You can eat chocolate cake without the guilt with The Healthiest Chocolate Cake. Nutritious ingredients, such as banana, apple, pumpkin, and almonds come together in this recipe to make it a gluten-free, low-carb and keto-friendly recipe without any refined white sugar or white flour. This recipe is very low in sugar, containing only a small amount of honey and fruits as the sweeteners. It is a cake that may be a great option for those with dietary restrictions, are diabetic or watching their sugar intake. You can definitely have your cake and eat it too with this recipe!
The Healthiest Chocolate Cake Starts with Healthy Almond Flour
Almond flour is a healthier alternative to white flour. Almond flour consists of blanched almonds that are finely processed into a flour form. Since it only contains nuts, it naturally gluten-free and low in carbohydrates. While almonds contain more fat, the higher fat content makes this keto-friendly and more filling than regular white flour cakes. A quarter cup of almond flour contains a whopping 24g of protein, as opposed to only 3g in the same amount of white flour. For these reasons, the use almond flour stabilizes blood sugar and keeps you full longer, as opposed to white flour, which causes sugar spikes making you hungrier later. There are several good organic almond flours on the market, including high quality Bob’s Red Mill.
Add In Fruits To the Healthiest Chocolate Cake
Next, this cake is sweetened naturally with the addition of three fruits. Mashed bananas, applesauce and pumpkin puree add light sweetness and moisture to the cake. While many consider pumpkin a vegetable, it is actually considered a fruit in the scientific community! By adding fruits to the recipe, you get additional vitamins and minerals that are nonexistent in a regular white flour/white sugar cake. Bananas add potassium, apples provide Vitamin C, and pumpkin adds Vitamin A, to name a few. A quarter cup of natural honey in the mix balances out the unsweetened cocoa powder so it’s not bitter. For finicky eaters who don’t like fruit, they will never know some are in this recipe! Mum’s the word!
The Healthiest Chocolate Cake Comes Together Quickly
In addition to the health benefits, this cake comes together quickly to save you time. You simply combine the wet ingredients, mix together the dry ingredients and then mix all together! It’s ready for baking! It can be made in a 8″ heart shaped pan, 8″ round pan, loaf pan or as muffins. You can top the cake with any desired fruit for garnish. Simply brush a little melted honey on top for the fruit to lightly adhere to the cake. Enjoy! For another wholesome, low sugar and healthy dessert, try our Healthy Muesli Banana Cookies!
You can find heart shaped pans on Amazon — this one has a removable bottom which makes your cake come out easily and smoothly!
The Healthiest Chocolate Cake
Equipment
- 1 cake pan
- 2 mixing bowls
- 1 Measuring cup
- 1 measuring spoon
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 2 cups Almond Flour
- 1l3 cup Cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 2 tsp Baking soda
- 2 Bananas, mashed
- 1 cup Pumpkin puree
- 4 oz Applesauce, unsweetened
- 1 Egg
- 1/4 cup Honey plus a bit more for garnish
- Raspberries
- Oil or cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use cooking spray or oil to grease pan. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mash the bananas and then add the applesauce and pumpkin until well combined. Add in egg and mix well together.
- In a larger bowl, combine the almond flour, cocoa powder and baking soda. Add in the wet ingredients from the medium bowl and mix all ingredients well. Next, add in the honey and mix batter well until fully combined.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
- For fruit garnish, melt a small amount of honey in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds. Brush honey on top of cake and then place fruit on top as desired. Enjoy!
Notes
Leave a Reply