Nothing can stand in the way of these decadent little chocolate cakes and I when they come out of the oven. And because they are totally gluten and processed sugar free, I make them regularly.
They also happen to contain two magical ingredients every health-conscious baker should know about: dates and cashew butter. I turn the dates into a delicious caramel spread that add the perfect amount of sweetness. As for the nut butter, it is the secret to making these little cakes moist and fluffy. The bonus is that both of these components are super nutritious: they are high in fiber, low on the glycemic index scales and filled with minerals and vitamins. But you don’t need to get into that with your kids or the guests, they won’t even notice they are in there!
Makes 8 little cakes
Ingredients
- 2 tbsps coconut oil or ghee
- 1 cup medjool dates, pitted
- 1/2 – 2/3 cup coconut cream (you can replace this with full fat milk)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup cashew butter (made only with cashews, no added oils)
- 5 tbsp dark unsweetened cacao powder
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder (gluten free)
- 1 tbsp arrowroot flour or corn starch (you can omit this but this will result in a slightly more liquid center)
- 4 big squares of dark chocolate (I use Lindt 85% dark chocolate) cut into quarters
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease a muffin pan with the ghee or coconut oil
- Blend the dates and coconut cream in a mixer at high speed. It should turn into a smooth caramel colour spread. If necessary, add extra coconut cream.
- Add the vanilla, cashew butter, cacao powder, eggs, salt and baking powder and blend until smooth
- Spoon the batter into the greased muffin pan – it should fill 8 cups
- Push 2 little chocolate quarters into each batter cup
- Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the cakes puff up and start cracking open on the top. They should be firm on the outside and slightly gooey in the centre.
- Wait 10 minutes and then slide a butter knife around each cake to release it and take it out of the pan