This deliciously rich, fudgy, and secretly healthy chocolate cake recipe includes one ingredient you will absolutely never guess!
The best healthy chocolate cake
Multiple friends and family members have proclaimed this to be the best chocolate cake recipe they’ve ever tasted.
And that is saying something, because none of them are on a vegan, gluten free, weight loss, or low calorie diet. They simply appreciate good food.
It’s so much fun to test the cake out on people who do not know the secret beforehand. Look for their shocked reactions when you reveal the hidden ingredient.
Serve the moist healthy cake at your next party or event, and guests of all ages will be begging you for the recipe!
Also make this Vegan Carrot Cake
Chocolate cake health benefits
While no cake will ever be the healthiest food you can choose, this one does have a surprising amount of nutrition.
Each fudgy slice packs in over five grams of protein and more than 15% of the RDA for fiber. and it can be both cholesterol free and oil free.
The cake is low fat, low in saturated fat, and just 100 calories a slice!
It is high in iron thanks to the cocoa powder and can be sugar free, egg free, dairy free, gluten free, vegan, cholesterol free, and oil free.
Superfood cauliflower is a good source of heart healthy vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals. The low sodium and low carb cruciferous vegetable contains vitamin C, vitamin K, pantothenic acid, manganese, fiber, and folate.
Try topping the cake with Homemade Nutella
Ingredients for the healthy dessert
The easy chocolate cake calls for just ten ingredients. You may already own most of them in your kitchen pantry.
These ingredients include flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, pure vanilla extract, salt, sugar, optional stevia and eggs or flax seeds, mini chocolate chips, optional oil or milk of choice, and frozen cauliflower.
My favorite flour choice is whole grain spelt flour, because it adds fiber and gives the cake a light, fluffy texture. All purpose white flour and some brands of gluten free flour blends work as well.
While you can technically use oat flour, pastry flour, or whole wheat flour, these options yield a denser result. We recommend against coconut flour and almond flour.
For a keto and flourless version, try this Chocolate Almond Flour Cake.
Go with a high quality cocoa powder for the richest chocolate flavor. You may also substitute raw cacao powder. If you try Dutch cocoa, let us know how it goes.
The chocolate chips are not optional, because they impart a deep chocolatey taste into each bite of cake. Use dairy free chocolate chips for a vegan cake.
Feel free to choose regular sugar or a granulated unrefined sugar like coconut sugar. In our opinion, uncut stevia powder is the healthiest alternative sweetener because its only ingredient is stevia leaf, with no erythritol or other sugar alcohols or artificial sweeteners added. If you wish to omit the stevia, simply replace it with additional sugar or no sugar xylitol.
Raw or fresh steamed cauliflower have a strong taste and should therefore be avoided in this recipe. We have not yet tried cauliflower rice.
For the best results, use frozen cauliflower and allow it to thaw in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter instead of in the microwave. Or try one of the substitutions for cauliflower listed in the next paragraph.
Leftover cauliflower? Make Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Healthy chocolate cake recipe video
Above – watch the step by step recipe video
Substitutions and flavors
If cauliflower is too unusual for you, substitute three fourths cup of canned pumpkin puree, roasted sweet potato, mashed banana, or Greek yogurt.
Turn it into a mocha cake by using brewed coffee instead of the milk or stirring a teaspoon of instant coffee granules in with the dry ingredients.
Add the zest of two oranges to the food processor for a chocolate orange cake.
Create a fancy chocolate peanut butter cake by swapping the three tablespoons of oil for a fourth cup of softened peanut butter or almond butter.
For black forest cake, top the recipe with Coconut Whipped Cream and fresh cherries or cherry jam. Garnish the sides with shaved dark chocolate.
Add half a teaspoon of pure peppermint extract for a mint chocolate chip cake.
Or top the finished dessert with date caramel frosting, shredded coconut, and chopped pecans to get a German chocolate cake.
For a healthy ice cream cake, top with Avocado Ice Cream or Banana Ice Cream.
Finally, you can make a yummy healthy birthday cake by decorating with a variety of fresh sliced fruit or natural rainbow sprinkles. Remember the birthday candles!
How to make a healthy chocolate cake
Thaw the cauliflower in the refrigerator or in a bowl on the counter.
When ready to bake the cake, start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and gathering all of your ingredients.
Grease a round or square eight inch baking pan, or line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Set this pan aside.
Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, chocolate chips, and sweetener in a large mixing bowl. Stir until evenly incorporated.
Blend all liquid ingredients with the cauliflower in a high quality food processor until the mixture is completely smooth.
Pour the liquid mixture into the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients, and stir until just combined. Do not overmix, which could result in a tough or gummy cake.
Spread the chocolate cake batter into the prepared baking pan, then place the pan on the center rack of the preheated oven.
Bake for thirty minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out mostly clean.
Let the pan cool completely before frosting. If you can wait, I recommend very loosely covering the cooled cake with a towel and refrigerating overnight. The taste and texture are ten times better the next day.
After a day, store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for freshness. Or slice and freeze in an airtight container for up to three months.
Readers also like Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Chocolate frosting ideas and tips
For the healthiest option, top your cake with fresh strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, or sliced bananas.
Or frost it with a thick layer of decadent Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting.
Dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar, or add chocolate sprinkles, diced walnuts, or chocolate ganache and fresh or frozen fruits of choice.
We spread on a four ingredient Healthy Chocolate Frosting and plant based mini chocolate chips for the chocolate cake in the photos.
To ensure whatever toppings you add do not melt upon touching a hot cake, make sure to let the recipe cool fully before decorating.
Healthy Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour (or try this Keto Cake)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp ground flax or 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup sugar or xylitol for a sugar free cake
- 1/4 cup additional sugar OR 1/8 tsp uncut stevia
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips or more as desired (do not omit)
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups frozen cauliflower (or 3/4 cup yogurt, mashed banana, or pumpkin)
- 1/2 cup milk of choice (omit if using eggs)
- 3 tbsp oil or additional milk of choice
Instructions
- *Flour options that work well include spelt flour, white flour, or some brands of all purpose gluten free flour. For the best results, be sure to use frozen cauliflower instead of fresh, and do not omit the chocolate chips.To make the healthy chocolate cake recipe, start by thawing the cauliflower in the refrigerator or in a bowl on the counter. Preheat your oven to 350F, and grease an 8 inch baking dish. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl, and mix very well. Combine all liquid ingredients and the cauliflower in a food processor and blend until smooth, so there are no lumps. (If going with the cauliflower free option, you do not need to use a food processor.) Pour wet into dry, and mix until just combined, then pour into prepared pan and bake 30 minutes. Let cool completely. If you can wait, I recommend very loosely covering with a towel and refrigerating overnight because the taste and texture are better the next day. Frosting options are included above.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
More Healthy Dessert Recipes
Or these Vegan Brownies
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars
i can’t wait to try this!!!
Could I use a real egg instead of the replacement? I can’t get that where i am.
that’s what I was wondering- and yes, I am willing to try it. Every one of your other recipes has been amazing! Hubby still isn’t quite on board, (lol, just cause he knows the ingredients) but the kids (all 4 of them!! LOVE the desserts) So 5 out 6 here, not bad at all.
Sorry, I haven’t actually baked with a real egg since I was around 13 years old… so I really have no idea if/how a person would go about making that substitution.
We aren’t vegan, so I don’t have the substitutions laying around. I used butternut squash instad of pumpkin (I had fresh from the farmers market and its a bit lighter in flavor than pumpkin), and used 1 egg (fresh from a friends hens, probably a “large”). Next time I am going to sub out the sugar for agave – but we use wheat flour (even for baking), so I need to lighten it up.
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I’ve used real eggs instead of the replacements for all of the Chocolate Covered Katie recipes I’ve tried. No problem whatsoever. I’m not opposed to ener-g powder or chia egg, just don’t happen to have them lying around!
Can’t wait to try this. I ate almost an entire cauliflower for dinner last night. It was just too good to stop eating,
I don’t know how you come up with these recipes, but they are amazing and I am so glad you do.
Great device for hiding veggies from the kids! I love dessert hummus, so I’m game for this!
I was just thinking last week that I wished someone came up with more ways to put cauliflower to use. Thank you, thank you!
This is awesome!!! I love cauliflower!! I can totally see why it would make it all yummy 😉
Speaking of boys who don’t like eating healthy–last night I was drooling over the one-minute chocolate cake, so I asked my husband if he wanted chocolate cake. He looked at the picture doubtfully, because he knows how much I like to make healthy dessert with ingredients he doesn’t like (like, almond milk, applesauce, now cauliflower….). So I said, “Don’t worry, it will have real milk, real sugar, real everything, and it will be on a plate, with real ice cream on top!” So he said, OK! And, I was able to make him exactly that, while I made my own HEALTHY cake (with raspberries on top, by the way)!
So, thanks for the single lady recipes, that I can use to make something good for both of us, and for awesome recipes like this on a day I can trick him into eating cauliflower 😉 Hehe!
Can’t wait for your cookbook!!
This made me smile.
I think it’s my favorite thing to hear when guys like the desserts… Guys can be so hard-headed when it comes to eating healthy!
P.S. good call on the raspberries :).
Yes! I bought a bag of frozen cauliflower on a whim yesterday. I can’t wait to try this recipe!
It sounds interesting, but I trust your judgement! Not to mention that cauliflower doesn’t have a strong taste so I could see how it could easily blend in 🙂
I am soooo happy to know I’m not the only crazy dessert maker out there… I’ve been plotting chocolate cake with beets (or maybe brownies) for a while, might adapt your recipe! Also my mom has snuck broccoli into her cookies before (and I thought that was a little wild, silly me)
OOOH, chocolate cake with beets is AWESOME. My ex mother in law used to make THE BEST chocolate cake with beets 🙂
I’ve made chocolate cake with sauer kraut in the past – a cruciferous veggie is a cruciferous veggie, right? 🙂 I’m all over this, though I DO wish it used less sugar.
I was also wondering what purpose the cauliflower served, if not a flour or egg substitute. Glad it’s for moistness. I LOVE the word moist, because it ALWAYS makes me think of cake.
PS – make your deep dish chocolate chip cookie pie for your boyfriend; that’s how I sell all of my friends and family on weird desserts. That, and flourless chocolate cake, made with black-eyed peas and tofu. 🙂
If you use xylitol and stevia (and the sf chocolate chips noted in the nutritional notes), it’s completely sugar-free :).
Your black-eyed-pea cake sounds really cool!
Just wondering, because I live in Australia, we don’t have the NuNaturals stevia packets over here, so could I just use stevia powder or drops instead? Do you know how much I would need? I’ve noticed you use the packets in a few of your recipes (which I really want to try! :)), but I wasn’t sure how to go about substituting with stevia powder…
Cauliflower?! Really? That is such an amazing and unique idea! I’m gonna have to try this one…just too curious to let it go!
Be sure to check out my latest healthy & delicious recipe @ bakingblissful.blogspot.com !
Wow, cauliflowers!?? Genius, seriously! You have the most ingenious ways of sneaking in the most unexpected veggies into totally yummilicious things! If only all kids learnt about veggies from you 😉
By the way, is the nutritional information for ONE square of cake, or all 9!? It seems too good to be true, honestly. Looking forward to your next recipe, AND your cookbook!! (:
one lol
I love all of your recipes! I’ll be giving it a try soon! I make a chocolate cake with zuchini that incredibly moist and yummy!
Psh! Cauliflower! That’s not nearly crazy enough! xD I’ll definitely be adding this to my “Summer Desserts” folder!
Aw I’m glad you’re loved up! Was that the guy you wrote about having a date with a while back? So cute to follow the story..!
I am not put off at all by the idea of cauliflower, more intrigued! But I don’t have a food processor right now so I may have to put it off and go with the pumpkin substitute for a while! I’ll keep this recipe in the back of my mind though 🙂
No… oh my word, that was a weird blind date :-?. I really (really!) wish I could write a post about it, but I’d be worried he might see it. But it would’ve made for a funny blog post.
(I think I actually like the pumpkin sub version better.)
I’m wondering if when you substitute the pumpkin, does the pumpkin flavour come through very strong?
I can’t taste it at all!
I was also wondering if you used coconut oil in this recipe (it doesn’t specify in the ingredients). And I read that you told any reader that they could sub banana, I love banana so I was wondering do you think I could do some banana and some pumpkin puree? My boyfriend is going to make a cake for my birthday this coming Tuesday, and naturally I wanted to choose the best healthy recipe (instantly checked your page). I just want to make sure he has all the information before undertaking this mission! hehe 🙂
By the way, after reading posts that you especially like when men compliment your desserts, I thought I should let you know that my boyfriend, dad, brother in-law and EVEN my 10 year old nephew loved all of the recipes I’ve made of yours (deep dish cookie pie, blondies (my nephew said it was the BEST brownie he ever tried.. and it was made with beans!) Needless to say, I was very impressed by this and you are my new favourite dessert blog! 🙂
You know what i love about this site, all your recipes actually taste good and ARE healthy. i have gotten other books on sneaking veggies and stuff into food but the review were terrible and the food didnt even look good. i have seriously tried SO many recipes nad despite being NOT vegan (or even vegetarian) and having a family that lives on junk food, we all LOVE your recipes. i really hope you book is a huge success because you have a very rare gift of creativity, humor and talent.
in CHRIST
amanda
Aw Amanda, thank you. I feel like, if it doesn’t taste good there’s no point in eating it. Being happy is part of being healthy… and I am not happy drinking wheatgrass ;).
I could only find riced frozen cauliflower. Because it’s more dense do you think I should try the recipe using 1.5 cups of riced cauliflower?