This healthy chocolate cake recipe is rich, chocolatey & moist with a perfect crumb. It's so delicious no one will guess that it's made with nutritious ingredients!
Line two 6” round cake pans with parchment paper and grease well. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt and espresso powder. Set aside
In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, coconut sugar, eggs, applesauce, Greek yogurt, whole milk and vanilla until the mixture is smooth.
Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined.
Add mini chocolate chips and stir until evenly distributed.
Divide the batter evenly into the two prepared cake pans.
Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean or with a few crumbs.
Place cake pans on a wire cooling rack to cool to room temperature (takes about 1 hour).
Once cool, lift cakes out of the pans and remove parchment paper. Let cool completely on the wire cooling rack.
Once cool, with chocolate frosting and serve.
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Notes
To make two, 9” round cake layers double the recipe and bake in two 9” round cake pans.*Nutritional information calculated for the cake without frosting. Ingredient Substitutions
All-purpose flour. Cake flour can be used in place of all-purpose flour. I have not tried all-purpose gluten-free flour so if you do report back and let me know how it goes. You can replace up to half a cup of the flour with white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour.
Coconut sugar. you can use organic cane sugar or granulated sugar if you don't have unrefined coconut sugar.
Unsweetened cocoa powder. Choose your favorite variety. For an extra-dark cake use dark cocoa powder.
Espresso powder. I always have espresso powder on hand to make chocolate desserts (like this chocolate zucchini cake, chocolate cupcakes, etc.). It's totally worth purchasing if you love baking. You can substitute instant coffee.
Applesauce keeps this chocolate cake moist and light. It also adds sweetness. You can substitute equal amounts of melted butter or another neutral oil if desired.
Salted butter. coconut oil or ghee can be used in place of butter.
Greek yogurt. Sour cream can be used in place of Greek yogurt.
Whole milk. I am an advocate for using full-fat whole milk in this healthy chocolate cake recipe. You could substitute 2% milk or half and half, but nothing with a lower fat content.
Vanilla extract. You can switch up the extract and use almond, peppermint, orange, etc. if you prefer a flavored chocolate cake.
Mini chocolate chips. Regular-sized chocolate chips sink to the bottom of the cake while baking. Be sure to use mini chips for the best results.
Freeze Before FrostingI often bake this healthy chocolate cake recipe a few days before I need to frost it and store it in the freezer. Simply wrap each cooled chocolate cake layer tightly with plastic wrap, put them in a ziplock bags and store in the freezer.Even if you plan on frosting the cake the same day you bake it, I still recommend freezing it before frosting. Frosting a a cake when it's frozen reduces the number of crumbs that make their way into the frosting.StoreStore any leftovers wrapped in plastic wrap or in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.You can also flash-freeze individual slices of leftover cake, then wrap them in plastic wrap and transfer them to an airtight container and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or at room temperature - do not microwave.