There are certain celebrations in life that simply require a beautiful cake to be shared. This need-for-cake doesn’t go away when you get your diet in order and give up gluten, dairy, soy and cane sugar.
I’ve been working on a real food cake recipe for months, and am sooooo excited to have finally gotten it deliciously right with this Divine Chocolate Cake with Cherries. It’s been tested on health food lovers and non-health food lovers alike, both of whom licked their plates clean — it’s that good!
What makes this real food cake even more fun is that it has a secret vegetable ingredient that is virtually undetectable, and makes the cake scrumptiously moist. That secret vegetable ingredients is…..canned beets!
Have some fun and try this cake recipe out for yourself
10 ounces dark chocolate, 72% cocoa
½ cup coconut oil
⅔ cup raw honey or pure maple syrup
4 omega-3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
2 cups almond flour
⅓ cup coconut flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 cans (15 oz) beets, drained
1 (15 oz) can coconut cream
2-3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
dash of sea salt
⅓ cup coconut oil, melted and cooled
2 (10 oz) bags frozen, organic, pitted cherries
3 tablespoons warm water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease two round cake pans with coconut oil. Set aside.
In a double boiler, gently melt the chocolate. (If you don’t have a double boiler then fill a skillet with a few inches of water and set a small pot in the water, place over very low heat.) Add the coconut oil and raw honey and mix until fully combined. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
In small bowl combine the eggs, vanilla and almond extracts. Add the cooled chocolate mixture.
In a medium bowl combine almond flour, coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Pour in the wet ingredients and mix until fully combined.
Using a food processor or high speed blender, puree the drained beets until smooth. Making sure the beets are pureed and not chopped is the key to making this recipe work!
Mix the beet puree into the batter. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 25 minutes, or until fully set. Allow to cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before removing from pans. Chill the cakes in the fridge while you prepare the frosting.
For the Frosting: Chill the can of coconut cream overnight in the fridge. Open the can and drain out any water – this is very important step, otherwise your frosting will be runny.
Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the coconut cream until fluffy. Add the syrup, vanilla and almond extracts and sea salt. Before adding the coconut oil check that it is not warm to the touch. It should be still runny but not warm. If it’s too warm then the coconut cream will curdle. Add the coconut oil and beat on high for 3-5 minutes. If your frosting is too runny then place the bowl in the freezer for a few minutes and the beat again.
Prepare your cake: Save one bag of cherries to decorate the top of your cake. Place the other bag of cherries in your food processor or high speed blender and puree with the warm water into a cherry paste.
Place one of the cakes on your cake plate, then spread the cherry paste in an even layer over the top of it. Spread a layer of frosting over the cherry, then top with the remaining cake. Spread the remaining frosting over the top of the cake, then decorate with the saved cherries.
Store the cake in the freezer until you are ready to serve. This will keep the frosting and cherries firm and from sliding off.
Slice and enjoy!!
Calories: 264
Fat: 16g
Carbohydrates: 23g
Sodium: 277mg
Fiber: 5g
Protein: 6g
Sugar: —