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This Chocolate Peppermint Cake with Pitaya Peppermint Frosting is a deliciously moist and fluffy gluten-free, vegan chocolate cake with a peppermint buttercream frosting garnished with sugared cranberries and rosemary sprigs. A holiday classic with a touch of pink!

Post updated: 4/2/24

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Suncore Foods. The opinions and text are all mine. The product mentioned in this post was sent to me as a gift to use in this recipe, thank you so much Suncore Foods!

When I think of peppermint holiday desserts, red or green come to mind, like fresh mint sprigs. But I decided to go pink this holiday season and frost my Chocolate Peppermint Cake with the most beautiful shade of pink! The frosting is naturally colored by the way, with Pitaya Powder from Suncore Foods!

It’s not uncommon for me to talk on my blog about how challenging gluten-free vegan baking can be. There have been countless fails, lots of dollars straight to the garbage (which, ya’ll know it drives me nuts to throw food away!), and plenty of opportunities for me to give up baking all together. BUT, I am also not a quitter- maybe I drive myself a little crazy trying to perfect a recipe or get something just right- but I’m sure glad I stuck with it because this gluten-free, vegan Chocolate Peppermint Cake with Pitaya Peppermint Frosting is totally worth all those baking fails.

Other than the cake turning out so moist and delicious, with just the right amount of chocolatey goodness to compliment the peppermint, I had a blast decorating this cake! Holiday cake decorating is my fav, which is really good since I may have to make holiday cakes the rest of my life, with my son being born on Christmas Eve!

What makes this cake so moist and delicious?

Aquafaba. Aquafaba is a dear friend of mine. I think that was the aha moment, when everything in my gluten-free, vegan baking world clicked. If you’re not familiar with aquafaba, it’s the liquid in a can of chickpeas. Weird, huh?! Pure geniusness if you ask me. It whips up like egg whites and makes your vegan baked goodies so moist, like eggs would! I rave about it often, I’m sure you’ve noticed I’m totally crushing on aquafaba lol.

Chocolate Peppermint Cake Ingredients

So for the Chocolate Peppermint Cake I used gluten-free flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, vanilla, peppermint, aquafaba, coconut milk, cocoa powder, chocolate chunks, agave, and date syrup! Completely naturally sweetened! Because I use organic powdered sugar for my Pitaya Peppermint Frosting, I wanted to keep the cake naturally sweetened, because we all know (no matter how much we want to deny it) that too much sugar will put your straight on the naughty list. Haha.

The Pink Peppermint Frosting

The Pitaya Peppermint Frosting is a buttercream frosting made with vegan/plant butter, peppermint, organic powdered sugar, and Pink Pitaya Supercolor Powder from Suncore Foods. Now, I feel like the holidays are all about balance, right? It’s ok to indulge a bit, but I sure do feel better when I can sneak some superfoods in my baked goods like I did with this Chocolate Peppermint Cake with Pitaya Peppermint Frosting recipe. Not only does the pink pitaya powder give it this gorgeous pink hue naturally, but it also packs some pretty great health benefits and nutrients too!

What Is Pitaya aka Dragon Fruit

Pitaya, also known as Dragon Fruit, is a rather exotic fruit. If you’ve ever had them, they are just as gorgeous in their whole form as their powdered form. Dragon fruit has rightfully earned its exotic reputation for vivid color, but the fruit is as healthy as it is beautiful. They contain many antioxidants, antibacterial, and nutritional properties help smooth the digestive process and boost the immune system and metabolism. This super fruit is loaded with Vitamin C, several types of Vitamin B, protein, fiber and essential polyunsaturated fatty acids.*

* Nutritional information provided by Suncore Foods.

See? Healthy cake. LOL. No, but in all seriousness, this cake is definitely a lot healthier than alternative options you might be exposed to this holiday season but I promise, just as delicious. OH! And in case you were wondering, pitaya powder is pretty much flavorless, so it won’t add any weird flavor to your icing. It’s actually my favorite superfood powder to work with, and because duh, it’s pink! 😉

I chose to decorate my Chocolate Peppermint Cake with Pitaya Peppermint Frosting with sugared cranberries and rosemary and peppermint candies, but that’s completely optional. The cake and frosting taste great without all the embellishments, but if you’re up for some snazzy holiday decorating, have at it!

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So head on over to Suncore Foods or to my Amazon Shop to get your Pink Pitaya Supercolor Powder, and get baking! Be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook if you make this delicious cake recipe!