Olive oil and chocolate? Crazy as it sounds, it’s a match made in heaven. February is Heart Month and of course Valentine’s Day, not that anybody needs a reason to bake a chocolate cake! I decided to celebrate it this year by raiding the baking aisle in Nature’s Fare [1], with a side trip to the olive oil section.
This perfectly moist cake is full of heart-healthy extra virgin olive oil (which has the most antioxidants [2] of the olive oils) and hemp seeds filled with omega-3 fats that are also amazing for the ticker. It also happens to be dairy free for those avoiding dairy.
Topped a slice with a dollop of coconut whip or vanilla ice cream to take it to a whole new level. I promise it will be love at first bite!
You’ll need a heart shaped cake pan [3] to ‘get the look’, or any round or square 9″ pan will do.
Serves 8
Ingredients:
- 1 c. flour
- ½ c. cocoa
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ c. hemp seeds (optional)
- 2/3 c. sugar
- ½ c. almond milk
- 2/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
- 3 eggs
- ¼ c. honey
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- ½ tsp. almond extract
- 1/2 c. small dark chocolate chunks or chips (I used Prana)
- Coconut whip topping (optional)*
- Large unsweetened coconut flakes (optional for garnish)
*You can find this in the frozen ice cream section of Nature’s Fare Markets, HIGHLY recommend it on this cake!
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 325F and grease and flour a 9” round pan or a heart shaped pan of the same size.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, hemp seeds and sugar.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond milk, olive oil, eggs, honey, vanilla and almond extract until well combined.
- Scrape the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula and whisk together until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks or chips.
- Using a rubber spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean with no crumbs. Do not over bake the cake as it will dry it out.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and invert onto a cooling rack.
- Serve with a dollop of coconut whip topping and large flaked coconut if desired.