This is not your average cake. This chocolate peanut butter cake has NO added refined or artificial sugar—I sound crazy right now, don’t I?! But, let’s be real… we’re all stuck at home right now and our ovens are probably seeing a lot more action than they’re used to. And a lot of things coming out of the oven are probably delicious, and probably full of butter and sugar 😉 This cake has AMAZING texture and is extremely moist (excuse my French… but, it is what it is: moist!).
The coconut cream and peanut butter frosting tastes so rich and decadent and buttery and pairs PERFECTLY with the chocolate cake. If you don’t love coconut, or maybe don’t have any on hand, you can simply top the cake with just peanut butter and it still tastes FABULOUS.
Cake… with no added sugar… why? Well, the answer is simple: Jason and I gave up all added sugar for the whole month of March (with the exception of one slice of sugar-full cake on Jason’s birthday), and we both have a huge sweet tooth that can’t be ignored. So, I decided to start testing out some recipes to trick us into thinking we were eating sinful desserts. Hence, healthy chocolate cake.
With all that being said, you can’t make this cake expecting it to take like your typical sugar-packed chocolate cake. It’s a healthy version of cake. I’m all about healthy desserts… because it means I can have more of them! And this cake certainly does the trick for me (and Jason)!
You can also make these in muffin form: Spray cupcake pan with cooking spray, fill 12 of the cupcake cavities with an equal amount of batter, and bake for 15 minutes.
Healthy Chocolate Cake With Peanut Butter Frosting
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1/2 cup sweet rice flour (or regular rice flour)
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 ripe banana, mashed
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup egg whites
- 1 tsp cake batter extract (or vanilla extract)
Peanut Butter Frosting
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/3 cup coconut cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Spray 8×8 baking pan with cooking spray.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients: rice flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, mix together all wet ingredients: mashed banana, pumpkin puree, egg whites, and cake batter extract. *I use cake batter extract because I think it adds a great cakey flavor, but you can certainly use vanilla extract if that's what you prefer or have on hand.
- Whisk together wet and dry ingredients until well combined.
- Pour batter into greased baking pan and spread evenly.
- Bake for 28-30 minutes, until cooked through. You can check whether your cake is ready by sticking a toothpick into the center of the cake – as long as no wet batter sticks to the pick, your cake is ready.
- Allow your cake to cool completely before frosting.
Peanut Butter Frosting
- Frosting your cake: you can top your cake with the peanut butter frosting I've listed below, or you can keep it simple and just top with your favorite nut butter!
- Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix with hand mixer or standing mixer on high speed for 3-4 minutes. *I use room temperature canned coconut milk—you can scoop out the coconut cream from the top of the can. Be sure you do not shake the can; shaking the can will combine the cream and coconut water, which will thin out your frosting.
- Top your cooled cake with your peanut butter frosting.
