Vegan Double Chocolate Brownie Cake for 2 (GF)

A rich and fudgy double chocolate brownie cake perfectly sized for two people. Filled with rich chocolate buttercream, fresh raspberries and topped with vanilla buttercream and sprinkles, it’s the perfect mini celebration cake!

Valentine’s baking is giving me all the pink and love-filled vibes this year as I am loving adding sprinkles to pretty much everything. And I’ve gone one step further by shaping this Vegan Double Chocolate Brownie Cake for 2 into a heart. This pink heart-shaped ramekin was so perfect for this two-person fudgy cake although you can use a regular circle ramekin or cake tin as well.

There is something so fun about small-batch recipes as they are so great when you just want one or two of something – or want to make for a special someone for a special occasion. So, while this Vegan Double Chocolate Brownie Cake for 2 is heart-shaped and so perfect for Valentine’s Day, you can make this all year round – I have made it just for me for dessert a couple of nights a week. It is pretty addictive. The texture is fudgy and brownie-like with a firmer top and lots of melting chocolate chips inside.

The ingredients for this Vegan Double Chocolate Brownie Cake for 2 are pretty basic, too and I hope you will have them to hand:

• Plant-based milk: any will do! My favourites are oat or almond.
• Chia seeds: I always grind mine in my blender or you can use flaxseed, too. They bind the batter and acts as our “egg”.
• Lemon juice: this also helps to bind the batter by curdling the milk to a buttermilk. You don’t taste it, promise!
• Sunflower oil: you could also use melted and cooled coconut oil or even melted butter/margarine, but I prefer using a liquid oil as it’s much easier with less washing up at the end.
• Coconut sugar: this is always my go-to sugar, but you could use caster sugar, too.
• Vanilla essence: this adds flavour, but you could skip this if you don’t have.
• Plain flour: or you can use a GF plain flour blend with xantham gum. I imagine spelt or wholemeal flour would also work but the texture won’t be quite so fudgy.
• Cacao powder: this adds the rich chocolate element the cake batter. You could also use cocoa powder interchangeably.
• Baking powder and bicarbonate of soda: just a pinch for a lovely rise.
• Salt: to bring out the flavours.
• Chocolate chips: for the double chocolate element!

I always bake this cake in my heart-shaped ramekin which has fairly thick walls, so if you’re using a thinner ramekin, skillet or a tin, the Vegan Double Chocolate Brownie Cake for 2 may cook in less time, so I suggest checking the cake after 20 minutes and seeing if it’s cooked in the middle. It may also sink a little after if comes out of the oven, but this only adds to the fudgy texture when it’s cool; this is is ideal and what you’re looking for. This will also be more prominent if you’ve used a ramekin/cast-iron dish.

A few points to note for this Vegan Double Chocolate Brownie Cake for 2:

• If using a different tin/pot: check the cake after 20 minutes to see how it’s cooking as the material of the cast-iron le creuset I use will take longer to cook than a metal tin.
• You can make 2 smaller cakes: if doing so, check the cakes after 20 minutes and keep going until they are cooked through.
• Grease the ramekins well: unlike loose-bottomed cake tins, ramekins are solid so make sure the pot is well-greased and that you line the bottom with parchment paper and then it will just slide out.
• Allow the cake to cool fully: this will help the cake to set properly and not deflate unnecessarily.

Now let’s talking frosting! I think I am about half buttercream by now. Ever since Christmas recipes started, I have been on one long buttercream trip and I am not mad about it! I am really trying to perfect it with every recipe! So, this Vegan Double Chocolate Brownie Cake for 2 features two buttercreams:

• Rich chocolate buttercream
• Light vanilla buttercream

Both are light and fluffy; the chocolate is more indulgent, and the vanilla is a little lighter but both are delicious and work perfectly together. Following the recipe below will mean you have enough frosting to make two of these Vegan Double Chocolate Brownie Cake for 2 (so enough cake for 4 people) as due to the small quantities, it’s hard to make them much smaller and still be able to use machines to whip and beat the butter and icing sugar. I made one cake with more chocolate buttercream and less vanilla and the second cake with less chocolate buttercream and more vanilla.

The buttercreams will keep in the fridge for a week or so, simply beat them back up with some extra milk to soften them up!

Once you’ve made the buttercream, decorate these Vegan Double Chocolate Brownie Cake for 2 any way you like! As I am all over the Valentine’s theme, I went for fresh raspberries, berries and sprinkles, but you could add extra chopped chocolate, cacao powder, strawberries… anything goes.

The resulting Vegan Double Chocolate Brownie Cake for 2 is fudgy, rich and indulgent with very minimal effort required. They are so tasty, easily gluten-free and naturally vegan, dairy-free and nut-free, too. They make a delicious quick dessert or impressive mini cake, too, to show someone you love them (even if that is you!).

If you are looking for more Valentine’s recipes, how about my:

• Vegan Triple Chocolate Cupcakes 
• Vegan Chocolate Cake Balls
• Valentine’s Day Banana Bread
• Vegan Linzer Cookies
• Rich Vegan Chocolate Truffles

I look forward to hearing what you think of this delicious Vegan Double Chocolate Brownie Cake for 2 so please let me know in the comments below and tag me in your bakes. I really love seeing them! I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With 2-person brownie cake love x