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
Uuum…so while the cauliflower in the chocolate cake is a genius idea and I can’t wait to try it, I am *way* more interested in your boyfriend…BOYFRIEND?!? How on earth am I just hearing about him now?!? Spill it girl…spill it… 😉
I will absolutely be trying this! I love cauliflower and can see how it’s very mild taste would be masked in this recipe – can’t wait!
I HAVE to try this
I tried … warm, it was not sweet enough … But cold and a little bit fudgy this morning, it was incredibly good for chocolate cake. Yeap, I love chocolate, but chocolate squares, not so much chocolate desert. My boyfriend ate the cake and said it was good … and did not notice the crazy ingredient.
I will do that one AGAIN !
Hooray for this cake! I’ll eat anything that involves cauliflower. As much as I love the garbanzo bean goods, my fragile stomach can’t handle them, so maybe this will work better for me.
Can your stomach handle a different type of bean? Ive made her blondies with white navy beans instead of garbanzo, and they turned out awesome.
Hmm. I’ve always thought that a bean was bean was a bean. I’ll try a white navy bean and see what happens. Thanks, Susan!
I’m crazy… well kinda. If you drink green smoothies here (especially with way down South bred neighbors!) you’re considered a nut. But they still like me hehe 🙂
So I’ll try this cake. And I HATE cauliflower but hey, if there’s chocolate, it should be okay.
Oh and congrats on the boyfriend. Curious, is he vegan? Sorry for being nosy. I mean, would you only date a vegan/vegetarian?
My only criteria is that the guy has to love God. Oh, and he has to love cooking, too. For me. 🙂
Me cooking for him? Now that’s a whole other can of worms.
No, he’s definitely not a vegan.
Of course they like you! Sarah, how could anyone NOT like you? 😉
love love love the cauliflower in cake idea!!!!! My kids don’t eat enough veggies but they certainly eat enough cake lol, so it’s fantastic! I’ll make it this weekend for sure! P.S i have printed out AND copied soooo many of you great recipes for myself and my friends that i’m ecstatic you are coming out with your cookbook! thank you!!
Aw thank YOU, Beth. It’s comments like yours that make me love blogging so much!
I made this last night with the pumpkin substitution because (1) I like cauliflower, but I LOVE pumpkin and (2) using pumpkin meant that I already had everything I needed! Since I had vanilla almond milk on hand I left out the vanilla, and it was still rich and gooey this morning (a little piece for breakfast never hurt anyone). I made the “fudge” version because that’s what I like, but I think the flavor would be great as a traditional cake too.
I’m so glad you tried it… And I’m equally glad someone else appreciates my gooey fudge version. Most of my friends turned up their noses at it, saying it looked undercooked. Oh well, more for us, right? 🙂
This is INCREDIBLE. I got my sister to eat veggies. I got my boss to eat cauliflower (which she claims to hate). I topped it with cute pink icing. And it’s so delicious! I also used half chocolate almond milk because I’m a major choco-holic, and added instant espresso powder to make it taste more chocolate-y. It was incredible! Thanks so much for not waiting on this!
I am going to have to try your extra-chocolate idea. Love it!
I don’t have a processor but have made desserts with cauliflower in the past (usually protein puddings/mousse). For those that only have a blender – or even just a fork and some patience – I find the trick is to steam or boil the cauliflower prior. Softens it right up! Doesn’t take long at all and from there you can get whatever texture you desire.
Yum, yes there’s chocolate in it and I would eat it!!
Hmm, I’d be so down to try this. No matter how much sugar or chocolate I put in a recipe, my “overly-sweetened-toothed” sister never quite seems to be satisfied. My goal for the summer is to shock her pants off with the most delicious, sweetest, baked good she’s every had… healthified. Not sure if it’s possible… But I really think I need to try this cake.
For non-vegans, what can I substitute for the flax egg. Would using 1 egg be a suitable ratio?
Katie
Sorry, I haven’t actually baked with an egg since I was 13 so I have no idea how to tell you to proceed. But non-vegans can use flax too, of course. It has omega3s and fiber that would be a great addition to any diet!
(I swear, I’m not being paid by the Flax Association of America ;).)
Cauliflower isn’t that out there! Sounds delicious!
Last year I made a cake with sauerkraut.. It was pretty dense, but was actually really tasty. 🙂
Katie! I just want to say… I stumbled upon your page from a Pin I think… and it is just fantastic! I LOVE seeing all your amazing recipes and how unique and healthy they are! I think I am going to have to start making things like this and not telling my boyfriend what’s in it so that he will eat some fruits and veggies! I have a question, could I use a Magic Bullet in place of the food processor? …Also… what do you think of the Magic Bullet? Will it work well for many things? I just can’t afford a Vitamix yet so I’m thinking a Bullet… :] Please let me know! Thanks so MUCH!!
Natalie. ^.^
It won’t all fit in a MB. But if you have a lot of patience and want to do it in batches, then yes it’ll work! Magic Bullets are great for small-serving recipes, and I use mine almost daily!
If you can only afford one machine, I’d not go with a Vita or blender. I’d go with a food processor (a Cuisinart is a great long-term investment).
I absolutely love your freaky and weird recipes. My kids eat healthier for it. Oldest loves vegetables to begin with – but as long as the flavor of the vegetables and beans is not Too pronounced in the sweets – he loves it. he’ll eat the blondies – but I agree with him I made them taste bit too much like beans. We both dig the chocolate dip and snickerdoodle dip. Those two things are amazing. Oh and your chocolate pie with soy stuff…. i could go on. really.
Get crazier Katie – it’s good food, healthy and most of it tastes awesome. Especially that 1 min choc cake 🙂 🙂
I have to admit it. I didn’t read all 168 comments before mine. So…you may have already answered this – and if so, I’m sorry. But WHERE IN THE WORLD did you come UP with this idea??! LOL I just shake my head in amazement, because I don’t know anybody else who would have thought of it. It cracks me up. It looks really tasty, though. And since I already make a killer black bean brownie, I’m not as dubious as I would have been. I’m willing to try it out at some point. 😀
(A word to the wise – okay, a nosy comment – from one of your older readers…please remember that boyfriends who don’t like healthy eating can morph into husbands who don’t like it, either. It can result in fixing 2 variations of food for every meal like my mother-in-law did.)
It started out as a chocolate-pumpkin cake, but pumpkin isn’t in season, and I also wanted to do something “different” and new… not just your everyday chocolate-pumpkin cake. In thinking of all the things I could puree instead of pumpkin, I came up with a ton of ideas: zucchini, spinach (tried it, and it was actually good!), prunes, zucchini, etc. And I’d bought cauliflower to experiment with making alfredo sauce. It was just sitting there, lonely…
I also tried to make a cauliflower cookie dough dip awhile back. That one was NOT good ;).
How cool that this has frozen cauliflower in it. You are so creative! I’m a new follower of your blog 🙂