Description
This easy gluten free and vegan chocolate raspberry cake combines moist zucchini chocolate cake with a luscious raspberry glaze, perfect for a healthy and delicious dessert.
Ingredients
Scale
For the chocolate cake
- 200 grams (2 cups) zucchini
- 150 grams (1 cup + ⅓ cup) almond flour (or tigernut flour for nut free)
- 60 grams (⅓ cup) arrowroot (see notes for substitutions)
- 3 Tablespoons cacao powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 Tablespoons maple syrup (or substitute with coconut milk to reduce quantity)
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil (or substitute with coconut milk to make oil free)
- 100 grams (⅔ cup) dark chocolate chips
- 80 grams (½ cup) raspberries fresh or frozen (unthawed)
For the raspberry glaze
- 500 grams (4 cups) raspberries fresh or frozen (unthawed)
- 80 grams (½ cup) sugar
- 4 grams (2 teaspoons) agar agar powder (or 8 grams gelatin if not vegan)
For garnish
- 125 grams (1 cup) raspberries fresh or frozen (unthawed)
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 360°F (180°C) to prepare for baking the chocolate cake.
- Prepare Zucchini Mixture: Cut the zucchini into pieces and transfer to a blender along with maple syrup, oil, and apple cider vinegar. Blend until smooth.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, combine almond flour, arrowroot, baking soda, and cacao powder thoroughly.
- Combine Wet and Dry: Add the blended zucchini mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well using a spoon until thoroughly combined.
- Add Mix-ins: Fold in the dark chocolate chips and 80 grams of fresh or frozen raspberries gently into the batter.
- Prepare Baking Pan: Line or lightly oil a 7 inch (18 cm) round baking pan with a removable bottom and pour the batter evenly into the pan.
- Bake the Cake: Bake for 30 minutes. Check doneness by inserting a thin knife into the center; it should come out clean. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan.
- Make Raspberry Glaze: While cake bakes, place 500 grams raspberries and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook while stirring occasionally until it becomes a purée-like consistency.
- Blend and Strain: Transfer the purée to a blender, blend until smooth, then strain through a sieve for a clear glaze.
- Cook Glaze with Agar Agar: Return the strained purée to the saucepan on medium high heat, add agar agar powder, stir well and bring to a boil to activate the gelling agent.
- Glaze the Cake: Pour the raspberry glaze evenly over the cooled chocolate cake.
- Chill and Set: Let the cake cool to room temperature and then chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight until the glaze is fully set.
- Garnish and Serve: Remove cake from the pan and decorate with additional raspberries before serving.
Notes
- Arrowroot can be substituted with tapioca flour if cassava is tolerated, or potato/corn starch if not following paleo.
- To reduce maple syrup, replace with equal quantity coconut milk for a less sweet option.
- For oil-free version, substitute oil with the same quantity of coconut milk.
- Using a kitchen scale for measuring ingredients is recommended for accuracy, especially with gluten free flours.
- Nutritional information provided is an estimate and may vary with different brands of ingredients used.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (approx. 1/8 of cake)
- Calories: 280 kcal
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 120 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 34 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
