Decadent Chocolate Cake Recipe- With Gluten Free, Vegan, and Refined Sugar Free Options

I recently bought coconut sugar in bulk cheaply (or as cheap as I can get it anyhow), so I finally have enough available to be able to be using it as my staple sweetener. While I do try to use jaggery syrup and date paste (my cheapest non refined sweeteners available to me) in as many recipes as I can, they are harder to work with, and require a lot of playing around with to be able to get things the right texture...
Coconut sugar, on the other hand, is a dream to work with, since it has pretty much the same granulated texture as white sugar, so it can be substituted 1:1 with white sugar without too much trouble (though the end result is less sweet).

I made this really awesome chocolate cake- decadent and perfect- made with coconut sugar, as well as being gluten free, egg free, and  vegan, and I'm just super excited to share the recipe. I based it off the Hershey's chocolate cake recipe. Its got the perfect texture- not too dry, not too moist, not too dense and not too fluffy. It's been a big hit in our house!

This recipe makes a 9x13 or bundt cake or 2 8 inch round baking pans or 30 cupcakes.
If gluten isn't an issue for you, feel free to make this cake with gluten. If eggs aren't an issue for you, feel free to use them instead of the ground flax seeds. And if white sugar isn't an issue for you, feel free to replace the coconut sugar with white sugar.
But, if you avoid all the above like I do, feel free to make them without all those ingredients, and rest assured the cake will come out awesome!

Decadent Chocolate Cake Recipe- With Gluten Free, Vegan, and Refined Sugar Free Options

Ingredients:
2 cups coconut sugar or sucanat or 1 1/2 cups white sugar or brown sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose gluten free flour mix or wheat or spelt flour if gluten isn't an issue for you (I used 1 cup short grain rice flour, 3/4 cup green buckwheat flour, and 3/4 tsp xanthan gum)
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds plus 1/4 cup boiling water or 2 eggs
1/2 cup oil (any oil is fine, even solid ones like coconut oil)
1 cup cold water
1 cup boiling water

Instructions:
1. Mix the coconut sugar, flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground flax seeds.

2. If using a solid oil like coconut oil, mix it with the boiling water until it softens/dissolves, and then add it together with the cold water to the dry ingredients. If using a liquid oil, just add the liquid ingredients (including egg, if using). Mix well.

3. Pour into 1 bundt pan, 1 9x13 pan, 2 8 inch pans, 2 or 3 loaf pans, or 30 muffin tins.

4. Bake at 350 until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For bundt cakes this should take 50-55 minutes. For 9x13 and 8 inch pans and loaf pans 30-40 minutes. For muffins 20-25 minutes.

5. Let cool down before removing from pan. It will originally be more puffed up, but will sink down to a more flat top once cooled.

Enjoy!

Are you a fan of chocolate cake? What is your favorite recipe? Does this look like a recipe you'd try?

Linking up to Allergy Free Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday