Your birthday cake search is over. This is it. You won’t regret it. This will soon become the latest birthday cake craze. Print the recipe, keep it, make it, and share it with your friends. I was almost selfish and told Leung I didn’t want to share this recipe, but I love you readers too much to keep this gem of a birthday cake to myself.
Whether you are trying to find a cake for a health conscious gal or a potato chip junkie, this epic chocolate fudge birthday cake is guaranteed to be the next big thing at any event or party. You can proudly omit the vegetable dip platter from the party table too, because as Leung said to me “This cake is essentially a salad”. Please, stay with me. I must assure you that it does not taste like your typical bitter greens salad.
I think this cake needs a disclaimer. It is really so delicious it is actually really ridiculous. I am really bad with alliteration; i do realize i have been repeating “really” over three times. How ridiculous of me, really. I promise you I didn’t fail my grade 12 English course. Maybe this cake is getting to me and making me as mad as one of Shakespeare’s mad characters. Wow, I am on a roll with literary devices today, incorporating simile and allusion both in one sentence. This isn’t even supposed to be one of my boring English papers. I think inhaling 1/3 of this giant cake in one sitting is really helping my brain function…
Anyway, back to the cake. There’s a reason why this cake is so insanely delicious. It incorporates two secret ingredients in the fruit and veggies food group– my favourite tier of the pyramid of Canada’s Food Guide. With this recipe, you can have your birthday cake and veggies in one go! Who needs a box of KD Smart Vegetables Macaroni when you can have a slice of this fudge chocolate cake made with real local vegetables and other nourishing ingredients?
You really can’t go wrong with a five-inch mega-moist chocolate fudge cake… the fact that this is healthy but tastes completely indulgent is just a bonus!
If you are making this for a child or someone with alcohol sensitivities, feel free to disregard the rum used in the espresso syrup. If you still want the same flavour without the booze, the rum can be substituted with 1-2 teaspoons of rum extract, or cook off the alcohol content when mixing it in with the hot espresso.
I do recommend making the syrup; it is what makes this cake mega-moist, so do not omit! The espresso flavour is not prominent in the cake since the cake is very chocolatey. So the little ones will love it as much as you do.
- CAKE
- 1 c. almond flour
- ½ c. coconut flour
- ½ c. cornstarch, preferably organic & non-GMO
- ¾ c. cocoa powder
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. cream of tartar
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 ripe avocado
- 1 c. dates
- 2 tbsp. barley malt syrup*
- 2 tbsp. maple syrup
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- ¼ c. apple sauce
- ¾ c. coconut oil, melted
- 5 large cage-free eggs
- 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar**
- 3 c. zucchini, shredded (~3 medium)***
- CHOCOLATE MOUSSE FROSTING
- 1 block tofu, soft ****
- 2 ripe avocados
- ⅓ c. cocoa powder
- ⅓ c. dates
- 1 tbsp. espresso powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. vanilla
- ¼ c. coconut oil
- COFFEE SYRUP
- ⅓ c. freshly brewed espresso
- ¼ c. organic cane sugar
- ⅓ c. rum
- GARNISH
- 1-2 tbsp cocoa powder
- Strawberries, sliced
- FOR THE CAKE, preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 5 inch diameter round cake pan thoroughly with coconut oil using a paper towel. Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl or stand mixer. Using your food processor, add in avocado, dates, applesauce, syrups and vanilla. Once those ingredients are nicely blended, add in the wet ingredients to the dry ingredient. Turn on your stand mixer or hand mix until a batter forms. Add in eggs, one at a time into the batter. Mix until the batter is velvety and lump-free. Add in the shredded zucchini. Pour ⅓ of the batter into prepared cake pan. Bake for 33-37 minutes, or until the cake passes toothpick test. Allow cake to cool in pan for 15 minutes before transferring onto a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat the baking process for the other two layers.
- FOR THE MOUSSE FROSTING, add everything in your food processor and whirl until smooth and creamy. Transfer into a bowl and allow it to firm in the fridge for at least 15-20 minutes.
- FOR THE ESPRESSO SYRUP, transfer the freshly brewed espresso into a small saucepan. Add in the sugar and allow the sugar to melt on medium heat. Once sugars are dissolved, remove from heat, and add in rum.
- TO ASSEMBLE, spoon/brush espresso mixture onto cake layers generously. Use up all the syrup because the more you use, the moister and more fudgey the cake will turn out to be! Frost each cake layer with the chocolate mousse frosting. Cover the cake with the remaining frosting, but try to do this quick because the frosting softens at room temperature and it can get messy if you leave it out for too long!
- FOR GARNISH, carefully sift 1-2 tbsp of cocoa powder onto the top of the cake. Assemble strawberries any way you like!
*if barley malt syrup is unavailable, you can substitute it with blackstrap molasses or honey
** Apple cider vinegar activates baking soda. If you only have multiple cake pans, mix in the apple cider vinegar right before the batter goes in the oven. This will ensure your cake comes out super fluffy! If you only have one cake pan (like me), separate the batter into three separate bowls, and add 2 tsp. of vinegar to the bowl that is going to be baked first. When the first layer is baked and the pan is ready to be used for the second layer, mix in another 2 tsp. of vinegar to the second bowl of batter before baking. Repeat for the last layer.
*** I shredded my zucchini in the food processor with the usual S blade, without using the grating disc. Make sure you chop up the zucchinis into cubes before putting it into the food processor. The zucchinis turned out to be very finely shredded, to the point where it looked a bit like apple sauce. This is completely normal and will only make your cake moist!
**** I used Sunrise brand soft tofu (300 grams)
So moist and fluffy… what are you waiting for?
You don’t have an occasion coming up, you say? Don’t you worry, every day is a celebration!
Speaking of celebrations, Halloween came early for the Chew family this year. There really is no reason to not use these adorable plates bought last year post Halloween on the clearance aisle. And didn’t I mention above that every day is a celebration? 😉
Today is a beautiful day. Go pamper yourself; you deserve it! 🙂
:0 chocolate AND vegetables!!? I can have my cake and it eat too!!?? asfjkdgerjjsj; you crazy cooks