Flourless, butter free and naturally fruity sweetened… this is what this incredibly tasty and extra moist chocolate cake is all about.
I got invited to try this amazing recipe by a friend of mine a week ago on a train trip to Göteborg (West coast of Sweden). For me who strongly believes that true baking has to be done with so-called “true” ingredients like butter, sugar and flour, I would never have given this cake a chance.
More than that: I would never have guessed that it was flourless (it still seems almost impossible according to its perfect texture) and naturally gluten free. Entirely sweetened by fruits – with dates actually – you would not think there is no refined sugar in the recipe. The cake is perfectly sweetened and does not taste fruits at all. Then coconut oil is used instead of butter – a much healthier alternative and guaranteed with no cholesterol!
But I am telling you, what surprises me the most in this chocolate cake is its amazing extra moist texture that makes you think that there is no way it is a healthy recipe! It took me a while to understand it could be so moist without any flour!
For fun, I did the test separately with several of my friends this weekend and asked them to guess which ingredients this cake was made of. Each single time, they answered flour in the first place, then sugar and butter. I think it says a lot about this non-looking-but-still-very-healthy chocolate cake!
To finish with, you will be amazed by the simplicity of the recipe. With only 6 main ingredients + baking soda, all you have to do is basically to mix everything in a food processor and then pour the batter into a form. Easy, right?
Whether you care about healthy food a lot (and try to avoid refined sugar or butter as much as possible) or not, I really encourage you to taste this recipe at least once. A serving size is indeed the perfect healthy snack to enjoy in the afternoon and will satisfy your chocolate cravings!
And for other healthy recipes with chocolate, you can also try one of these :
- 5 ingredients snickers bliss balls
- Healthy Double Chocolate Avocado Cookies (sugar and dairy free + a vegan version)
- Healthy Oat-Peanut Butter Cups (Vegan)
- Healthy Vegan Chocolate Chip Blondies (refined sugar free)
- Easy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars (vegan, gluten free, no added sugar)
- Sugar-Free Almond Butter Banana Muffins
Lastly, if you make this healthy extra moist chocolate cake, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating, letting me know how you liked it. And of course, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Thank you and enjoy!
Healthy Extra Moist Chocolate Cake
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Healthy
Description
Flourless, butter free and naturally fruity sweetened… this is what this incredibly tasty and extra moist chocolate cake is all about.
Ingredients
- 7.5 oz (200g) unsweetened baking chocolate or at 70% cocoa
- 1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/4 cup (200g) pitted dates, or about 10 dates
- 3 large eggs
- 1/4 cup (60ml) coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- In a food processor, pulse chocolate, cocoa powder and baking soda until texture of coarse sand.
- Pulse pitted dates, then eggs, coconut oil and vanilla.
- Transfer the batter into a 8×8 inch (20 x 20 cm) baking dish.
- Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow to cool before serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8 servings
- Calories: 166 kcal
- Sugar: 3.7g
- Sodium: 103mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 10.7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9.3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 17.1g
- Fiber: 4.7g
- Protein: 6.5g
- Cholesterol: 61mg
Keywords: healthy chocolate cake
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This is one of my favourite cake recipe.
Each time I’ve made some changes to it and each time was perfect.
Today I’ve add some pecans, orange zests, and just a little bit of orange juices, it comes up so delicious and moist. I highly recommend to try it.
Thank you for sharing your little twists to the recipe, I love the possible variations! Del
If you compare this to other vegan, flourless, relatively healthy cake recipes it deserves five stars, but I give it four in comparing it to regular cake. I’ve made this a few times and really like it–not as sweet as most American desserts, which is a good thing. One important thing, however: the posted calorie count is way off. If you divide this recipe into eight servings it has 283 calories per serving. Lots of protein (6 grams), fiber (6 grams), Vitamin D (33% of daily recommended intake), and iron (28% of daily recommended intake) as well, but it is not a low calorie food.
★★★★
Hi Marie, and thanks for sharing all this! I’m really happy you enjoy this cake so much. When it comes to the calorie count, I will definitely have a closer look to it, thanks for the heads up! Del
Oh my! It was even better than I could have imagined. Easy to make and absolutelt delicious. The date flavor comes theough a little but not too much, good chocolate flavor, nice texture. Definitely a keeper.
★★★★★
Soooo happy to hear that! Tack så mycket for your feedback, Isabelle! 🙂 Del
I don’t usually leave comments but this was mind blowing
Oh thank you so much! I’m so happy you liked it 🙂
Can you use date sugar instead of dates? And how much do you think would work?
Hi Kimberley! For this recipe, I do not recommend sugar instead of dates. Dates are used as a natural sweetener but they also gives texture to this chocolate cake recipe and this is why it’s so important to use them and not replace them. I hope this helps! Del
If I double the recipe, what size tin do I need?
★★★★★
I think a 9×9 dish should do. The cake will be a little thicker but absolutely delicious!
Could I makes this into a layer cake?
Thank you for recipe. Looked around as my wife is still being followed as a cancer patients. Very good taste, my problem was the coconut oil. Change 60ml to 55 grams coconut oil. Maybe since it was in the fridge and hard I may have actually increased the dose. Also, could not find organic chocolate so I used normal sugar free high cocoa choc, but this contains cocoa butter which might increase greasiness. Result, at the end the dish was bubbling with coconut oil on top. Removed as much as possible, but the cake was like a brownie. Excellent taste but greasy texture. Will try again, if no cooking choc available, will diminish coconut oil to one third, that is 20ml. Thank you again, this was my birthday cake to my wife, all organic, a bit greasy but excellent taste. Thanks, James.
★★★★
Can this be made in decorative cake mold?
Hi Michelle! Absolutely! Just make sure the cake mold is not too large or you will end up with a very thin cake. Del
Would this cake make a good layer cake? Or would it be too soft?
★★★★★
Hello! Yes, you can absolutely make it into a layer cake, it will work perfectly well! It’s actually a brilliant idea!
Hi Del,
I have made this cake several times and it has always been a hit… this time I am going to make this cake fir my in-laws who are vegetarians… so any substitute u can suggest for eggs? Avocado, mashed banana, pumpkin purée, chia seeds?
TIA
NIKI
Hi! If your in-laws are vegetarian, you should be fine with using eggs. If however they are vegan, the recipe would need a few adjustments. You could try this one instead if you wish: https://www.delscookingtwist.com/healthy-vegan-lemon-zucchini-bread/ I hope this helps! Del
perfect!
★★★★★
Thanks!
I just made this for a small dinner parties. They were excellent! No one even noticed they were flour and sugar free. I also had 1/2 cup of pecans.
Thank you!!
★★★★★
I love it! The blind test always works, it’s almost impossible to tell there’s no sugar and no flour involved 🙂 Thanks for your feedback! Del