Chocolate Avocado Cake with Choc-avocado Frosting

Gluten-free | Refined sugar-free | Dairy-free | Grain-free

Makes: 1 medium cake | six portions
Cuisine: Bridget's Healthy Kitchen
Course: Dessert
Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 10 minutes 
Cook time (cake): 30 - 40 minutes
Cooling time (cake): 30 minutes
Melt time (frosting): 2 - 3 minutes
Prep time: (frosting): 2 minutes
Set time (frosting): 20 minutes

What could be better than a moist, rich and decadent chocolate cake? Perhaps one that's also free from gluten, sugar, dairy and grain!  

My Chocolate Avocado Cake with Frosting doesn't taste at all like avocado yet still possess the health benefits that avocados offer.    

It can be hard to believe that this cake is packed full of healthy goodness. It tastes like you're eating a decadent, naughty treat and the fact that it is so effortless to bake makes it even better. 

Hints, Tips & Tricks

To help maintain a sweet taste without adding refined sugar, I use my Zero as Sugar Pure Erythritol. You'll find this ingredient in many reduced-calorie and sugar-free foods and drinks. If you would like to purchase my Zero as Sugar Pure Erythritol, which's 100% natural, has zero calories, and registers zero on the glycemic index, you can find out more here.   

I also my Sweet As Fibre Syrup as a refined sugar syrup substitute in this recipe due to its natural sweetness. My fibre syrup is a low-calorie prebiotic fibre that's made from 100% pure chicory. Feel free to use your own fibre syrup, but make sure to read the labels. Many companies lace their syrups with ingredients such as malt extract and stevia to make them sweeter. If your fibre syrup isn't golden, it probably isn't 100% pure. If you would like to purchase my Sweet As Fibre Syrup, click here.     

Make sure to use good quality, sugar-free dark chocolate for the frosting. Real dark chocolate is made from cocoa powder and cocoa butter (the fatty portion of the cacao bean), making it naturally dairy-free. Some brands add dairy to their dark chocolates, so be sure to read the ingredients list if you decide to buy some. Alternatively, you can use my Sugar-free Vegan Dark Chocolate. 

RECIPE

Ingredients

• 160 g (5.6 oz) almond flour or another nut or seed flour of your choosing
• 90 g (3 oz) Zero as Sugar Pure Erythritol
• 40 g (1.4 oz) raw cacao powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Pinch mineral salt
• 100 g (3.5 oz) ripe avocado
• 60 g (2 oz) Sweet as Fibre Syrup
• 30 g (1 oz) coconut milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Frosting

• 100 g (3.5 oz) sugar, dairy-free dark chocolate chips
• 40 g (1.4 oz) coconut milk
• 60 g (2 oz) ripe avocado

• A couple of handfuls of fresh berries to serve (optional)

Method

Cake

1. Preheat the oven at 170C ( 320F) and line a 15-20 cm (6-8 inch) cake tin with non-stick baking paper on the bottom and sides of the tin. 
2. Stir the almond flour, erythritol, cacao, baking powder, and salt into a mixing bowl.
3. Blend the avocado flesh, fibre syrup, coconut milk, eggs and vanilla in a small food processor until very smooth. 
4. Stir the avocado mixture into the dry ingredients and mix till well combined. Spoon the cake mixture into the tin and smooth the top off with a spatula. 
5. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. 
6. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 30 minutes and then turn out to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting. 

Frosting

1. Place the chocolate into a glass or metal bowl sitting over a pot of gently simmering water. Ensure that the bowl's base does not touch the water and melt the chocolate, occasionally stirring until smooth. Add the coconut milk and stir in. 
2. Blend the avocado flesh until smooth, and then add the warm chocolate mixture and pulse to combine. 
3. Pour the warm chocolate frosting over the cool cake and allow it to sit for 20 minutes before topping with fresh berries before serving. 

This cake will keep (without berries) if stored in the fridge in an airtight container for four days. Allow the cake to sit outside of the refrigerator to come up to room temperature before serving.