I’m a sucker for dessert. But when you are dairy-free and cane-sugar free, it can be hard to satisfy your sweet tooth. For the sake of my sanity, I’ve had to become adept at baking without these ingredients so that I can actually enjoy dessert! The best part, for me, is that over the years, not only am I making easy and decadent sweets, but I’m always so impressed with how nourishing they are.
The pure cacao in this recipe has incredible nutritional benefits including antioxidants and protein. The flaxseeds have a number of phytoestrogens that help to balance your hormones (not to mention providing you a good dose of the protein and Omega 3s!) The olive oil is a superb polyunsaturated fat that is known to reduce inflammation and reduce the risk of heart disease. And the use of almond flour instead of wheat flour adds so much fiber and Vitamin E that your body is sure to be happy and satisfied (and glad to not have any of that gluten bloat afterwards).
I hope you enjoy this rich and creamy cake, knowing your body is going to love it too.
In health ‘n Mellness,
xo
Ingredients:
FOR THE CAKE:
3 Tbsp of ground flax (+ 7.5 Tbsp of water) - this is equivalent to 3 flax eggs
NOTE: You can sub 3 whole eggs if you are not vegan! (This option is sometimes easier if you’re not adept at making flax eggs yet!)
1/3 cup of raw cacao powder
1 Tbsp of pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice (I used mandarins for this recipe)
NOTE: If you’d rather sub brewed coffee, you can. It adds a nice layered flavor that brings out the flavors of the chocolate.
1 cup of coconut sugar
2/3 cup of olive oil
1.5 cups of almond flour
1/2 tsp of baking SODA
1/4 tsp of pink sea salt
POWDERED SUGAR:
1 cup of maple sugar (or coconut sugar)
1 Tbsp of arrowroot powder
HOW TO MAKE IT:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Start by making your flax eggs. Ground 3 Tbsp of flaxseeds and mix it with 7.5 Tbsp of filtered water. Whisk together, and then set it aside for at least 5 minutes (better if it’s ~10 minutes). (This is equivalent to 3 whole eggs. If you'd like to substitute for 3 whole eggs, feel free!)
If you are juicing oranges from scratch, juice them now. (If you’d rather substitute for coffee, you can do that, too)
In a small bowl, mix the raw cacao powder, the pure vanilla extract and the orange juice together. Set this aside.
In a bigger bowl, add the coconut sugar, the flax eggs, and the olive oil and use an electric mixer (or standing mixer) to mix thoroughly on a fairly high speed. NOTE: You can do this by hand, it might just take a little longer.
Next, add the cacao and orange juice liquid to the sugar mixture. Whisk it again for another minute.
Then, slowly add the almond flour, the baking soda and the salt to this mixture, and whisk again for another minute or so.
Finally, grease a rounded baking pan, and pour the mixture in.
Bake it for 35ish minutes. (some ovens need more like 40 - 45… keep checking, and make sure that a poke in the center comes out clean.)
While it bakes, mix the the maple sugar and arrowroot together in a blender or mixer until a powdered sugar forms (I whisk for at least a minute).
Once the cake it donee take it out to cool for ~15 minutes before adding the powdered sugar on top.
ENJOY!