Another Year Older + Cardamom Cocoa Mini Bundts with Coconut Butter Glaze

When I started this blog nearly 7 years ago, I created the tradition of making my own birthday cake/dessert. There was always a lot of planning and note taking that went into the event in the early years as I wanted something really unique and delicious. But as I’ve aged, I’ve come to realize that I don’t need to make something super fussy or complicated. Last year, I didn’t make a cake but instead these pumpkin white chocolate cups from Renee’s blog. They accompanied me on a solo hike up in East Texas. It was unconventional but glorious.

This year as my birthday approached, I felt pushed to come up with something new. I felt like I should do something monumental and go on another hike. While I really love hiking (especially solo), I realized that it wasn’t going to work out on my actual birthday…and that was completely okay. I still had to work and take care of the usual Friday stuff because well, that’s what happens when you’re a 32 year old adult. Basically, I realized that I shouldn’t save fun events for my birthday. I can and should do them anytime throughout the year. Also, it’s okay to stay home and focus on self care and taking it easy. I’m trying to learn how to live without guilt and making myself feel bad for things I “should have” done. This was yet another learning opportunity.

So here we are, my birthday dessert for my 32nd year on this planet. It’s basically this exact cake recipe but with a different glaze and some crushed, dried rose petals sprinkled on top. These mini bundts are decadent without being overly sweet and have a particularly great crumb for being both gluten free and vegan. They’re actually one of my favorite recipes I’ve created for the blog.  And if you’re like wait a minute, I have to use a mini bundt pan!!? No, of course not. I realize that not everyone has a plethora of baking implements like I do. You can bake this recipe in a standard cupcake pan filling the molds 2/3 full.

Cardamom Cocoa Mini Bundts with Coconut Butter Glaze

dry ingredients

60g brown rice flour
25g oat flour
35g arrowroot flour
25g (3 tbsp) unsweetened cocoa powder
65g (6 tbsp) coconut sugar
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp psyllium husk or xanthan gum
1/2 tsp freshly ground cardamom

wet ingredients

60g melted coconut oil
60g unsweetened applesauce
120g plant milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Grease a mini bundt pan or regular cupcake pan with your oil of choice. Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl, then do the same with the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Combine the two together and whisk until smooth. Fill each mini bundt mold about 2/3 full with the batter. Once you’ve used up all the batter, tap the pan gently on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles. Bake the cakes for 20-23 minutes until the tops spring back when gently touched. Cool the cakes in the pan for 10-15 minutes before un-molding them and letting them cool completely on a cooling rack. Makes 8 mini bundts.

coconut butter glaze

1/4 cup coconut butter (not the same as coconut oil)
2-4 tbsp plant milk (start with 2, then add more as needed to thin)
1-2 tbsp honey or maple syrup (sweeten to your tastes)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
tiny pinch of salt

In a saucepan set over low heat, combine all of the ingredients. Once the coconut butter begins to melt, whisk the mixture gently until it becomes cohesive and forms a glaze. If it seems too thick, add a splash of plant milk at a time until you get a pourable consistency. Drizzle some of the glaze on each cooled mini bundt.

For my mini bundts I finished them off with a dusting of ground dried rose petals. Feel free to do the same or leave off this step. You could also sprinkle them with toasted shredded coconut, cocoa powder, cardamom, or anything else you’d like.