Vegan Black Sesame Chocolate Cake with Matcha Cream Cheese Frosting

I remember standing on my tippy-toes trying to reach for my grandma’s cookie jar that she strategically placed just out of reach of my 6-year-old fingers. My life would be complete, I thought, if I just had one of her buttery, crispy, chocolate chip cookies. My grandma’s house has always had a jar of homemade cookies in it since I can remember. Filled with ginger snaps, snickerdoodles, or oatmeal raisin but usually a mix of any of them.

She worked long hours at a bakery that employed workers with special needs. She ran several restaurants and to my pleasure, a donut shop for a hot minute. She can bust out wedding cakes and buttercream roses like you can’t believe. It’s because of her that our whole family is obsessed with food.

But, we can’t call ourselves foodies. We are always on the hunt for a good chicken fried steak or the best flap jacks. We love trying new things, but we always fall back to a nice cut of roast beef and whipped horseradish for Christmas dinner. We are all American bakers/chefs. As much as my Aunt René loves making macaroons, she always falls back to her American buttercream recipe. And, as much as my mom loves making a large pot of homemade pot stickers, she will always prefer a baked potato bar with the crispiest bacon bites you may ever know.

It’s my wheelhouse too. I love seeing new vegan creations, and I love experimenting with new ways of baking. But, what I always fall back on time and time again is a good ole’ eggy batter with a whole lotta’ buttermilk. It’s where I’m comfortable. It’s what I know, and I know it well. But this last week, I had the pleasure of making up some vegan creations as a part of my friend’s workshop.

Even though it’s my job to bake and I’m not afraid to say I do it well, I was timid since I had never worked with vegan substitutes before. How will it bind with out eggs!?! How will it taste without milk fats?

Guys… GUYS!!!! I was worried about nothing. There are so many amazing substitutes that vegan baking may look a little different in execution, but the outcome is perfection! Especially in this Vegan Black Sesame Chocolate Cake with Matcha Cream Cheese Frosting! It was a real hit and it calmed all my worried questions to nothing. I found myself, on my tiptoes, reaching for an extra slice of this cake when no one was looking.

I feel confident in vegan baking. I feel like I can take over the vegan baking WORLD! Okay, not really. I do love my all American baked goods, but I would love to put more vegan options on the blog! And I’ll start with this cake. It has ground black sesame seeds to give it a warm, nutty taste, and it’s made with avocado! Those cute little white things? Those are aquafaba meringues made by my friend Alenka of Urban Kitchen Affair! She used the foam from garbanzo beans. I honestly can’t tell the difference between egg white meringues and aquafaba meringues. She should be putting her recipe on her blog soon so be sure to check it out! And really, she’s beautiful, talented, kind and sassy. What more could you want out of a person!?!?!

Vegan Black Sesame Chocolate Cake with Matcha Cream Cheese Frosting

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This is a perfect, moist, crumb Vegan Black Sesame Chocolate Cake with Matcha Cream Cheese Frosting that will wow your non-vegan friends!

• Author: Karlee Flores
• Prep Time: 45 minutes
• Cook Time: 45 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Yield: 20 servings

Ingredients

|| Cake ||

3 cups all purpose flour

½ cup black cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup mashed avocados, about 2

½ cup black sesame seeds, ground

2 teaspoons vanilla

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 cups water

2 cups sugar

|| Frosting ||

1 cup vegan butter

1 cup Kitehill vegan cream cheese 

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons Matcha powder

1 pound powdered sugar, sifted

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

|| Cake || Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together and set aside. 

Mash avocado thoroughly. I smashed them through a ricer to make sure it was as smooth as can be. Add black sesame seeds, vanilla, oil, vinegar, and water.

Mix the dry ingredients with the wet until combined. Fold in the sugar. 

Pour into a greased and parchment lined 9″ x 13″ sheet cake pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cool for about 30 minutes before removing from the pan.

|| Frosting || Mix room temperature vegan butter together with vegan cream cheese and vanilla. Sift in the Matcha powder and mix until uniform. Slowly, add the powdered sugar and whip for 30 seconds once fully incorporated. 

Generously frost on cooled cake. Topped with aquafaba meringues!!

Notes

For the frosting, I strongly suggest using Earth Balance vegan butter. Vegan butters that are coconut-based will not whip as well. 

Keywords: cake, chocolate, cream cheese frosting, matcha, vegan