Healthy, Fudgy Chocolate Cake
Yesterday's instagram post about the secret ingredient in this chocolate cake produced some great answers. I am now inventing recipes in my head for Chocolate Beetroot Cake and Chocolate Cake with Avo Frosting, because you guys are inspirational like that!
If you haven't seen it yet, the secret ingredient in this cake is cauliflower. I swear by moon and the stars in the sky (I'll be theeeeeeeere - sorry, bad 90s R&B reference).
I'm not one for sweet things made from vegetables. I've tried sweet potato brownies (like eating wet cement), black bean cookies (just couldn't get away from the black bean taste, I don't know if it was mental thing) and zucchini bread (meh). I like my vegetables to be on the side of my plate (not touching any other food groups because deep down I am still 5 years old), crisp, salty and looking like vegetables. Colour me old school.
So I'm still not sure what possessed me to try this cake, except that it sounded so bananas that my crazy was intrigued and wouldn't be denied. It was either going to be shockingly bad or shockingly good; I do not believe that cake made from cauliflower could land in the cesspool of mediocrity.
It was shockingly good. Moist, fudgy, moreish - the kind of cake you can fool yourself into eating with every meal because it's one of your five a day. I can't recommend it enough, really! As with all my healthy treats though, don't eat it all at once - it still has a sack full of calories and is meant to be enjoyed in conservative, Bridgerton-tea-era amounts.
The original recipe is from the goddess of healthy vegan desserts, Chocolate Covered Katie.
Healthy, Fudgy Chocolate Cake
Cake Ingredients:
- 1 cup spelt, white, or bob’s gf ap flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup cacao powder (can also use cocoa)
- 2 tbsp ground golden linseed (can also use ground flaxseed ie the brown one)
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup mini dark chocolate chips or broken up dark cooking chocolate (I used the latter)
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract (can use 2 tbsp vanilla essence)
- 2 loosely-packed cups frozen cauliflower, thawed completely but not cooked (250g)
- 1/2 cup plant milk
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
Frosting Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 4 – 6 tbsp agave (can use normal sugar if you don't have agave)
- 1/4 cacao powder
- 5 – 6 tbsp plant milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract / 2 tsp vanilla essence
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees (160 fan assisted) and grease a pie dish.
2. Combine all dry ingredients except choc chips in a bowl and mix very well.
3. Combine all liquid ingredients and the cauliflower in a blender or food processor and blend until super smooth, making sure there are NO lumps.
4. Pour wet into dry, add choc chips and mix until just combined, then pour into greased pan and bake for around 15 minutes or until just cooked.
5. While the cake is baking, add all frosting ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Wait for the cake to cool down completely before icing.
6. Serve to unsuspecting friends and only tell them about the cauliflower once they've spent 10 mins raving about it - naturally!