Step 1

Cake

Step 4

Preheat the oven to 350°F and make some date paste (if using).

Step 7

Date paste is simply 1 cup pitted dates and 3/4 cup water blended well in a blender or food processor. For more instructions, please see notes in the article above. Once the date paste is ready, set it to the side to be added to the wet ingredients shortly.

Step 10

Place all of the dry ingredients–flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder–in a large mixing bowl and whisk together well. If you're using sugar instead of date paste, add the dry sugar in this step.

Step 13

In a medium-sized bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients–applesauce, plant milk, vanilla, vinegar, date paste (if using)–and whisk together thoroughly.

Step 16

Next, pour the wet ingredients into the large bowl with the dry ingredients and whisk them together well.

Step 19

Pour the cake batter into a silicone baking pan (or line a regular pan with parchment paper to prevent sticking) and bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes. This recipe will make two 8" round cake pans.

Step 22

Oven temperatures vary, so around the 25-minute mark, remove the cake from the oven and test for doneness. To do this, insert a toothpick into the highest center point. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done, otherwise place back into the oven and test again in 5-10 minutes.

Step 25

Once the cake or cupcakes are done, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool before frosting.

Step 28

The heart cupcake pans are also great if you would rather have cupcakes.

Step 30

Frosting

Step 33

I like the take the easy way out and cook my sweet potato quickly by poking a few holes in it with a knife, wrapping it in a wet paper towel, and placing it in the microwave for about 5-6 minutes depending on the size of the potato.

Step 36

Once it’s done, I simply remove the peelings and use the potato flesh in this frosting recipe.

Step 39

Simply place all the frosting ingredients–including the cooked sweet potato– in a blender or food processor and mix until smooth. More frosting tips can be found in the article above.

Step 42

When the cake or cupcakes has cooled, frost and serve!