These mini chocolate loaves are soft and moist with a beautiful floral cherry blossom frosting. As a single serving treat they are perfect to bring along to picnics, school lunches or for entertaining. Made with all natural ingredients, vegan and gluten free, everybody is sure to love them!

This post contains affiliate links. This means that at no extra cost to you I may earn a small commission. I only recommend products that I use and love. Please see our Disclosure Policy.

Key Ingredients

Almond flour. When combined with oat four it creates a light texture.
Oat flour. Make sure to use gluten free oat flour if needed.
Potato starch. Helps to create a crisp outside to the loaves.
Instant coffee. A small amount deepens the rich dark chocolate flavour.
Club soda. It creates air bubbles in the batter resulting in a light and fluffy loaf. (My favorite hack for vegan gluten free baking!)
Dark chocolate chips. I love dark chocolate but use a sweeter chocolate if preferred.
Vegan butter. To make a smooth frosting make sure that the butter is at room temperature.
Almond milk. Only a small amount is needed for the frosting. Any milk alternative can be subbed a long as it is unsweetened and unflavoured.
Cherry blossom (sakura) powder. I use an all natural cherry blossom powder. It dissolves easily and can be used in many different types of recipes. I’ve found that artificial cherry blossom extracts have an unnatural flavour.
Beet powder. Only a tiny amount of beet powder is needed to colour the frosting (less then 1/8th teaspoon). It leaves a few speckles in the icing. Alternatively a liquid food colouring can be used.

How To Make The Mini Loaves

These loaves can be made from start to finish in under 30 minutes.

Mix the dry ingredients.
Mix the wet ingredients.
Mix the wet to the dry and fold in the chocolate chips.
Spoon into molds and bake for 15 minutes.

While they cool it’s time to start on the cherry blossom frosting!

The wet ingredients being added to the dry ingredients.

How To Make The Frosting

The frosting is made of 5 ingredients – icing sugar, vegan butter, almond milk, cherry blossom powder and beet powder (for colour).

With a hand mixer lightly beat the butter, icing sugar, almond milk and cherry blossom powder until it’s smooth. Don’t beat it on high or longer then needed as this will create unwanted air bubbles in the frosting.
Add a small pinch of beet powder and lightly beat to mix. Add more until you reach the desired colour. I used less then 1/8th teaspoon for this colour.

All that is left is to do is spread or pipe the frosting onto the cooled loaves. I garnished them with beautifully preserved cherry blossom flowers.

Cherry blossom (sakura) icing is being whipped with a hand mixer.

Why You Will Love These Mini Chocolate Loaves

✓ Soft and moist

✓ Rich dark chocolate

✓ Floral cherry blossom frosting

✓ Easy for picnics, school lunches, entertaining

✓ All natural ingredients

✓ Allergy friendly

Looking For More Chocolate Recipes?

Or More Cherry Blossom Recipes?

These mini chocolate loaves are a fun little treat that are perfect for just about any occasion! Rich dark chocolate paired with a floral cherry blossom frosting is somehow indulgent and light at the same time. I hope that these become a new addition to your spring/summer recipes and happy eating always!

Ingredients

Mini chocolate loaves

1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup organic cane sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons almond milk
5 tablespoons club soda
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (not coconut)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Cherry blossom frosting

2 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup vegan butter at room temperature
1-2 tablespoon almond milk
1 tablespoon cherry blossom (sakura) powder
pinch of beet powder for colour
6 dried cherry blossom (sakura) flowers garnish

Instructions

Mini loaves

Preheat the oven to 400℉. Lightly grease a metal mini loaf pan and set aside. (I've tried using a silicon mold and the cakes did not bake evenly nor did they get crisp on the outside.)
In a medium sized bowl mix the dry ingredients – almond flour, oat flour, potato starch, cocoa powder, cane sugar, instant coffee, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt. Stir until there are no clumps.
In a measuring cup or small bowl mix the wet ingredients – almond milk, club soda, oil and vanilla extract. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. The batter should be moist and slightly clumpy. Make sure not to over mix. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Scoop the mixture into the molds, filing them 2/3 of the way up. Smooth out the tops.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Let them cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. If they're stuck in the pan gently use a butter knife to go around the sides to loosen them. As the loaves cool start on the frosting.

Cherry blossom frosting

In a medium sized bowl add the room temperature butter, icing sugar, almond milk and cherry blossom powder. Beat with a hand mixer on low until it is smooth. If you beat the mixture on high you will get a lot of unwanted air bubbles in it. Sift in a pinch of beet powder and mix until combined. Add more until you reach the desired colour.
Spread or pipe the frosting onto the loaves. If piping, place the piping tip (I used #12R) into a piping bag. Place the piping bag into a cup for stability and fold down the sides. Using a small spatula scoop the frosting into the piping bag, making sure not to over fill it. Push the frosting down to the bottom of the bag and twist (or tie) the top of the bag. Frost the mini loaves as desired.
Top with dried cherry blossoms for garnish. The loaves are best eaten the same day, but can be stored in an air tight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. They become slightly crumbly and dry the longer they're kept. Enjoy!

Notes

The yield of this recipe depends on the size of the tins used. The tin I used made 6 loaves 3″ x 2.5″ each. A metal tin is recommended for this recipe. I’ve tried using a silicon mold and the cakes did not bake evenly nor did they get crisp on the outside.

Nutrition

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

Please leave a comment and star rating below. Ask me any questions about the recipe in the comment section and I will get back to you ASAP. Thank you so much for stopping by and happy eating always!