Servings
Font
Back
4.8 from 567 votes

30 Minute Healthy Chocolate Cake

It’s here. The chocolate cake of your dreams. A healthy chocolate cake stuffed with superfoods including sweet potato, cocoa and avocado. Made with only 8 main ingredients, it's dairy free, refined sugar free and saturated fat free. What are you waiting for?

Prep Time
12 mins
Cook Time
12 mins
Frosting
5 mins
Total Time
30 mins
Servings: 8 (to 10)
Calories: 428 kcal
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

For the cake
  • 1 cup sweet potato mashed – see note below
  • 1 cup self-raising flour NOT self-rising flour. To make self-raising flour, mix 1 cup all-purpose flour with 1.5 teaspoons baking powder.
  • ½ cup cocoa powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • 3 eggs lightly whisked
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • ½ cup olive oil light
  • ½ cup maple syrup
For the chocolate mousse ganache
  • 2 avocados ripe
  • ½ cup cocoa powder
  • ½ cup maple syrup

Instructions

For the cake
    Cup of Yum
  1. Line the bottom of a 9 inch round cake pan with a circle of baking paper and spray the pan all over with a light coating of oil.
  2. Preheat the oven to 355F/180C.
  3. Pierce the sweet potato all over with a fork, then place on a plate or kitchen towel. Microwave on high for 6 to 8 minutes until the flesh is soft. Cut open lengthwise and scoop out the flesh. Mash it well in a medium bowl or jug (or pulse in a food processor for a few seconds). Let it cool a little.
  4. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, salt & baking soda in a medium bowl.
  5. Add the eggs, vanilla, oil and maple syrup to the sweet potato and mix well with a wooden spoon. Add to the dry ingredients and mix again until well combined.
  6. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 18 minutes or until the top is just cooked and the centre is still a bit gooey.
  7. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then carefully turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For the frosting
  1. Pulse the avocado, cocoa and maple syrup in a food processor until silky and smooth. Once the cake is completely cool, spread the frosting thickly all over the top and sides.

Notes

  • Cooking time: Once you’ve practised making this cake a couple of times, it will only take 30 minutes from start to finish. You have to add a bit of time for cooling/frosting, of course!
  • When I first made this cake I cooked it for about 20 minutes and it was delicious but not at all gooey in the middle. I found that by reducing the cooking time a little (to 18 minutes in my oven) the centre stayed just a tiny bit gooey! Yum!
  • You want the top to look totally cooked, but when you insert a skewer into the middle of the cake it’s still a bit sticky.
  • If your cake isn’t gooey, don’t worry. When you top the cake with the ganache, it’ll kind of sink into the cake a bit and make it super moist. Am I making you hungry?
  • Sweet potato: I use a medium sized sweet potato and find that it nearly always makes about a cup of mashed sweet potato. If there’s any left over, simply freeze it for next time!
  • Make sure your sweet potato is nice and soft before scraping out the flesh. If it isn’t after 8 minutes in the microwave, just cook for another minute or two. Cooking time will vary according to the size of the sweet potato you use, of course!
  • How long it keeps: At least 3 to 4 days in the fridge if you cover it well or keep it in an airtight container.
  • Freezing instructions: This cake freezes really well. Just wrap well until you’re ready to defrost and eat.
  • It’s probably better to make and add the frosting just before you’re ready to eat the cake. Surprisingly though the frosting does freeze well too, so you can freeze the cake with the frosting already on if you like (I once froze half a frosted cake in the centre of a big container and it fared really well!)

Nutrition Information

Calories 428kcal (21%) Carbohydrates 52g (17%) Protein 7g (14%) Fat 24g (37%) Saturated Fat 4g (20%) Cholesterol 61mg (20%) Sodium 149mg (6%) Potassium 592mg (17%) Fiber 7g (28%) Sugar 25g (50%) Vitamin A 2520IU (50%) Vitamin C 5.4mg (6%) Calcium 80mg (8%) Iron 2.4mg (13%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 8(to 10)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 428

% Daily Value*

Calories 428kcal 21%
Carbohydrates 52g 17%
Protein 7g 14%
Fat 24g 37%
Saturated Fat 4g 20%
Cholesterol 61mg 20%
Sodium 149mg 6%
Potassium 592mg 13%
Fiber 7g 28%
Sugar 25g 50%
Vitamin A 2520IU 50%
Vitamin C 5.4mg 6%
Calcium 80mg 8%
Iron 2.4mg 13%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.