Flourless, butter free and naturally fruity sweetened… this is what this incredibly tasty and extra moist chocolate cake is all about.
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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!
Featured Comment
“Would give it 10 stars if I could! I won a small bake-off in our local area with this recipe. Everyone was so impressed with the depth of those chocolate notes as well as with the fact that it’s eggless, flourless and…even sugarless! What’s not to like about this recipe. It is now my go-to brownies.” —Sam
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
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
Flourless, butter free and naturally fruity sweetened… this is what this incredibly tasty and extra moist chocolate cake is all about.
Email me this recipe
We’ll send it straight to your inbox, along with weekly food inspiration!
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
Did you make this recipe?
Lastly, if you make this Healthy Extra Moist Chocolate Cake, be sure to leave a comment and 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!
Ashley Dunham
Do you know the calories per brownie?
Delphine Fortin
Oh, that’s indeed an interesting question. I will do the maths and come back to you soon!
Ashley Dunham
Any update?
Ashley Dunham
Hello,
Any update on this?
Delphine Fortin
Hi Ashley! I just analyzed the nutrition facts for the chocolate cake. You can find all the details below the recipe. Hope it helps. Have a great week!
Ashley Dunham
Thank you so much!
Danielle
Hello, I did the math with My Fitness Pall and got a result of more than 300 calories per part. The cake is still soooo good, but I’m afraid it is a bit richer than suggested.
Delphine Fortin
Interesting… I got a totally different result! But I believe calories shouldn’t be our main focus when it comes to healthy/balanced diet, whereas the choice of ingredients should be: no dairy, no refined sugar, no flour… this cake has it all already!
Regina
Hi all! Just want to corroborate : I did the math and also got about 356 calories per serving, so the calorie count is actually double what it says 🙁
I agree with you Delphine that calories shouldn’t be our main focus, but one brownie is as many calories as a meal!
Cam S.
Super delicious cake, tastes just like a brownie, dark and rich…but it killed my food processor! Literally my brand new Kitchenaid processor just quit trying to dice up the chocolate and dates. I suggest melting the chocolate, then adding it to the processor after fulling emulsifying the dates and eggs. Amazing cake in the end, though!
Delphine Fortin
Wow, it shouldn’t kill your food processor! Did you cut the chocolate into small pieces before? Also, I recommend to use fresh dates or if you use dry ones to soak them in water overnight before using them. It will make the food processor job much easier. Hope you managed to change it in the end, as again it should not happen. Happy that you liked the cake, and thanks for your sharing suggestion to melt the chocolate. Have a good day!
Josip
Hey there, this recipe look awesome. One question though, since I don’t have access to fresh dates I’m going to be using dried dates. But 10 dried dates aren’t neari 1 and 1/4 cup, or 200 grams. They are more like 50 grams. Should I still only use 10 dates or should I use more?
Thanks!
Delphine Fortin
Hi! I think 10-12 dry dates should do the trick if you use 70% chocolate, maybe a few more if you use unsweetened chocolate (I would say up to 15-16 dates). Just remember to soak them a few hours (ideally overnight) before using them. Hope it helped a bit! 🙂
Lori Geurin
Wow, these look amazing! Has anyone tried pulsing the dates in a high-power blender? I don’t currently own a food processor.
Delphine Fortin
Hi Lori! I would in this case recommend you use only fresh dates and let them soak a couple of hours in lukewarm water before using them to make sure they are very soft. Let me know how it turned out, I’d be happy to hear your feedback 🙂
Jessica
Bonjour j’ai réalisé cette recette aujourd’hui essayant de trouver des alternatives au sucre ..
Le gâteau est très bon mais il n’a pas levé comme le votre.
Il fait à peine 1cm de haut..pourtant j’ai suivi à la lettre les ingredient.
Pour la prochaine fois que me conseillez vous de faire ? Merci
Delphine Fortin
Bonjour Jessica. Normalement la réaction chimique qui permet au gâteau de lever se fait grâce au bicarbonate de soude. Une explication raisonnable peut être que le bicarbonate était périmé ou proche de l’être, ce qui peut annuler l’effet chimique qu’il provoque, ou bien tout simmplement avez-vous peut être utilisé un moule un peu grand ? Ce sont je pense les deux seules explications possibles ici, le sucre ne changerait rien. J’espère en tous les cas que le gâteau était bon 🙂
Genette
This looks great! But, as with many healthy recipes these days, it calls for coconut oil. I am allergic to coconut. Can you suggest any substitutes for coconut oil that I could use in this and other recipe so that call for it?
Delphine Fortin
Hi Genette! Sure, you can try to replace coconut oil with another vegetable oil (canola oil, sunflower… maybe even avocado oil). If you try one of them, let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Genette
Thanks so much! I tried it with almost 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce and topped it of with a little olive oil. I wanted to see how subbing the applesauce would work, and it came out wonderful! Thanks for a great recipe!
Delphine Fortin
Oh thank you so much for your feedback, Genette! I love when readers add their own twist and it seems you did an amazing job here. I rally need to try your version 🙂
patricia
Hello,
Très bon .. mais tout le dessus était brulé .. A enfourner tout en bas du four et à température inférieure la prochaine fois donc,… merci ..
Delphine Fortin
Bonjour Patricia! Contente que la recette vous ait plu! En effet d’un four à l’autre la cuisson peut varier légèrement, c’est pour ca qu’il est toujours bon de surveiller la cuisson de près.
Doudou
J’ai suivi à la lettre cette recette, je suis accro au chocolat et franchement c’est le MEILLEUR gâteau au chocolat healthy que j’ai pu tester.
Un grand merci pour cette super recette !
Delphine Fortin
Vous m’en voyez absolument ravie, merci pour votre retour ! Je suis complètement conquise par ce gâteau moi aussi, une recette que je refais très souvent 🙂
Marsha
Are you talking dried date? I really would like to try this.
Delphine Fortin
Hi Marsha! Medjool dates would work best in this recipe, but if you use dried dates, make them soak for at least 2 hours before using them. Hope you will like the recipe, it’s super easy and the take is delicious while still healthy 🙂
Mathilde Faure
Bonsoir!
Merci pour la partage de cette recette elle a l’air délicieuse, j’ai hâte de la tester. J’ai juste un petit souci, je n’ai pas de robot mixeur, pensez vous qu’il est possible de faire fondre le chocolat dans une casserole ou au bain marie? Merci d’avance! Bonne soirée à tous
Delphine Fortin
Bonjour Mathilde! Dans cette recette le chocolat n’est pas fondu mais à la place mixer très très finement au robot mixeur. Le faire fondre changerait la texture du gâteau. Voici donc quelques suggestions possibles : 1/ mixer le chocolat en plusieurs fois dans un tout petit robot mixeur à herbes (que l’on parfois avec le mixeur à pied pour les soupes) 2/ le râper le plus finement possible avec une râpe à fromage pour en faire de petits copeaux 3/ Éventuellement essayer avec du cacao en poudre 100% cacao (non sucré), mais je ne recommande pas trop cette dernière suggestion qui changera un peu la texture du gâteau. J’espère que mes conseils vous aideront un peu, vous verrez le gâteau est délicieux! 🙂
Gwen
I have made this according to the recipe. I used unsweetened cooking chocolate and regular dates. It has a great dark chocolate flavour. I am wanting to serve it as a birthday cake and not everyone may enjoy the dark chocolate flavour so will try sweetening it with either maple syrup or coconut palm sugar. It will change to consistentency so wondering which you might suggest.
Delphine Fortin
Hi Gwen! I think you could try with 70% dark chocolate instead of the unsweetened one, I tried this version and it worked just fine as well. Otherwise, I would rather go for the maple syrup instead of the coconut palm sugar, I think the consistency will be better in the end (still moist). For the quantity, since I haven’t tried myself yet, I would suggest tasting after each addition to check the sweetness – personally I would try with 1 or max 2 tablespoons of maple syrup. Feel free to let me know which option you choose in the end and how it turns out. And happy birthday to the happy cake recipient!
Gwen
Delphine
Thanks for the prompt reply. I made it again using the unsweetened baking chocolate as I still have some to use up. I added 1/4 cup maple syrup. It is somewhat sweeter than I like so will reduce that to 2 TBSP as you suggested. I also simmered my dates with a small amount of water for 1/2 hour to bring out their sweetness. I also eliminated the 1 TBSP of cocoa as the dark chocolate was enough. The result is a flavourful moist cake that rose and cooked beautufully. My granddaughters will eat with gusto as we celebrate my birthday. This will be a cake recipe that I will continue to use. Thanks for sharing it,
tixier Corinne
bonjour,
étant fan de fondant au chocolat mais vegan, par quoi pourrais remplacer les 3 oeufs ?
je vous remercie par avance de votre réponse
Delphine Fortin
Bonjour Corinne! Vous pouvez essayer de remplacer les oeufs par 1 1/2 banane écrasée, ou bien alors remplacer les oeufs par des graines de lin, à raison de 3 cuil. à soupe de graines de lin (préalablement mixées dans un blender) et mélangées dans autant d’eau. N’hésitez pas à me tenir informée du résultat obtenu! 🙂
Bou
Je viens de decouvrir Votre blog, cette recette est un Vrai delice. Je n’ai Mis qu’une cuil a soupe d’huile de coco. J’essaierai Le Choco 100% noir VS 70% la prochaine fois et mettrai quelques dates supplementaire.
Merci pour cette bonne recette!
Delphine Fortin
Ravie que la recette te plaise autant qu’à moi! Avec du chocolat 70%, ca marche très bien aussi 🙂
lea
Just made this. It’s amazing!!! I love baking and I’am always on the lookout for healthy recipes. This is one of the best one I have tried. Will go on my ‘to keep’ list. Thank you so much.
Annie
Can I sub the eggs for flax eggs..?
Delphine Fortin
Hi Annie! Yes, actually you can 🙂
Aurore
Bonjour
Est ce que les dates sont obligatoires ?
Pas très fan de ça….
Delphine Fortin
Pour ma part, je ne les remplacerais pas car elles jouent un rôle dans la texture incroyable de ce gâteau, et n’apportent qu’un goût de sucré au gâteau (et non pas le goût du fruit en lui même)… mais la cuisine étant un lieu d’expérimentation, tu peux parfaitement essayer d’utiliser du sirop d’agave 🙂 Dans ce cas, n’hésite pas à me faire part de ton feedback, cela m’intéresse !
Fragzing Revolution
Il a l’air tellement bon, et en plus que des aliments sains je vais le tester ce weekend !!
Merci 🙂
Delphine Fortin
Ravie quíl te plaise. Un gâteau extrêmement gourmand comme je les aime et pourtant très sain. Tu vas adorer!
Delphine Fortin
Je suis vraiment très heureuse qu’il te plaise. Le carrot cake, c’est un dessert incontournable en cette saison!
Sonali- The Foodie Physician
Wow, this looks amazing! I can’t believe that it’s flourless and has no added sugar! Plus, it looks easy to make. I love using dates as a natural sweetener in my recipes- I’m going to have to try this one 🙂
peter @feedyoursoultoo
OMG. I cannot believe how moist and chocolaty these look and no butter. Amazing.
Delphine Fortin
Thank you, Peter! 🙂
Petite cuillère et Charentaises
Il est plus que tentant ce beau gâteau et moi qui adore les dattes, j’en ai plein à la maison en ce moment ! Encore une délicieuse idée qui va rapidement arriver dans ma cuisine 🙂
Grosses bises
Gabrielle
Delphine Fortin
Ravie qu’il te plaise, Gabrielle! J’ai été complètement séduite par ce gâteau pour ma part, que je trouve à la fois super gourmand tout en étant beaucoup plus sain que la recette traditionnelle. Et en plus il est super facile et rapide à réaliser. Tu m’en diras des nouvelles 🙂
Anne-Cécile
Bonjour,
Je suis française, je voudrais testez votre recette. Pouvez-vous me confirmez la traduction de “1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, ½ tsp baking soda” ? Merci d’avance
Delphine Fortin
Bonjour Anne-Cécile, et bienvenue sur mon blog! 🙂 Pour info, mon blog existe aussi en version francaise, il vous suffit de cliquer sur le bouton “Francais” tout en haut de la page. Pour cette recette, il faut bien 1 cuil. à soupe de cacao en poudre non sucré et 1/2 cuil. à café de bicarbonate de soude. Retrouvez toute la recette en francais ici : http://www.delscookingtwist.com/fr/2016/03/16/healthy-flourless-chocolate-cake/ Très bonne journée à vous, régalez-vous bien!
Anne-Cécile
merci !
Rosenoisettes
Il est si noir ! Et donc si intense… que j’en salive devant mon écran 🙂
Vous avez dû vous régalez ~
Delphine Fortin
Ouiiii on s’est régalés, super moelleux, super chocolaté, naturellement sucré… j’adore ! Et je l’ai même fait deux fois de suite, héhé ! 🙂
Christine bousfield
Can I freeze it. I need it for a party
Delphine Fortin
Hi Christine. To be honest, I haven’t tried myself but regarding the ingredients in this cake I believe it should be fine to freeze it in advance. Please let me know your feedback if you do so. Thanks!
Elizabeth White
I froze it, since I had to make it in advance, and it turned out delicious!
Jeanette Mabin
I have frozen it and eaten from baked. Absolutely delicious! I missed out the dates because my son isn’t allowed that type of sugar. This recipe is amazing!
Thank you.
Delphine Fortin
So happy you liked it. Thanks for your feedback, Jeanette!
Mitra
Yes I did it and still was really good