Mini Chocolate Loaves With Cherry Blossom Frosting Vegan Gluten Free

Ingredients

Mini chocolate loaves

1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup organic cane sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons almond milk
5 tablespoons club soda
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (not coconut)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Cherry blossom frosting

2 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup vegan butter at room temperature
1-2 tablespoon almond milk
1 tablespoon cherry blossom (sakura) powder
pinch of beet powder for colour
6 dried cherry blossom (sakura) flowers garnish

Instructions

Mini loaves

Preheat the oven to 400℉. Lightly grease a metal mini loaf pan and set aside. (I've tried using a silicon mold and the cakes did not bake evenly nor did they get crisp on the outside.)
In a medium sized bowl mix the dry ingredients - almond flour, oat flour, potato starch, cocoa powder, cane sugar, instant coffee, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt. Stir until there are no clumps.
In a measuring cup or small bowl mix the wet ingredients - almond milk, club soda, oil and vanilla extract. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. The batter should be moist and slightly clumpy. Make sure not to over mix. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Scoop the mixture into the molds, filing them 2/3 of the way up. Smooth out the tops.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Let them cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. If they're stuck in the pan gently use a butter knife to go around the sides to loosen them. As the loaves cool start on the frosting.

Cherry blossom frosting

In a medium sized bowl add the room temperature butter, icing sugar, almond milk and cherry blossom powder. Beat with a hand mixer on low until it is smooth. If you beat the mixture on high you will get a lot of unwanted air bubbles in it. Sift in a pinch of beet powder and mix until combined. Add more until you reach the desired colour.
Spread or pipe the frosting onto the loaves. If piping, place the piping tip (I used #12R) into a piping bag. Place the piping bag into a cup for stability and fold down the sides. Using a small spatula scoop the frosting into the piping bag, making sure not to over fill it. Push the frosting down to the bottom of the bag and twist (or tie) the top of the bag. Frost the mini loaves as desired.
Top with dried cherry blossoms for garnish. The loaves are best eaten the same day, but can be stored in an air tight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. They become slightly crumbly and dry the longer they're kept. Enjoy!

Notes

The yield of this recipe depends on the size of the tins used. The tin I used made 6 loaves 3" x 2.5" each. A metal tin is recommended for this recipe. I've tried using a silicon mold and the cakes did not bake evenly nor did they get crisp on the outside.

Nutrition