It was my husband’s grandma’s 89th birthday on Friday and I adore her so it was only right to spoil her with chocolate cake! But of course it had to be healthy so I got inspiration for this one from Nigella’s chocolate olive oil cake, I just changed the ingredients around to make it healthier and added a chocolate mousse topping. Suffice it to say, grandma (and everyone else) loved it!
I used a 23cm springform cake tin and it was definitely a bit too flat so next time if only doing one layer I’d use a 20cm one.
Ingredients
150ml extra-virgin olive oil (and a little extra for greasing)
50g raw cacao powder
125ml boiling water
1/2 tsp vanilla essence or powder
150g ground almonds
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
Pinch Himalayan salt
150g coconut palm sugar
3 free-range organic eggs
Avocado Based Chocolate Mousse Frosting option:
1 ripe avocado
2 ripe bananas
6 dates
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp cacao powder
Pinch Himalayan salt
Non-Avocado Chocolate Ganache Frosting option:
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup raw cacao
3-4 tbsp maple, depending on how sweet you like it
3-4 tbsp cashew or almond butter
Method
Preheat oven to 170° and grease a springform cake tin, line base with baking paper and grease with olive oil.
Sift the cacao into a bowl and whisk in the boiling water with a fork until you have a smooth, chocolatey, still runny paste. If you have a Kitchenaid or electric whisk with its own bowl, do it in this; it will make it extra creamy. Whisk in the vanilla, then set aside to cool.
In another bowl combine the ground almonds with bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt.
Put the sugar and olive oil into a bowl and beat together with the electric whisk for about 3 minutes, then add the eggs one at a time, with a slow speed so it aerates. After the 3 minutes, add the ground almond mix, and mix until incorporated.
Finally, add the chocolate mix slowly until combined, then pour into the prepared tin.
Bake for about 25 mins. The sides should be set but not burnt and the top centre should still look very slightly damp.
Remove the cake from the oven. Leave to cool for 30 mins before removing from the tin.
While in the oven make the ganache.
If making the avocado based mousse: Mix all the ingredients in the blender, put it in a bowl and leave in the fridge until later.
If making the ganache: Simply put all ingredients in a saucepan over a gentle heat until combined. If it’s too watery, add more cacao and nut butter. Leave to cool for a bit before spreading over the cake.
Once it is completely cool add the chocolate layer on top. If using the avocado one, put in the fridge to set for at least 2 hours.
Sprinkle with some raw cacao on top to serve.
Enjoy!
Love & health,
Lauren
