Ok, pre-warning – this is NOT a healthy recipe by any means – although it is healthier than many others and of course is free of cholesterol and only 355 calories per generous slice!
What this recipe IS, is a gooey, rich, chocolate-y, caramel-ly, peanut butter-y, brownie-esque CAKE!
It’s crazy easy, you simply mix all the ingredients at once in a food processor or a high speed blender, pour into a tin, bake and eat warm from the oven with chocolate custard or ice cream, or serve it at room temperature for afternoon tea.
A good quality raw cacao powder makes all the difference here as it gives a richer, chocolate flavour and is the pure cacao, before any nutrients have been destroyed by the heating process used to produce conventional cocoa. I love to use the Creative Nature brand. Of course, you can use standard unsweetened cocoa also.
I adore how my Froothie blender can whizz up even cake batters but if you don’t have a powerful blender, then a food processor would be best to use, or of course a large bowl, whisk and a strong arm!
I made a simple chocolate custard with Alpro ready made custard and a few squares of very dark chocolate warmed together.
Ingredients: Serves 8
- 200g/1 1/2 cups plain flour
- 200g/1/2 cup dark unrefined sugar
- 1/2 tsp + 1/4 tsp flaked sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 40g/1/3 cup raw cacao powder (or cocoa)
- 120g/1/2 cup vegan margarine
- 55g/1/4 cup peanut butter
- 2 tbsp ground chia seeds (or flax)
- 8 tbsp hot water
- 2 tsp vanilla extract (or use 1 tsp vanilla plus 1 tsp caramel extract if you have it – I used salted caramel)
- 150ml/2/3 cup plain vegan yoghurt
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350ºF and line a 20cm / 8 inch round cake tin (or a 7 inch square).
- Whizz all the ingredients except the extra 1/4 tsp salt together until smooth, adding a little extra hot water if needed to help blend and/or to reach a batter that’s fairly thick yet drops easily from a spoon.
- Scrape the batter into the lined tin, sprinkle over the extra salt and bake until an inserted skewer comes out free of wet batter, around 30-35 minutes.
- Remove the cake from the oven to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before turning out.
