Posted in Recipes on 10.12.2018
Chocolate Orange Spice Mini Loaf Cakes
prep: 20 mins / cook: 25 mins / inactive: 60 mins / total: 1 hour 45 mins / quantity: 12 mini loaf cakes Print recipe?
Delicately light and soft Chocolate Orange Spice Mini Loaf Cakes with lots of warming spices and zesty orange. All naturally sweet and vegan too!
The natural sweetness comes firstly from the bananas – the spottier the better – much sweeter for baking when they’re like that! And secondly from the wonderful Sweet Freedom Fruit Syrup and Choc Shot Orange Spice. Which is also what gives these Chocolate Orange Spice Mini Loaf Cakes their name!
This is truly lovely stuff – no artificial anything and great for adding a sweet hit without all the refined additives. I’m seriously addicted to all their products – from simply swirling into my morning porridge to vegan chocolate muffins, baked rice pudding and vegan chocolate ice cream!
I’m also a little bit in love with this baking tin. Outside of cooking I craft quite a bit too (when time permits) and I’ll often buy a stamp set or designer paper with no specific idea of what I’m going to use it for but oh the possibilities! I was the exact same way with this baking tin. There’s also something inherently satisfying about popping a teeny tiny little loaf cake out of its teeny tiny little tin!!
Not so much fun when it comes to the washing up though 😉
I’ve topped these mini loaf cakes with a couple of different toppings too – a delicious vegan frosting and an equally vegan and equally delicious but so simple schmear (technical term) of Sweet Freedom Choc Pot. This is THE simplest way to give anything an extra chocolaty topping.
And I strongly recommend the candied orange on top. It’s really simple to make but gives it an extra orange zing AND bonus chef points as people will be so impressed with your knife skillz 😀
These mini loaf cakes are the second time I’ve used the tin – the first time was with these Cappuccino Mini Loaves. Also equally adorable. If cake can be adorable. I think looking at these it very much can.
I want to have a go with savoury little bread loaves too at some point, just for a change from mini loaf cakes. And because more cuteness.
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Chocolate Orange Spice Mini Loaf Cakes
prep: 20 mins / cook: 25 mins / inactive: 60 mins / total: 1 hour 45 mins / quantity: 12 mini loaf cakes
Ingredients
Cakes:
- 2 ripe bananas – the spottier the better for sweetness!
- 1/2 cup (120ml) unsweetened almond milk
- 1/4 cup (90g) Sweet Freedom Choc Shot Orange Spice
- 1/4 cup (90g) Sweet Freedom Fruit Syrup
- 1 orange – finely grated zest only
- 2 cups (320g) plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
Frosting:
- 1 orange
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 + 1/4 cups (250g) dairy free spread – I used Vitalite
- 1 + 1/2 cups (190g) icing sugar
- 1/4 cup (90g) Sweet Freedom Choc Shot Orange Spice
OR:
- A few spoonfuls of Sweet Freedom Choc Pot
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 170 Fan / 190 C / 375 F / Gas 5 and lightly grease a 12 hole mini loaf tin with a little extra dairy free spread or oil. You can also use a muffin tin if you don't have the loaf tin
- Peel the bananas, break or cut into chunks and put into a large bowl. Mash with a fork or potato masher - they don't have to be complete puree, some lumps are fine!
- Add the Choc Shot Orange Spice and Fruit Syrup along with the grated orange zest and mix everything together
- Sift in the flour and baking powder and using a rubber spatula mix everything together lightly but thoroughly, scraping up from the bottom of the bowl making sure there aren't any pockets of flour
- Evenly divide between the 12 holes of your tin then bake for 25 minutes until risen and springy to the touch. You can insert a cocktail stick into the center of one of the cakes to check if it's cooked - if it comes out clean with raw cake mix sticking to it they're done, if not return to the oven for a few more minutes
- While the cakes are cooking make the candied orange. Using a very sharp knife cut a disc off the top and bottom of the orange and stand upright. Run the knife from the top to the bottom, cutting the skin and some of the white pith off but none (or as little as possible) of the flesh
- Slice those pieces into long strips and put into a small saucepan with 1 cup (230ml) water. Boil gently for 20 minutes then add the sugar and boil for a further 10 minutes until the liquid is reduced and syrupy. Set aside to cool
- Remove the cakes from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before carefully lifting out and cooling completely on a wire rack
- To make the frosting beat together the dairy free spread, icing sugar and Choc Shot Orange Spice until smooth and glossy - you can do this by hand with a wooden spoon in a large bowl or using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment
- Spoon the frosting into a large piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and pipe swirls across the top of the cooled cakes
- Drain the syrup from the orange zest and cut the strips into small pieces then scatter them on top of the frosting
- OR: Simply spread the cooled cakes with some Choc Pot then cut and scatter the orange zest the same way
- Store the cakes in an airtight container
Some products I used in today's post...
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Hello there! I’m Sam, former Michelin star pastry chef and now your go-to vegan foodie on a mission to make plant-based eating a deliciously easy adventure! From cozy comfort foods to vibrant salads and decadent desserts, there’s something for everyone in my kitchen.
Whether you’re cooking for one or for a houseful I believe food doesn’t have to be complicated to be full of FLAVOUR and I want to show you how. I’ve been a rigorous meal planner for over a decade whilst embracing seasonal ingredients (because that’s where the real flavour is!)
I’m also a dedicated dog mum to Nooch and Baxter and enjoy cooking them homemade treats (many of which are posted here) when I’m not screaming at the tennis or devouring fantasy fiction.
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