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{Note from Jessica: Today’s post is shared by my sweet friend, Raia, author of Raia’s Recipes. Raia is a homeschooling, stay-at-home mom of five crazy kids. After the birth of her third child, she was diagnosed with celiac disease. This discovery turned her bread and pasta-filled life upside down and set her on a mission to find out what healthy meant for her family. Aspiring to encourage other moms, she started her blog filled with simple, easy, healthy dishes. Stop by Raia’s Recipes to get plenty of real food, gluten-free recipes and much more!}
Before going gluten-free four years ago, I was not a cake fan. They were generally too dry for my liking and tasted more like sugar than anything else. Not very exciting.
But cutting the gluten out changed my cake-liking status. Suddenly cakes became a wonderful and delicious thing to me. Especially chocolate cakes.
Especially dark chocolate cakes…
Then I discovered the slightly exotic charm of spiced chocolate cakes. Who knew chili powder or cinnamon could add such wonderful depth to a cake?
While my Mexican Chocolate Cake has more of a ‘hot’ness to is, this Spiced Dark Chocolate Cake is more subtle in its flavor. More “classy,” as my husband says. 😉
If you enjoy the extra heat, then feel free to add a pinch of chili powder to spice it up more!
This recipe yields one 8-inch cake. You can double the recipe and make two, then stack (as pictured), or just leave it a single layer.
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Spiced Dark Chocolate Cake :: Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Dairy-Free
If you're looking to elevate your chocolate cake game, look no further. This spiced dark chocolate cake is rich, decadent, and tastes just as good as anything you'd get in a fancy bakery!
Ingredients
CAKE
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 cup standard cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup extra dark cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup plain, unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup softened coconut oil
- 1/4 cup raw honey
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. raw apple cider vinegar
FROSTING
- 1/4 c. coconut oil
- 1/4 c. raw honey
- 1/4 c. cocoa powder
- pinch of sea salt
- 1/4 t. vanilla extract
Instructions
CAKE
- Preheat oven to 300 and grease an 8-inch cake pan.
- Place all ingredients EXCEPT apple cider vinegar in blender and puree. Let stand for about 5 minutes so the coconut flour can soak up some of the liquid.
- Add in apple cider vinegar and pulse to combine.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean and top springs back lightly when touched.
- Cool for about 10 minutes before removing from pan.
- Frost once cooled.
FROSTING
- Soften the coconut oil over low heat.
- Remove from heat and stir in honey, cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla.
- Let stand for a few minutes to thicken.
- Frost cake.
Notes
Store leftovers in covered container on counter top. If your're not planning on eating it within a few days, refrigerate (though it will dry out a little).
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Weirdo Good Black Velvet Cacao Powder – Organic, Allergen-Free, Premium Ultra-Dutched Cocoa for Baking, 14 oz. -
Santa Cruz Organic Apple Sauce, 23 Ounce -
Simply Organic Ground Ceylon Cinnamon -
Simply Organic Ginger Root Ground Certified Organic, 1.64-Ounce Container -
Bragg USDA Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 47Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 105mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 3g
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered from Nutritionix and we often find their calculations to be slightly inaccurate based on the whole food ingredients we use on this site. Nutrition information can vary for a recipe based on many factors. We strive to keep the information as accurate as possible, but make no warranties regarding its accuracy. We encourage readers to make their own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Do you know if I can substitute eggs in this recipe? I have an allergy. Thanks!
Hi Tracy – I haven’t tried it yet, but you might be able to use gelatin, chia, or flax eggs in this. I have tutorials on both:
Gelatin Eggs: https://www.deliciousobsessions.com/2014/08/gelatin-egg-replacement/
Chia Eggs: https://www.deliciousobsessions.com/2013/12/use-chia-flax-egg-replacements/
If you try it, please let us know how it turns out! 🙂
Mmmmmm…this cake was rich, fudgy, & delicious! I made a single batch in a 8″ cake pan with the addition of a teaspoon coffee extract and a couple dashes of chili powder (as recommended). A tip for readers: the batter will be more fudge-like, so spread it to all edges of the pan and smooth the top with a spatula (especially if not frosting all sides of cake). Also, the cake will not rise, so the height you see is the height you get. The 30 minute bake time (I used convection) was perfect. I ran out of honey, so I made the icing with melted coconut oil, dark chocolate chips, and vanilla, melted together in a double boiler. Thanks for a great recipe, Raia!
Oh awesome, Janet! Thanks for coming back and sharing! We are really happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
Thanks so much for the tips, Janet! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake!
Wanted to sign up for emails n couldn’t find a way but trying this tjanks
Hi P! I have two options that you can sign up for:
1. Receive an email every time a new blog post goes live (3-5 times per week): https://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=933401
2. Receive my weekly newsletter, which features exclusive content not found anywhere else, recipes, special offers, etc. You also get a copy of my free eBook: https://www.deliciousobsessions.com/contact/newsletter/
I would recommend both of them, as they both will feature different things. Let me know if you have any questions! 🙂
~Jessica
This cake has me mesmerized. Deep chocolate cake is the cake of my youth, and this recipe is speaking to me quite loudly. I will have to make very soon.
I hope you enjoy, Kay! It has been a BIG hit so far! 🙂
How do I soften my coconut oil without melting it. It always stays hard in my kitchen in the winter. Thank you.
Jean – You can try running it under some hot water or placing it in a bowl of hot water. The outside layer will melt, but the inside should stay soft.
This looks so nommmieee!!! Any subs for the ACV and Applesauce….Have an allergic daughter *sighhhh*
Hi Maryam – I am not sure about subs for those in this recipe. I’ll see if Raia can pop over and offer some suggestions! 🙂
oh.my.god. this is one good cake. deserves five stars hands down for both tastiness and easiness! i mostly followed the recipe – i didn’t have dark chocolate powder (so i just used regular hersheys cocoa powder), substituted pear for the applesauce (just peeled a pear and stuck it in the microwave for a minute, it came out soft and juicy like applesauce), substituted molasses for half of the honey (in both the cake and the frosting), added about 2T coffee (because i felt like the batter was just too thick), and about 1/2 tsp cayenne (could taste it in the batter, but will add more next time, didn’t taste the cayenne in the cooked cake). will not make it in the blender again, it was just too thick. i think a hand-mixer would’ve been better. next time will half the frosting recipe – i didn’t use but half of what i made. it’s good, though, tastes like fudge after it gets hard in the fridge! my kids loved it as much as we did.
Awesome Analee! Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We are so glad you enjoyed and thanks for the tips on the modifications you made! 🙂
Hello, do you think I could use olive oil instead of coconut oil in this recipe?
Hi Vanessa – You could, but I would be concerned with the olive flavor. If you do, I would use an extra light olive oil that has little olive flavor. Or, you could try using avocado oil or another oil of your choice.
i tried to make this today to bring to a party and it did not turn out. It was very dry and tasted floury. I will try agin next time. Not sure what happened
Hmmm. Interesting — I am not sure what happened either. If you give it another go, let us know how it turned out!
Do you know how many carbs are in a serving?
Hi Sara – I don’t, but I know there are some online recipe calculators where you could get the nutrition info. http://nutritiondata.self.com is one that I know of off the top of my head.
i’m on a non gluten and non sugar diet for the past 6 months. I was craving for a chocolate cake for a long time, I tried many but no cake tasted like chocolate. Now I found the ultimate chocolate cake. WOW this cake is awesome.
Awesome Tami! So glad you enjoyed it! I bet it tasted even better since you had been of gluten and sugar for so long! Have a great holiday! 🙂
TOO MAKE IT MORE MOIST>>>
I changed the recipe slightly and reduced to 1/3 c coconut flour and added 1/4 c coconut milk. The cake is this way is very moist, even the next day IF it lasts that long. The first time I made it my family stood over the pan with forks and ate most of it!!
Thanks for the tips! Glad your family loved it! 🙂
I made this yesterday, exactly as written (I hope!) and it turned out a bit too thick and dry for me, but still a potential recipe to try again. I even mixed in the blender as stated and had a really rough time because it was such a thick, stickier batter, but I wanted to follow the directions all the way. I think this has a lot of possibility and I’d like to try again, but I’ll try in my mixer and perhaps add a little more liquid, maybe even oil. One thing I’d note for those getting ready to make it, make sure you smooth out the batter as much as you can in the pan because it pretty much didn’t budge from how I put it in there while baking. Wouldn’t be a problem with a good amount of icing to cover the “waves” but just keep that in mind. Also, the spices were perfect– light but noticed. I think they were a great addition! Thanks for the recipe–I’m always game for gluten free chocolate anything!
Thank you for taking the time to share your tips! The coconut flour can be kind of tricky and I have found that different brands behave differently in recipes. My guess is that the coconut flour was what made the difference between when Raia made it and when you made it. If you try it again, maybe use a tad less coconut flour and see how the batter looks. Hope that helps! 🙂
All I can say about this cake is wow! I was not expecting it to be this good! It didn’t have that granny coconut flour taste that some food has when you cook with coconut flour. My husband and 2 kids loved it,( their 2&4) it made the perfect amount of cake too! Just what I was looking for, THANK YOU!
Awesome! So glad to hear it was a hit! Thanks for stopping back by! 🙂
can I add baking soda? Baking soda and ACV will react together and maybe get more of a rise?
Hi Amy – The recipe already calls for baking soda. 1/2 tsp. 🙂
Looks delicious. Will have to try that. Thanks for sharing the recipe! 🙂
Hope you like it! 🙂
Chocolate is my favorite ingredient in the world and this recipe looks very yummy. Need this cake in my life asap 🙂
This cake is absolutely amazing! Hope you love it! 🙂
i also ended up with a dry cake.Next time I will loosen it up with coconut milk.
Sorry it was a bit too dry! It must be the difference in the ingredients, specifically the coconut flour, because we haven’t had that issue. I have found over the years that each brand of coconut flour will act slightly different than another. Some are much dryer than others, so it sounds like that may be what happened and it has soaked up too much moisture. You might try cutting the coconut flour down to 1/3 cup or even 1/4 cup. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Looks amazing! Thanks for sharing!
Hope you enjoy!!! 🙂
Loved the cake even though I over cooked it. This was a test run for a visit of my bestie in 2 weeks time. Next time will add a little more spice & not make in the blender as was over thick [the fun of cooking with coconut flour]. Just love the idea of adding chilli. I make a cloth boiled chocolate chilli christmas pudding. Just love chilli & chocolate!
Thanks for stopping by and sharing Kerry! We’re glad you liked it! 🙂
I needed to make a bunch of changes. I am sorry I put the stuff in the blender as I was unable to blend it ( using a vitamix) I had to add about 1/2c. water. It’s baking now so we will see. I am very familiar with coconut flour so it isn’t about that. I doubled the amount of spices. and cooked it a lesser amount of time as well.
Interesting! We’ve never had those issues, but thanks for taking the time to stop by and share! 🙂
What brand of coconut flower did you use? I want to make it for my son’s birthday cake tomorrow and I don’t want to run into the problem of it coming out dry. Thanks!
Hi Teigan – I use Tropical Traditions brand. I am not sure what Raia used for this recipe specifically. I will have to see if I can find out and report back! 🙂
I am planning to make this cake for a friend’s birthday this weekend, however, she is on a whole30 plan at the moment and cannot have any forms of sugar, including honey. Do you think a puree of mejool dates would work as a substitute for the honey?
Hi Donna – Yes, I think that would work. You need to add some water into the date puree and get it to the consistency of honey. If the mixture seems to dry, just add a tiny bit more liquid. Enjoy! 🙂
Do you know if I could substitute xylitol or stevia for the honey? I have someone coming for dinner tomorrow night and was planning on making this today, but he just informed me that he doesn’t eat honey. :/
Hi Alisha! I’ve never made it with anything other than the honey, but you probably could switch it out and just add a tad more liquid to make up for the lost moisture the honey gives. If you try it, let us know how it comes out! 🙂
This cake looks absolutely amazing by the way!!
I know, right?! It’s SUPER good! 🙂
Would you make any changes for a higher altitude? I’m going to give this recipe a try tonight 🙂 Thanks!
Hi Kelsey – I live in Denver and it has worked fine for me! 🙂
Thanks for all the great tips, commenters. Am going to try it with a mix of honey, molasses and date purée as I don’t have enough honey or any applesauce.
The cake looks wonderful, Janet. Am sure my friend is going to love it – as all she asked for was “chocolate and a bit healthy!” ?
Hi Tess! Hope you enjoy! Let us know how it turns out with the modifications! 🙂
Ooops! I of course meant “thanks JESSICA!”
The cake was such a huge hit! I was worried it turned out too dry, but it was actually perfect.
The modifications worked perfectly, and I doubled the recipe for a gorgeous two-layer cake. Next time (and oh there will be a next time!) I think I will amp up the spice aspect. Thanks again for sharing this gorgeous recipe!
Ps a tip for folks who found the batter though to work with, I usually mix all the other ingredients in first, then add the coconut flour at the end. Then let it sit a bit in the baking tins for a few minutes before popping in the oven. I don’t know why, but that’s always worked for me. Two thumbs up for this recipe!
Awesome! So glad it turned out well! Thank you for taking the time to come back and share! 🙂
In order to make it a regular dark chocolate cake. I just don’t add acv, ginger, or cinnamon??
Hi Ella – You could leave the ginger and cinnamon out, but we don’t recommend the ACV, as that helps with the activation of the baking soda to help it rise properly. Enjoy! 🙂
What could you substitute the applesauce with, is it to bind the cake, could I use zucchini?
Instead of dark chocolate powder could I just double the regular or use some dark chocolate chips?
Hi Adele – We haven’t tried other ingredients in this recipe other than the ones used when we developed it, so I can’t say for certain what a good sub would be. Maybe bananas? Very finely shredded or pureed zucchini might work too. I don’t think you would need to double the cocoa, maybe try 1.5 times more? Chocolate chips would probably work great too! If you try the substitutions, let me know how things turn out! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Has anyone tried freezing this beauty? Does it change the texture at all?
I’ve made it before and LOVE it, but I’d like to make it ahead for a party and freeze if possible. Thanks!
Hi Jess! We have not frozen it, but I think it would be OK if it was sealed really tightly with plastic wrap. I wouldn’t plan on storing it for a long time in advance, but a week or so should be just fine. If you try it, let me know how it goes and I can make a note in the recipe! 🙂
Hi! Would this work as cupcakes? Trying to make almost black looking cupcakes for my Halloween party. I have the black gel food dye, I was going to add to the frosting. Do you think that will work? Thanks!
Hi Melissa! We haven’t made them into cupcakes, but I think it should work OK! If you try it, let me know how they turn out! 🙂
How many days would you say the cake would be good for before serving it? I have a birthday coming up on Wednesday and I might have to make it on Sunday. Would it last until then?
Thanks!
Hi Jenna – I have never made it in advance like that. It should stay good for at least a week thougn in the fridge. I’d make sure you store it in a very airtight container or wrap it in plastic wrap. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂