Simple Chocolate Cake (with some really healthy ingredients)

This cake is gone. It went faster than a penny anywhere in a kid’s line of vision. At times, I was afraid Barry was going to carry it upstairs and hide it in his closet. Y’all…it got serious. I thought he was going to fight my Mama for it. But, Annie was watching so everything turned out fine. This simple healthy chocolate cake checks all the boxes: simple, healthy(ish), delicious, chocolate…you know, all the “required” items for a chocolate cake.

Let’s walk through how to make it!

Honestly, this might be the second best chocolate cake I’ve ever made (behind Miss Sally’s Chocolate Cake). But this cake is better in its own way. Heck – Barry gave it a 10 – and he almost never gives my food a 10. I’m still in shock. I might require reviving powders.

Because I wanted to make this with healthier ingredients (hence why I called it a healthy chocolate cake), I used coconut flour, aluminum-free baking powder, and organic cacao powder to start. Magic is going to happen here…can you tell? One of the reasons I used coconut flour is because it’s a gluten-free flour, so those who are gluten-intolerant can use it. It bakes up differently than regular flour and will give your food a different (but wonderful) texture. You use very little flour and a good amount of eggs.

Even if you’re not gluten-free, you should try coconut flour at least once. It’s fun. I like fun. Speaking of fun, did I mention chocolate? I used a chocolate cake recipe and converted the ingredients to make the coconut flour work. I used the same ingredients, but different. Okay, so I didn’t really use that recipe at all, except to tell me how long to bake it. Ahem.

You’ll also need honey, applesauce, eggs, vanilla, coconut oil, kefir/buttermilk, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips. Combine your applesauce and honey. I heated mine up just a tad on the stove to help them both blend well. If your applesauce is at room temp, you might not need to do that. Don’t get it too hot – just warm enough for them to mix up well.

In a mixing bowl, combine your eggs, vanilla, melted coconut oil, and kefir. Mix only until combined. If your coconut oil is solid (which mine is during the cold months), then you could add it to your applesauce mixture while you’re heating it…again, not too hot or you’ll cook the eggs when you combine the ingredients. To the egg bowl, add the applesauce honey mixture. Stir.

Now, you’re going to add the coconut flour, cacao powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until everything is smooth. You can use a hand mixer if you want, but I just used a whisk. My whisk and I, we’re tight. If you’re making a healthy chocolate cake and use your whisk, you’re also getting some exercise and burning calories in advance of the cake feast. #strategy

Pour your batter into a butter greased 8 inch baking pan. Sprinkle the top with chocolate chips. Trust me…just do it. You won’t be sorry. Have I lied to you yet? Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. You just want to bake it long enough so that a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Don’t over-bake it or it will be dry. No one likes a dry cake…except Oscar The Grouch. However, dry cake can always be saved with ice cream. Amen.

Okay, time for a quick confession: when I first came up with this recipe, we would only eat it when Annie was asleep so we wouldn’t have to share? It’s true. I told you, honesty is the best policy. The texture is different from your average cake, but different in a good way – kinda like the difference between cornbread and cake: they’re both awesome, but different. Got it?

After being out of the oven a bit, it will fall just a tad…but not much. It will still be nice and fluffy – ready for ice cream. I served it with homemade vanilla ice cream and it was a party every night at the Myers’ house! Well, it was a party for a few days…and then the cake was gone. Sadness.

Print Recipe

Healthy Chocolate Cake

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time35 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cake

Servings: 9 servings

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup kefir or buttermilk
• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

• In a small saucepan, heat the applesauce and honey only until combined. Do not get the mixture hot – you only want the two ingredients to blend well.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the kefir, melted coconut oil, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the applesauce mixture.
• Add the coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir with a whisk until combined.
• Pour into a greased 8 inch baking dish. Sprinkle top with chocolate chips.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.