A rich, spongy cake with a creamy chocolate frosting… This gorgeous, indulgent cake has everything you could want from a chocolatey treat – even better that it’s gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar free AND is suitable for vegans!! Another recipe created by The Healthy Beard and I during our collaborative baking sesh, we already can’t wait to get cracking on next month’s recipes. In the meantime, read on to find out how to make this masterpiece!

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Ingredients:
For the cakes –

  • 2 cups oat flour (we blended gluten-free Quaker Oats to form a flour)
  • 1/2 cup cacao powder (we used Lucy Bee)
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar (we used The Groovy Food Company)
  • 2 tablespoons flaxseeds (we used Linwoods Health Foods)
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3-4 beetroot chunks
  • 1/2 can unsweetened cooked apples
  • 2 tablespoons date nectar (we used Beloved)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons white wine or apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

For the frosting –

  • 2-3 avocados
  • 4 tablespoons maple syrup or Sweet Freedom
  • 2 tablespoons Sweet Freedom Choc Shot (or extra maple syrup)
  • 4 tablespoons cacao powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted

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To decorate –

  • 2 raw beetroot, sliced
  • 2 teaspoons raspberry powder (we used Indigo Herbs)
  • 2 tablespoons cacao nibs (we used Kaizen Living)
  • 2 tablespoons freeze-dried raspberries (we used Sainsbury’s)

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Get baking!

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and grease and line 2 x cake tins (same size).
  2. First make the cakes: Mix together the oat flour, cacao powder, coconut sugar, flaxseeds, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder in a bowl.
  3. Next place the beetroot, cooked apples, date nectar, vanilla and white wine vinegar in a blender and whizz up until smooth.
  4. Pour this into the dry ingredients along with the melted coconut oil and mix to combine, you want a nice smooth slightly pink batter.
  5. Pour between the two tins and bake for 20-25 minutes until risen and cooked through. Leave to cool.
  6. Meanwhile make the frosting: Simply place all of the ingredients in a blender and whizz up until thick and smooth. Place in the fridge until needed.
  7. Once your cakes have cooled, spread some of the frosting on top of one cake to cover, then place the other cake on top.
  8. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag with a large decorative nozzle and pipe on the top cake – we covered ours.
  9. We cut out little star shapes out of the raw beetroot and arranged on top, then sprinkled over cacao nibs and raspberry powder to finish it off. Time to slice up and enjoy!

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Keep the cake in the fridge in an airtight container for up to one day once frosting. Cake can be made ahead the day before then iced, ready to go!

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