Chocolate Lovers Cake! GF, Paleo and of course...Vegan!

Last week I was craving chocolate.​

I mean some serious chocolate, not chocolate for sissies. I wanted some savory, rich, deep chocolate that left me 100% satisfied. Sometimes you just have to itch that scratch. I thought I'd use ingredients that wouldn't leave me feeling guilty. The Chocolate Lovers Cake was born!

I started with a flour-less chocolate cake to start! Here are the ingredients:

Melt 1 cup of vegan chocolate chips with 1/2 cup or 1 stick of "butter" in a heavy saucepan over medium low heat. Stir until chocolate and butter melt.

Add 1/2 cup coconut nectar and 1/4 cup agave syrup and a 1/4 tsp sea salt. Reduce heat to low. Cook while stirring for about one minute.

Remove pan from heat. Whisk in "eggs." The mixture will look smooth and glossy.

Use a mesh sieve to sift cacao into mixture. Whisk until the cake batter is smooth. Pour into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until the center of the cake is firm to the touch. Be careful not to over bake as it will firm up more as it cools.

Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes and invert onto a plate. Set aside to cool.
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Sprinkle with sifted cacao powder

Once cool top with frosting

The next Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake contains flour but it's made from gluten-free oats! To create we'll mix 1 1/2 cups sifted oat flour, 1/2 cup raw sifted cacao powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp baking soda and 3/4 tsp xanthum gum.

Then add in 1/2 cup or so of agave syrup, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 1 tbl vinegar, 1 tsp pure vanilla extract, 1 "egg" and 1 cup of alternative milk (I used homemade cashew milk.)

Mix well until smooth and pour into a prepared 9" cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35+ minutes until the toothpick comes out clean.

Cool on wired rack, invert onto plate and cool.

Once cooled, place on top of the iced flour-less cake. Cover with more icing and sifted cacao powder!

Dig in!

and remember...

Chocolate Cake: Gluten-free, Flour-less, Paleo and Vegan!

• 6 oz or 1 cup vegan chocolate chips or cacao chips
• 1/2 cup or 1 stick earth balance vegan butter
• 1/2 cup coconut nectar
• 1/4 cup raw agave syrup
• 3 "eggs" - I used potato starch mixed with water (flax or chia meal works well)
• 1/2 cup raw cacao powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips :)

Prep:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray a 9" cake pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and spray or grease the paper.
3. Melt 6 oz or 1 cup of (vegan) chocolate chips with 1/2 cup or 1 stick of "butter" (earth balance blend) in a heavy saucepan over medium low heat. Stir until chocolate and butter are melted smooth. (To properly melt, place pot over larger pot with boiling water and stir to melt)
4. Add 3/4 cup sugar (I used a little over 1/2 cup coconut nectar + 1/4 cup agave syrup) and a 1/4 tsp sea salt. Reduce heat to low. Cook while stirring for about one minute.
5. Remove pan from heat. Whisk in "eggs" and vanilla extract. The mixture will look smooth and glossy. Use a mesh sieve to sift cacao into mixture to prevent lumps. Whisk until the cake batter is smooth. Add the chocolate chips and mix into the batter.
6. Pour into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until the center of the cake is firm to the touch. Be careful not to over bake as it will firm up more as it cools.
7. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes and invert onto a plate.
8. Sift cacao over the top once cooled and frost.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake

• 1 1/2 cups oat flour (ground gluten-free oats)
• 1/2 cup raw cacao powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp xanthum gum
• 5 tablespoons olive oil (vegetable oil..coconut oil etc)
• 1 tbl apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup raw agave syrup
• 1 "egg" (1 tbl potato starch mixed w/2 tbl cool water) (flax or chia meal works well)
• 1 cup cashew milk (or favorite alternative..almond, rice etc)

Prep:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Spray a 9" cake pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and spray or grease the paper.
3. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
4. Add the wet ingredients and take a mixer or whisk and mix together until smooth.
5. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 + minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting:

• Cream of 2 cans of coconut milk, refrigerated overnight.
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup coconut nectar
• Dash of stevia
• 1 tsp brown rice syrup (opt)
• 3 "eggs" (potato starch or flax  meal blend will work)
• 1 tbsp sifted cacao powder
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup sifted oat flour
• 2 cups shredded coconut (blended to a finer consistency)
• 1 tub vegan cream cheese (tofutti)
• 1 banana

Prep:

1. Carefully remove the can of coconut milk from the fridge, try not to shake or stir.
2. Carefully spoon out the cream into a bowl.
3. Add the vanilla, "eggs", stevia and syrup. Mix/beat until it begins to thicken.
4. Add the sifted oat flour, cacao powder and shredded coconut. Continue to mix allowing to thicken.
5. Toss into a blender, add the vegan cream cheese and banana. Pulse until thick and creamy. Refrigerate to create a thick frosting consistency.

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The frosting is great by itself! I used the leftovers on top of homemade vanilla mango muffins! Recipe to come!