Baking a cake without flour, butter, eggs and sugar, does that even work? A justified question, especially because the dough lacks a binding agent. However, this recipe is the best proof of how well this works. The end result has been fantastic. For my apple chocolate cake I used the best healthy ingredients and for that avoided on flour and eggs. The recipe is vegan, gluten-free and free of refined sugar. In terms of taste it is a real highlight. The cake is super juicy, chocolaty, fruity and combines everything a delicious autumn cake made from seasonal ingredients should have. Actually, I was a little surprised by the final result, because the recipe was only meant to be an experiment. In the end, however, everything fitted so well that I decided to use the recipe for the blog in exactly the same way.
Now you’re probably wondering which healthy ingredients make up this recipe, and why the dough works without binding agents such as flour and eggs or how the cake becomes super juicy anyway?
Tha cake base
The cake base consists of crunchy walnuts and dates. Walnuts are absolute “brain food”. They are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and provide numerous vitamins and minerals such as magnesium and vitamin B6, which improves our concentration and can counteract tiredness and nervousness. The best thing about this combination is that walnuts harmonize perfectly with apples. What could be better in autumn than a freshly baked cake with seasonal ingredients such as apple and walnuts?
The dough base
As already mentioned, I did without flour and eggs in this recipe. Sometimes this can become quite tricky when baking, because often cakes without flour and eggs become way too dry, or don’t get proper stability. Not so here, and a little trick will dissolve the whole thing at the end of course… ;)
Instead of flour, I used ground almonds as the dough base. Almonds are rich in protein, fibre, antioxidants and healthy fats. In addition, they are also natural appetite suppressants that prevent ravenous appetite attacks. Snacking healthy sounds pretty perfect, doesn’t it? But of course the base is not just made from ground almonds, because it would never be juicy enough in the end.
Here comes the clou… During the past weeks I have prepared a lot with pumpkin, which is why pumpkin puree is always available in my fridge in autumn. I use pumpkin puree in many recipes like porridge , or pumpkin bread. And yes, for this recipe I also used pumpkin puree in the cake dough. For the chocolate version I added some raw cocoa. So simple, so good and so healthy, because both pumpkin and raw cocoa are ingredients with superfood properties.
Raw cocoa has numerous beneficial ingredients and is full of antioxidants, magnesium, zinc and vitamin C to support heart and brain functions. Raw cocoa helps against stress and is considered a mood enhancer – just to name a few of its benefits. I have often written about the superfood pumpkin The decisive thing for me here is that the dough remains incredibly juicy through the addition of pumpkin puree. Finally I covered the cake with baked apple slices. Looks pretty and tastes even better. There is really no easier way to prepare a healthy cake.
I am looking forward to how you like this recipe.
Healthy apple chocolate cake {vegan & gluten-free} - without sugar}
Zutaten
- 180 g ground almonds
- 150 g pumpkin puree
- 80 g dried dates
- 40 g raw cocoa
- 1 pinch cinnamon
- 1-2 apples
- 200 ml plant drink e.g. almond
For the cake base
- 100 g walnuts
- 6 dates
Anleitung
- Cut the dates into small pieces and grind them together with walnuts in a mixer. The mixture should be sticky. Place the mixture on a baking tin lined with baking paper and press lightly with your fingers.
- Preheat the oven to 175 degrees. Mix the almonds in a blender at the highest speed until they become flour. Add dates, vegetable drink, pumpkin puree, raw cocoa and cinnamon and mix until it's creamy.
- Pour the mixture over the walnut-date base and bake for approx. 50-60 minutes. Check the dough every now and then with a wooden stick. The cake dough may still be slightly moist from the inside after baking. Allow the cake to cool in the form for a few minutes.
- Remove the seeds from the apples and cut into slices. Put some oil in a pan and fry the apples lightly on both sides. Place the apple slices over the cake and drizzle with chocolate sauce as desired.
