Double Chocolate Cake with a Salted Caramel & Vanilla Icing

Double Chocolate Cake with a Salted Caramel & Vanilla Icing

Double Chocolate Cake with a Salted Caramel & Vanilla Icing

serves 8 cooks in 1hr 1/2 difficulty two

I created this chocolate cake recipe for Ocado.com to celebrate their new Vegetarian section which I for one am super excited about! Brands like Ocado are truly paving the path for the mass market to get on board with healthy living, and I’m excited to be sharing lots of recipes on their recipe section in the weeks to come, so keep an eye out!

This chocolate cake tastes as devilishly naughty as a sugar and dairy laden chocolate cake, but has none of the nasties! It’s vegetarian, totally gluten-free and only contains naturally occurring fruit sugars – keeping your body nourished and your taste buds exceptionally happy. It’s a great dinner party dessert, and the ingredients always seem to really startle guests! This recipe can be made totally Vegan which is what I often do if I’m somewhere I can’t source really good quality eggs, though if you’re not strictly vegan I suggest using them as it creates an incredible light fluffy cake, that is better than any store-bought cake I’ve ever eaten!

The cake is also nut and grain-free too, which I know is going to make so many of you really happy! If you’re nut-free change up the cashew butter in the icing for 200g Medjool dates softy boiled and drained before adding in replacement.

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The Ingredients

2 x 400g Black Beans

50g of Cacao Powder

500g of Dates

1.5 cup coconut flour

6 eggs (**if vegan see below)

325ml dairy-free milk (add an extra 125ml if needed)

75-80ml agave syrup (how sweet you like it)

SALTED CARAMEL-VANILLA FROSTING:

1 x 170g jar of cashew butter

125ml melted coconut oil

75ml water

1 tsp of pure vanilla extract

80ml agave syrup

** To substitute eggs you’ll need to use Chia seeds. Add 150g chia seeds to 500ml of water and let sit for 20 minutes. Then add them to the mixture at the same point as the eggs in the recipe.

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line two cake tins with parchment paper.

Start by draining the black beans and adding to a saucepan along with the pitted dates. Fill with water, boil to the boil and simmer for 3-5 minutes until the dates are as soft as can be without falling apart.

Drain the beans and dates and add to a blender along with the dairy-free milk, agave and cacao powder. Blend until smooth and pour into a large mixing bowl.

Add the whole eggs to a bowl and beat. Slowly fold it into the mixture stirring well. Add the coconut flour and mix really well.

Divide evenly into both tins and place in the oven to bake for 50 minutes, or until you can insert a knife into the cake and it comes out clean.

Whilst the cake bakes we make the icing. Simply blend the coconut oil with the agave syrup, cashew butter, vanilla extract, water and a generous pinch of salt until smooth. Leave on the side to thicken while the cake bakes.

Once the cake is cooked, leave on a cooling rack until cooled. Layer as in the picture with icing sandwiched between the cake and oozing on top. Generously sprinkle some cacao nibs on top for a delicious crunch.

Enjoy!

** Buy the ingredients, and get them shipped straight to your door, here!

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