can cut down on the prep time considerably.
Calories
396.85
Fat (grams)
15.22
Sat. Fat (grams)
2.71
Carbs (grams)
61.29
Fiber (grams)
4.01
Net carbs
57.28
Sugar (grams)
35.71
Protein (grams)
5.19
Sodium (milligrams)
309.39
Cholesterol (grams)
23.25
Created using The Recipes Generator

16 comments

  1. I love a fudgy cake and the addition of pears was delicious!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yes me too and the pears just make it so much nicer, if that is possible.

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  2. I love adding coffee to chocolate cake! It really brings out the rich chocolatey flavor. This cake is moist and fluffy. Yum!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really does make all the difference to the flavour doesn't it and I'm not even a coffee lover.

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  3. I love pear and chocolate together. This looks delicious.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes the favours work really well together, be it pears coated in chocolate sauce or pears in chocolate cake.

      Delete
  4. I've never heard of flax eggs, but I love ground flax. Such a great recipe

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a really easy substitute and a healthy one too.

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  5. This cake is divine. And thanks for that linseeds tip! I didn't know they are the same thing as flax seeds. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh gosh year and so much cheaper. As soon as flax seeds were seen as a health ingredient the price rocketed up. It's daft to buy it as flax when linseeds are cheaper and the same.

      Delete
  6. Oh that looks good. I have egg replacer, can I use that instead of flax eggs? Jill

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have never used egg replacer but I know a lot of people like to use it. It should be fine, just read the pack and use the quantity for 2 eggs.

      Delete
  7. Is there a recipe with U.S. measurements? Looks divine!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes this is an old recipe I had not converted (I usually give quantities in cups and metric. There is a site I use that is usually reliable for conversions. It converts to 1/2 cup butter, 1 1/4 cups sugar, 1 1/2 cups flour, just under a half cup of cocoa powder and just under a half cup of ready made coffee.

      Delete
    2. The rest should be ok for you to work out in spoon measures.

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  8. this is an absolutely lovely and scrumptious looking cake! I love the combo of chocolate and pears!! And it’s easy!! Thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete

I love reading comments, so thank you for taking the time to leave one. Unfortunately, I'm bombarded with spam, so I've turned on comment moderation. I'll publish your comments as soon as I can and respond to them. Don't panic, they will disappear when you hit publish. Jac x