There is something so special about having your own personal mini cake. You don't have to share it, though you could, and no one will judge you for eating the whole cake by yourself :D
After making the lemon raspberry pie last week, my son really wanted something with chocolate. We still had plenty of raspberries left and what better pairing than chocolate and raspberries? He absolutely adored these mini raspberry chocolate cakes. We shared one since a whole one is definitely too much for a 3 year old. The chocolate layer is fairly dense and almost fudge like. The raspberries don't get hard in the fridge so they almost melt together with the chocolate filling in your mouth. Delicious!
For this I used my simple 2 ingredient hazelnut crust recipe. If you aren't too fond of hazelnuts you can easily substitute other nuts in the crust as well. Almonds and walnuts work really well. Pulse the nuts and dates in a food processor and press the crust mixture into your ramekins.
I then made the raspberry glaze , put it aside and quickly made the chocolate filling. Then all you need to do is layer the ingredients by adding raspberries, chocolate filling and raspberries again. Pop it in the fridge and you are on your way to a delicious mini raspberry chocolate cake! 
Mini Raspberry Chocolate Cakes
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup Hazelnuts
- ½ cup Dates pitted
- pinch of Salt
- ¼ cup fresh Raspberries
- 2 teaspoons Powdered Sugar vegan
- ½ cup Cashews
- 1 tablespoon Maple Syrup
- 2 tablespoons Water
- 2 Dates pitted
- 2 tablespoons Coconut Oil
- 1 tablespoon Cocoa Powder unsweetened
Instructions
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Line 2 8oz ramekins with parchment paper.
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Place hazelnuts, dates and pinch of salt in food processor and pulse until a sticky mass forms.
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Press half of hazelnut crust into bottom of each ramekin and up the sides using fingers.
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Clean out food processor and add Raspberries and powdered sugar to it. Pulse again until smooth (raspberry seeds will remain whole and this is OK). Pour Raspberry glaze into a small bowl.
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Clean out food processor again and place cashews, maple syrup, water, dates, coconut oil, and cocoa powder in it. Pulse and process until mixture is smooth.
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Drop 1 tablespoon raspberry glaze into each ramekin. Top with half of the chocolate filling and push it out to the sides. Top with another tablespoon of raspberry glaze.
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Place in refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight until filling is firm.
Recipe Notes
1) Cashews can be soaked in water for 10-15 minutes first to make filling extra smooth. Make sure to dry off excess water from them before placing them in food processor. 2) Cakes can also be placed in the freezer to help firm the filling up quickly. Allow enough time to thaw before eating.3) Raspberry chocolate cakes will keep in refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Please note that not all powdered sugar is vegan. Since often sugar is processed through bone char (yuck!). Here are some of the ingredients I used:
A little bonus: If you have any left over raspberry glaze, drizzle it over your favorite vegan ice cream. If I could taste heaven, I'm sure it would be very close to this.
dina says
i love chocolate and raspberry. these look great!
Vanessa says
Thank you Dina! I love the combination of chocolate and raspberries as well. I could eat this all day :D
Dr Icecream says
I made these with almonds in the base and thawed blackberries for the fruit. So simple and yummy! I had almost double the amount of chocolate mix than I could fit in my ramekins so I might halve that next time or roll it up into tasty little balls again like I did this time. Thanks for a great recipe :)
Vanessa says
Using blackberries in place of the raspberries sounds absolutely delicious! I'll have to try it that way next time. Glad you enjoyed it!
Melissa DelSignore says
This looks absolutely amazing! I am creating a vegan cookbook for class where all of the money I raise from selling the books will go towards the rescued animals at Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary. Would you be interested in donating this recipe to the book? Thanks so much for posting! Will try soon!
Vanessa says
Hi Melissa,
That sounds lovely and for such a great cause! Of course, you can use it. I'll just write you a quick email with a few questions I have. Thanks!
Bianca says
Hi, i loved the recipe, but is it possible to change the dates for something else ? im not very fond of them : ( But everytime i do some kind of crust even in pies they always get flaky and i dont like that, but i cant find good recepies without gluten for tart or pie crusts or little cakes like these, help??! still, lovely work : )
Vanessa says
Hi Bianca,
Sadly, I'm not sure what to do without dates either. Maybe substitute them for a different dried fruit? Prunes or raisins might work. Otherwise I would try to play around with nuts, a bit of coconut oil, and agave syrup until you find a consistency that works. Hope this helps a little :)
Cassandra Vyravipillai says
Try using rice syrup or maple syrup in place of dates, 1-2 tablespoon at a time. Add coconut water to base mixes to help bring together!
I will will be trying this recipe as a base for different combinations 😍😍
Lysette says
Hi Vanessa,
I absolutely love your site and recipes!
I was wondering if I can use for example maple syrup instead of powdered sugar for the filling?
Thank you in advance!
Greetings from the Netherlands!
Lysette says
I mean, can I use maple syrup instead of powdered sugar for the raspberry glaze :)
Vanessa says
Hi Lysette,
Thanks so much! The powdered sugar makes the raspberries thicker so that it works better as a glaze. I think maple syrup might make it too runny. If you don't want to add powdered sugar. I would suggest using a medjool date instead. I used it for the mango glaze for my mango kiwi cheesecake and it turned out really nice. If you don't have an extra date to use, you could use maybe only a teaspoon of maple syrup, or just plain pureed raspberries (if they are sweet enough or you like the tartness of them).
Hope this helps a bit. Let me know if it didn't :)
melissa @ my whole food life says
Omg Vanessa! These look to die for! Chocolate and raspberry is always a winning combination. Pinning!
Judith Morales says
Great ingredients, great idea!!
Vanessa says
Thank you Judith :)
[email protected] says
I made this recipe last night for a 4th of July celebration. Loved it! Instead of doing individual cups, I quadrupled the recipe and made it in a tart pan. Worked perfectly. Thanks so much. Pinning!
Vanessa Croessmann says
That's awesome Ashley! I've only every made then into miny cakes but making it as a big one sounds perfect! Will definitely do that the next time I make these :) So glad you liked it!!
jAMIE says
This was so so so so so so so so good! thank you!
Nancy Hayhurst says
I am making these for an English Tea Party I am attending. Do you think instead of ramekins I could make smaller ones in a mini-cupcake tin? A ramekin size would be too large for this event. They look wonderful! Thanks