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Raw Chocolate Cake
I have to say, I’m rather proud of the raw chocolate cake I made recently for my daughter’s birthday.
I’m not sure that I’ve ever made such an impressive looking cake, even when I was making the baked variety.
Rich, moist, crumbly chocolate cake, smothered in sweet and creamy avocado chocolate frosting.
Decorated magnificently with my homemade coconut rainbow sprinkles.
And besides, it gave me an excuse to go shopping for these super cute springform tins.
Such a fantastic way to mould raw cake batter into the perfect shape.
And I used the trick I learned years ago when I was perfecting cheesecakes – cover the base with non-stick baking paper (don’t even bother trimming it) and insert the base upside down.
Such a simple trick, but SO handy.
It creates the perfect corner for pushing cheesecake base mix into (or raw cake batter) and makes getting it off the base later a cinch, not to mention making cleanup easier too.
I’m all for less cleaning up!
And it’s tricks like these that make life in the kitchen fun and effortless.
Like the ‘put avocado in your chocolate frosting’ trick – that’s a good one too.
If you’ve never made raw vegan avocado chocolate mousse, I highly recommend it.
You get the same decadent, creamy experience as regular chocolate mousse, without the dairy, and you can’t even taste it!
But I digress. This chocolate frosting uses that same trick, to great effect.
Rich, creamy, smooth, chocolatey frosting, perfect for making a layered raw chocolate cake.
How good does that look? Absolutely freaking awesome!!
I had so much fun making this cake, can you tell?
There is a little more fiddle than I normally can be bothered with, but it’s still not terribly complicated.
Make cake batter, dehydrate cakes, make frosting, ice cake, make sprinkles, sprinkle on cake. Done!
No more effort than making a regular baked layered cake, that’s for sure.
And it’s SO worth it.
Can you imagine bringing this out at a birthday party?
Just imagine the ‘ooohs’ and the ‘aaahs’. And then you tell them it’s raw and vegan and healthy.
You’ll knock their socks off, I just know it!
Did I mention that it tastes really good too?
It’s super chocolately and quite rich, but that’s a good thing, because it’s also a smallish cake, so a little will go a long way. Ours lasted for days, because there were only three of us eating it.
I’m so glad I took the plunge and made a raw chocolate cake, because my daughter declared it “delicious” and was very pleased with her ‘birthday cake with sprinkles’, so we passed the birthday test with flying colours. Phew.
And now I have an awesome raw chocolate birthday cake in my arsenal as well.
So here’s how I adapted Chef Amber Shea’s raw cake recipes to make this masterpiece.
Raw Chocolate Cake
Rich, moist, crumbly raw chocolate cake, covered in creamy avocado chocolate frosting and decorated with homemade coconut rainbow sprinkles.
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Makes: 16 slices
Calories per serve: 122kcal
Ingredients
Chocolate cake
- 1/2 cup walnuts (60g)
- 1/2 cup agave nectar (160g)
- 1 small apple peeled, cored and blended (70g)
- 1/4 cup brewed coffee or coffee substitute (60ml)
- 1 tsp vanilla vodka or vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup cacao powder (50g)
- 3/4 cup coconut flour (115g)
Chocolate frosting
- 2 large avocados (300g)
- 1/2 cup agave nectar (160g)
- 1 tsp vanilla vodka or vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup cacao powder (50g)
Rainbow sprinkles
Method
Chocolate cake
- Pulse walnuts in a food processor until finely ground and set aside.
- Add agave nectar, apple, coffee, vanilla, lemon juice and salt and process until smooth and well combined.
- Add the ground walnuts and process again until smooth.
- Add the coconut flour and pulse until mixture is thick and dough-like.
- Press half of the batter firmly into a 15cm springform tin. Remove tin from cake and place cake on dehydrator tray. Repeat with remaining batter.
- Dehydrate cakes for about 2 hours until surface of cakes is firm and dry.
Chocolate frosting
- Place frosting ingredients into a blender (or food processor) and blend until smooth.
Assembly
- Place one cake on a plate and spread a layer of chocolate frosting over the top.
- Place the second cake on top of the first, and cover the entire stack with chocolate frosting.
- Sprinkle cake with coconut rainbow sprinkles.
- Refrigerate overnight to allow the cake to set firm (optional), and then slice.
- Cover leftover cake and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Preparation
- Before: -
- During: 40 mins
- After: Dehydrate for 2 hours
- Need: Food processor, blender, dehydrator
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1slice; Calories: 122kcal; Carbohydrates: 15.1g; Protein: 3.7g; Fat: 7.3g; Saturated Fat: 2.1g; Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.1g; Monounsaturated Fat: 2.5g; Sodium: 48.4mg; Potassium: 246mg; Fiber: 7.9g; Sugar: 2.4g; Vitamin A: 50IU; Vitamin C: 4.1mg; Calcium: 100mg; Iron: 1.6mg
Tips
- You can use maple syrup or coconut nectar in place of the agave nectar if you want to, although maple syrup is not raw.
- You’re basically pureeing the apple to make raw applesauce, and it’s so quick and easy!
- I used Bambu coffee substitute, but you can use your favourite coffee substitute, or just regular coffee if you like.
- Vanilla vodka is what I use instead of vanilla extract, and I make it by soaking whole vanilla beans in vodka for a month or two. If you want to use vanilla bean powder instead, about 1/4 tsp should be enough.
- I prefer to use Himalayan salt in my recipes, because it has heaps of minerals and trace elements.
- To make it easier to get your cake out of the tin, cover the base with a sheet of non-stick baking paper and insert it upside down. This is a trick I learned when making cheesecakes, and it makes a neater corner and it’s heaps easier to get out and clean up afterwards.
- To get a good coverage of sprinkles, try throwing small handfuls towards the top corner of the cake. That way, as they fall, they nicely cover the whole side of the cake. Then turn the cake a bit and repeat.
My inspiration
Every time I talked to my daughter about her birthday, she talked about having a ‘cake with sprinkles’, having seen a picture of it in ‘Practically Raw Desserts’.
I really wanted to tackle making a raw cake, so I tried Amber’s ‘Confetti Birthday Cake’, but it wasn’t a bit hit with my daughter (although she loved the rainbow sprinkles).
And I then thought, “chocolate”. Miss 4yo loves chocolate, and maybe if I make a chocolate birthday cake, she’ll go for it.
And according to rumour, July 7th is International Chocolate Day, so it was a fitting day to create this raw chocolate birthday cake masterprice.
Technically it started as a “practice” run for Miss 3yo’s birthday, but for a practice, I must say that it turned out pretty well.
We even practiced blowing out the candles and singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to her, so she’s definitely feeling the birthday love already.
To create this work of art, I combined a few different recipes from Chef Amber Shea’s ‘Practically Raw Desserts’ cookbook.
I took the cake recipe for her ‘Austrian Sacher Torte’ and combined it with her ‘Fluffy Chocolate Frosting’ recipe and added my all natural homemade rainbow sprinkles which were inspired by her ‘Confetti Birthday Cake’ recipe.
Impressive, even if I do say so myself.
And what’s even more impressive, is that my daughter actually ate some. And then smeared the icing all over her plate. And then handed her slice to me.
I think it may have been a tad rich for her, and us for that matter. It’s kind of like a raw chocolate mud cake, so I think small slices are the way to go.
But it’s definitely an improvement, and she declared it to be “delicious”, so honour is satisfied, and we might just be headed for a successful birthday.
I think it turned out rather well, all things considered.
Phew!
Want to check out more of Amber’s awesome recipes?
You can order Amber's cookbooks online today at Amazon, the Book Depository, or your favourite book supplier, and start playing with her recipes for yourself.
Practically Raw Desserts
Flexible recipes for all-natural sweets and treats
- Get it at Amazon.com
- Get it at BookDepository.com
And have an awesome day!
I studied Biochemistry and Genetics at Monash University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science, with Honours.
I've always had a passion for natural health, having grown up with asthma, eczema and numerous food allergies, and I wanted to help my kids avoid the same issues.
I love blending science and alternative approaches to find the best of both worlds, and I'm always looking for ways to create more amazing health and happiness in my life.
Learn more about me
rika@veganmiam.com says
This is a very gorgeous raw chocolate cake….perhaps it should be called, Rainbow Confetti Chocolate Cake for its beautiful colors!
Nikki says
That’s a great name for it! Thank you :)
Anna says
Is agave nectar the only sweetener option for this recipe to keep it raw and still taste good?? I am so excited to make this for my birthday, and i really appreciate that the ingredients are not that expensive.. Most raw cake recipes call for cups and cups of expensive nuts…
Ashley Hansen says
Honey is a great substitute for agave!
Nikki says
Hi Ashley,
Honey does work really well in place of agave, and raw organic honey can be really great for your health. Some people don’t like to use it because it’s not vegan and I don’t tend to use it because it doesn’t sit well in my stomach for some reason. There’s lots of great options for natural sweeteners – agave, honey, coconut nectar, maple syrup, date paste, molasses, stevia, xylitol, turbinado, rice syrup – so you’re sure to find one that works best for you.
Anna says
Sorry, i just missed the part where it said maple syrup. So i will use that!
Nikki says
Hi Anna,
Amber’s original recipe used maple syrup, but she did also say that you could use coconut nectar, agave nectar, or any other liquid sweetener that you prefer. I hope you have fun making it and an awesome birthday! <3
Anna says
Thanks Nikki, I am very pleased with how this turned out:) But i didn’t have a springform tin, so i formed the cake into a heart shape before i put in dehydrator, very cute!!
Nikki says
Sounds gorgeous :) I’m sure the springform tin is just to make it easier to shape it and get it out afterwards, so you can really shape it anyway you like. I love the idea of the heart shape, and it makes me wonder whether you could use silicone cake tins as well, for all kinds of cool shapes. Now you’ve got me thinking ;)
Ellen LeBoeuf says
Can you still make this if you do not have a dehydrator? If so what could I do? Sounds absolutely delicious and I am trying to start using some of the recipes because I am very sick with Diabetes!
Nikki says
Hi Ellen,
I haven’t tried making it without a dehydrator, but Chef Amber Shea says you can refrigerate or freeze the cakes until firm, or you can even bake it at 120°C (250°F) for 14-15 minutes, until they cakes are firmed up slightly and dry on the surface. So you can certainly make it without a dehydrator.
P.S. The URL is optional. Some people have websites that they like to link back to, but if you don’t have one you can just leave it blank :)
Ellen LeBoeuf says
Yes this my correct email address but still don’t understand what the URL is!
DK says
Hi Ellen
Did you try this without the dehydrator? How did it turn out?
Thanks
DK
Kristina says
Hey, I really want to try this recipe for my birthday this weekend but my 15cm cake tin is too high for the trays and won’t fit.. Could I remove the tray above it and would it still work? Or does it need to be completely enclosed. Otherwise I’ll have to use my slice tin but I really want a cake looking cake :) haha. Thank you.
Nikki says
Hi Kristina,
If you’re talking about having trouble fitting your cake tin in your dehydrator, you’ll actually want to remove the tin before you put the cake into the dehydrator. The cake tin is really just for moulding the mix into a ‘cake looking cake’, and the mix should be firm enough that it will hold the shape once you remove the tin. Using a springform tin (if you have one) makes it easier to remove the tin without disturbing the mix. And you can always remove the tray above if it still doesn’t fit. I do that all the time with things I dehydrate that are too tall for one tray space. Hope this helps and have a great birthday. ♥
Kristina says
Oh that makes so much more sense now! Thank you! :)
Kristina says
Ps it really pays to read a recipe properly first ;)
Raspberry says
Hey, can I replace the coconut flour? Or can I use ground shredded coconut?
Nikki says
Hi Barbara,
I haven’t tried replacing the flour, and Amber does say in her book it’s one of the few ingredients you can’t substitute in her raw dessert recipes, because it absorbs heaps of water and gives it the cake-like consistency. I don’t think ground shredded coconut would do the same job. Amber says that coconut flour is made by blending mature coconut meat with water, and then straining, drying and grinding the leftover pulp, but that it’s heaps of work to do it yourself. It might be worth ordering some online if you can’t get it at your local health food shop. Hope this helps.
Kat says
Hey! Just wondering if u guys are using the amounts written above. My cake was less than 1 cm thick. I reckon I should use at least 4 or 5* amounts written above. Cheers, Kat
Nikki says
Hi Kat,
Yes, I did use the amounts above, but I used a mini springform tin, which is heaps smaller than a standard one (about 10-15cm across), so my cakes ended up about 4-5cm thick. I picked up a couple from my local kitchen shop specially for this recipe. If you don’t want to bother getting special tins, then, yes, you would need to increase the amounts to suit a larger springform tin.
HTH
Lucy says
Will this dehydrator work for this recipe? I am looking to make a purchase. Thanks in advance for your help!
Nesco American Harvest FD-61WHC Snackmaster Express Food Dehydrator All-In-One Kit with Jerky Gun by Nesco American Harvest https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002WSQHU/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_-bVutb1BR39HB
Nikki says
Hi Lucy,
I haven’t used that particular dehydrator, but from the pictures on Amazon, it doesn’t look as though you can make any extra space inside. In my dehydrator, you can remove trays and leave a larger space inside, which you need to be able to do to fit this cake. You’d need to make sure that any dehydrator you bought had enough height to fit taller items.
Hope this helps.
stephanie says
This cake was absolutely delicious! I added a few dates and substituted the walnuts for cashews. It was a real hit!
Nikki says
Hi Stephanie,
I’m so pleased to hear it!
Donna says
The cake looks so yummy! I love your coconut confetti :) I’m wondering how far in advance I can make the cake? It would be great if I could make it a couple of days early. I don’t have a dehydrator so will be using the slow oven folllowed by refrigeration. I could add the topping on the day. Would this work? Thanks Donna :)
Nikki says
Hi Donna,
Thank you. I honestly don’t know how far in advance you could make this cake, because I’ve never tried it. I imagine that the texture might change after some time in the fridge, but the topping should cover up some of that.
I wouldn’t want to make it more than a day or two ahead of time, just to make sure everything was still fresh, but honestly the only way to find out is to give it a try.
Perhaps you could do a trial run and see how it goes, which just means more cake for everyone ;)