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I know we estrogen-fueled ladies are supposed to be helpless chocoholics, but I certainly don’t fall into that category. I do like the occasional chocolate treat, though, and this light and moist Chocolate Almond Cake fits the bill nicely. Plus, it’s baked in a loaf tin and merely decorated with some strewn almonds, so it’s nice and easy. No slaving for hours on this recipe! You’ll notice that I’ve used a sprouted whole-wheat flour in this cake; you won’t even notice the substitution if you take care to use a very finely ground wheat flour. The last thing you want is to have to chew itty bitty pieces of bran while you’re trying to enjoy chocolate cake. I’ve also replaced some of the white sugar with date sugar–this is totally optional but it’s not a bad way to sneak in some extra minerals. What with the whole-grain flour and the date sugar, Chocolate Almond Cake is practically a health food! Right? Am I right? Brew yourself a milky cup of tea and enjoy.
Chocolate Almond Cake
6 ounces (1 1/2 cups) (170 g) sprouted whole-wheat flour
1 heaping tablespoon cocoa powder
1 ounce (scant 1/3 cup) (25 g) ground almonds
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) (85 g) very soft salted butter
4 ounces (generous 1/2 cup) (115 g) granulated sugar
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) (25 g) date sugar
2 eggs, separated
2/3 cup (150 ml) (1/4 Imperial pint) milk
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 ounce (1/4 cup) (25 g) slivered almonds
Preheat oven to 325ห Fahrenheit (160ห Celsius) and line a loaf tin with parchment paper. Set aside.
Stir together the flour, cocoa, ground almonds, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time. Stir in the dry ingredients alternately with the milk. Add almond extract.
Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks then gently fold into cake batter. Spoon into prepared loaf tin and sprinkle top with slivered almonds. Bake 50 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in tin on a rack then remove cake from tin to cool completely.
Serves 8-10
Adapted from Favourite Chocolate Recipes.
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Ingredient notes:
- Use a finely-milled sprouted whole-wheat flour, like this one from King Arthur Flour. Don’t use one that has large pieces of bran! You can also substitute the same weight of wheat or all-purpose flour.
- Ground almonds are also called โalmond mealโ and may be in the specialty flours section or in a refrigerated case.
- Coconut sugar or sucanat can be substituted for date sugar. Alternately, just use another ounce of white sugar.
Do you have a go-to quick chocolate-y recipe? Tell me about it in the comments!
I am a chocoholic, and this looks lovely! ๐
It’s really quite a light chocolate cake, so not rich, intense chocolate!!!, but I’ll admit it is lovely. ๐
Definitely health food! I’ll have some for breakfast! Hope Riverfest isn’t rained out. The Romantics should be fun!
Didn’t rain until later–we had a good time!
I’m not a chocaholic either – I’d rather choose lemon over chocolate any day. It’s the almond that really appeals to me about this lovely cake.
I would normally choose lemon, too, unless it’s a homemade brownie (or this cake). I love the almond–keeps things nice and moist.
Well I do fall into the chocaholic category so I’m drooling over this right now! I love how wholesome the ingredients are too. Sounds wonderful ๐
I’m always really happy with how well whole grains work with chocolate. Definitely wonderful! ๐
This looks so so delicious! A not-so naughty treat ๐
Hannasโ UK Beauty | Lifestyle blog @ hannatalks
“Not-so naughty.” I like it!
Oooh, this looks so good. I would love to make it. For a quick chocolatey dessert, I love Barefoot Contessa’s Mocha-Chocolate Icebox Cake. It is made with chocolate chip cookies and you don’t have to bake it. It is a real crowd-pleaser.
I love an icebox cake!