Just because you’re trying to eat sugar-free, does not mean you can’t have dessert. And I’m not talking about fresh fruit or frozen fruit ice cream — this is real decadent, moist, and sweet chocolate cake! You will be so impressed with the tender texture of the cake and the absolutely sweet, smooth, and thick chocolate frosting. This chocolate cake recipe is vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, and sweetened naturally with dates, sweet potato, and banana. But I assure it — it tastes like chocolate cake! My husband was shocked that it was free from any added or refined sugar.
What you’ll definitely need to make this cake is a high-speed blender. You’ll use it to make both the cake batter and the frosting, in order to puree the dates and the raw cashews. A food processor will work too, but the frosting just won’t be as smooth.
This cake is made with whole food ingredients, so when you eat it, you’ll feel energized and not get that sugar crash later. I love that it’s healthy, but it doesn’t taste healthy! I can’t get over how delicious the frosting is, and I prefer it so much more than the ones you get in the tubs at the store, which can taste fake and too sweet, IMO. Just note that while this cake is made with healthy and whole ingredients, it’s not low in calories.
This cake recipe is perfect for a birthday, a special dinner or holiday, or for a regular Tuesday night. Store leftovers (if there are any!) in the fridge for up to five days.
Ingredients
- For the cake:
1 3/4 cup cooked and mashed sweet potato (about 1 medium)
1 very ripe banana
1 1/2 cups Medjool dates (about 15 to 18)
4 ounces applesauce (one of those small cups)
1 cup water
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups rolled oats (ground to make 2 1/4 cups oat flour)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
- For the frosting:
2 cups raw cashews (9 ounces)
3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk (or any non-dairy milk)
3/4 cup Medjool dates (9 to 12)
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a parchment paper circle on both bottoms of two nine-inch round cake pans.
- Add mashed sweet potato, banana, dates, applesauce, water, balsamic vinegar, and vanilla to a high speed blender and blend until smooth, several minutes.
- In a large bowl, add the oat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder, and mix together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix together until smooth. The batter will be thick.
- Divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans and spread it out evenly.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
- Take the pans out of the oven, and after a few minutes, take the cakes out of the pans and cool completely on a rack before frosting.
- To make the frosting, add all the ingredients to your blender and process until smooth. Have patience with this and use your damper — this can take up to 10 minutes, but it’s worth it. This frosting should look like this:
- Place one cake on a plate or cake stand. Frost the top of that layer. Add the second layer of cake and frost the top and sides. Decorate with fresh fruit and enjoy!
Her’s the nutritional info for one slice (makes 10) from verywell.com:
Information
- Category
- Desserts, Cake
- Yield
- 10 slices
- Prep Time
- 30 minutes
- Cook Time
- 30 minutes
- Total Time
- 59 minutes, 59 seconds
Nutrition
- Calories per serving
- 308
