The Ultimate Healthiest Fluffiest Chocolate Cake Ever (probably!)

I first made this cake towards the beginning of lockdown and ever since, I've been meaning to get it on the blog.

Today I have just made it for the seventh time (at least, I've lost count!) since I used a can of chickpeas last night, and so had the brine sitting in the fridge ready. So I figured I really must get this on the blog for you asap. Until now, I've been working with scribbled notes in my notepad the whole time.

I'm a sucker for chocolate and I have a massive sweet tooth, hence the name of this blog, and whilst I've made plenty of chocolaty treats over the years... I hands down legitimately think this is the best of the lot!

Yup seriously, I've made it almost every single week since the end of April.

Everyone I've shared it with (which to be fair is not that many because, er, lockdown!) has raved about it too.

As I have already implied, the magical ingredient to get a super springy, fluffy and moist crumb is aquafaba, aka chickpea juice! I also love this cake because unlike my chocolate banana brownie bread (which is amazing in it's own right) there is no banana flavour.

So, this one is for the pure chocolate junkies, put your hands up!

(Here’s proof from my phone archives of the multiples times its been made these last few weeks, and if you follow me on IG then you’ll likely have seen me mention it on my stories)

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What makes it both healthy yet indulgent?

Well, I add in sweet potato (I have used carrot too, either is great) which assists with the moisture and texture, yet doesn't impart any noticeable flavour. Plus the bonus is that you get a boost of veggie goodness in the cake.

For the size of the cake, it's pretty low fat and relatively low sugar too. The sources of sugar I do use are unrefined versions.

Seriously... This is probably been my best lockdown creation. It does not taste in the last bit healthy.

So if you can't already tell, I'll just spell it out for you…

YOU. SHOULD. REALLY. MAKE. THIS. CAKE!!

There are a few things you may like to can try to change things up by the second, third… or tenth time you make it.

I really like pressing frozen fruits into the top, and then I like to warm it through and eat it as dessert. But equally, you can leave the fruit off and serve it at room temperature, or try adding nuts or chocolate chips.

Or if you want to go a little bit crazier, instead of the coconut sugar, you could use sugar-free jam to enhance the berry flavour, or why not add some orange juice and/or orange extract for choc-orange vibes.

This last time I made it today I added a little hazelnut extract and I wish I’d had some toasted hazelnuts or walnuts to hand to mix in, but alas I did not. But there’s another idea.

I don't measure ingredients exactly, so this cake is pretty foolproof. You don't need to be super precise - it’s always worked for me. I rarely measure things properly, i’m lazy in that respect and also pretty intuitive… I just seem to know what will work and 9/0 times it does :-)

I haven't tried gluten-free flours but I am pretty sure they'd be a fine as a direct swap. I personally like to use whole wheat spelt flour to add an extra healthier kick, not that you would notice this cake tastes super indulgent. You can also use regular white plain flour.

I like to use a deep brownie tin to bake it in, but you can also use 2 smaller shallower round cake tins or even big muffin cups. The recipe makes quite a sizeable cake so please ensure the pan is not too shallow. This cake will also freeze well if you don't plan to eat it all within a few days.

If you make it, please tag me on Instagram @johodson, I always love to see your creations.

Recipe: The Healthiest Fluffiest Chocolate Cake Ever (probably!)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup aqua faba (chickpea juice is best but other beans work too)

• 3/4 cup chopped dates

• 3/4 cup worth of sweet potato

• 1/2 cup coconut oil (or other mild oil of choice)

• 1 cup milk of choice

• 1 tbs apple cider vinegar

• 1 tsp vanilla extract (or other flavours such as orange or hazelnut)

• 1/2 cup coconut sugar (or another sweetener of choice, if using jam/syrup reduce other liquid slightly)

• 2 cups flour (I use wholemeal spelt)

• 1 cup cocoa

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 /2 tsp salt

Method:

Whip up the aqua faba until it’s nice and frothy (note: I forgot to do this once and it still worked out fine so don’t worry if you forget this step). To a food processor add the dates, chunks of sweet potato and oil - blitz up until fairly smooth and no large pieces remain.

Spoon the mix into a bowl and add the remaining wet ingredients - apple cider vinegar, milk and vanilla extract and stir through well. Add all remaining dry ingredients and mix well. The mix should now be smooth and thick and ‘blob off’ the mixing spoon.

Line a deep brownie tin or other tin(s) or choice and spoon in the mix. Lightly smooth the top and press in frozen berries (use frozen so they don’t burn) or any toppings of choice.

Bake at 180ºC for approx 20-25 min until a skewer comes out clean.

Allow to cool before slicing and serving.

If you want to try some of my other chocolate creations… have a browse through these, there are all sorts in my archives!

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Sweet Potato & Apricot Spiced Porridge

December has arrived.

Festive spirit is in the air.

As is a freezing chill and scraping of car windscreens in the morning ;-)

I’ll be honest, I haven’t really landed in Christmas vibes yet. No sparkly decorations or an advent calendar BUT I do have my Christmas pudding made (still time to make yours!)

One thing I love about chilly days - as well as the sun shining and crispy leaves to kick as I walk through the woods - is porridge!

Big bowls of porridge for brunch!

I do eat porridge all year round both hot as porridge and cold as overnight oats, but there is something even more deliciously cosy about porridge on chilly winter days.

If you’ve been a long-time reader you’ll already know I love to add veg to my porridge, it’s very rare that I make a bowl without. I love the boost of ‘hidden’ nutrition, the overall texture and how it lightens up the oats.

Typically carrot is my favourite or courgette or sometimes beetroot with berries BUT recently I have been absolutely loving sweet potato porridge with a generous dose of mixed spice. Sweet potato has a slight sweetness naturally which reduces the amount of extra sweetness required.

This was a bowl I made this morning, and the addition of dried apricot was amazing both in texture and flavour. I highly recommend giving it a try!

Berries on top are optional- but they look pretty, add extra sweetness and from a nutrition point of view I like to get a portion of berries in each day (I keep bags of frozen berries to hand at all times throughout the winter and use fresh when possible in the summer).

I also added a little sprinkle of Gingerbread Wholeplus Toppers. I am revamping and re-launching my health food business in coming weeks so watch this space… more on that soon. You can follow @wholeplus on Instagram as I will start talking about the journey!

Recipe: Sweet Potato & Apricot Spiced Porridge

Serves 1 (fairly large) bowl

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup finely grated sweet potato

• 2/3-3/4 cup oats

• 1 tbs chia seeds (or flax)

• 1/2 heaped tsp mixed spice - more or less to taste

• A handful chopped dried apricot

• 1 tsp coconut sugar or syrup - more or less to taste

• approx. 2 cups non-dairy milk - more or less to desired texture.

Method:

Finely grate the sweet potato into a small pan on the stove. Add remaining ingredients and stir through. Bring to the boil, simmer whilst stirring continuously for 3-5 mins. Add more milk as desired.

Serve with berries and non-dairy yoghurt if desired, or just eat as is!

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'Scary' baked sweet potato slices!

The days feel like they are slipping away so fast at the moment.... I just looked back at my blog feed and realised I've only actually posted one recipe this week (plus a couple of other non-food posts) 

What's going on! 

Life. 

I have so many recipes I want to make, so many that have actually been made and are waiting to be turned into blog posts.... but just so little time to do it!  

I blame the coaching courses and Wholeplus.  It will all be worth it in the end I know, and foodie progress with Wholeplus can only be a good thing (updates on all that soon), it just gets frustrating at times when it feels like everything is pulling me away from sitting down to write you a recipe.  

Ah, now that feels better. Strop over.

Ok, I'll keep this short and sweet not least because the recipe is just that. 

I was originally inspired by Gena's halloween themed post and then simple added a savoury twist and some decorations of sorts!  You see some green piping on some of the  faces... that is a dip I hope to share next week, but that is only optional or you can also use this recipe as a base.

P.s the red sauce on the side isn't really a recipe- just some canned tomatoes with spices, but you could try adding this healthy tomato ketchup 

I have one more Halloween themed post (the dip) that I'll try and get up early next week. Then you know what?  I think we need some more cake back in our lives...it's been way too long! 

Recipe:  Scary sweet potato slices

Ingredients: 

• 1-2 long evenly shaped sweet potatoes- cut into 1cm slices
• 1-2 tsp garam masala (or spices of choice)
• 1-2 tsp olive oil (or preferred oil)

Decorations: 

• blanched almonds
• pumpkin seeds
• sunflower seeds
• walnuts (for brains!)
• ...plus anything else you can think of!! 

Method: 

Mix sweet potato slices with the oil and spices and bake on a lined baking sheet for up 30 minutes until cooked and slightly golden. 

Arrange on your serving platter and then create faces with the 'decorations' of choice. 

I'd love to see what you come up with if you make them!! 

Sweet Potato Curry

We've been in 'date mode' recently, with my new best friend the Date Syrup making an appearance. Don't worry he's not gone away for long- I have a couple more date inspired recipes for you next week...but for now I have a simple mid week winter warmer.

This dish is one of my go-to dishes and it never fails to please veggies and meaties alike.

I was one of the first meals I cooked for the Boy when I began to experiment with doing things the vegan way. I love it just as much today as I did back then. What’s not to love….it’s colourful, warm, creamy, comforting, lightly spiced and hints at the tropics. Close your eyes and maybe you’ll be taken to a far off land.

Ok, well maybe not that last sentence. But I guarantee this bowl of colourful curry will brighten your day.

It’s also a simple dish with few ingredients, easily adapted to other veggies/beans you may have, is thrown together in one pot and can be frozen for future speedy suppers.

Ok, so have I convinced you yet!  This would also work really well with my super simple flatbread as a healthy alternative to naan!

I also have another reason as to why this particular dish, or namely the photos, are making me happy. I’ve been trying to take decent ‘night shots’ of my meals for a while now, and up until recently I had been making slow progress. My research and investigations pointed me in the direction of two key props: a powerful light with good ‘white’ rendering (I’ve used a portable LED source) and a diffuser layer (I’ve used an old bed sheet over a wooden frame).

This shoot was a simple 5 minute experiment (before my dinner got cold), and I really wasn’t expecting much of an outcome. However, for such a quick first attempt I was really pleased with my efforts….well now to see if Food Gawker shared that same opinion!

Recipe: Sweet potato curry

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2-3 tablespoons madras curry paste

• 1 medium onion- diced

• 3 medium (fist sized) sweet potatoes- approx. 800g (peeled and chopped into chunks)

• 1 red pepper- sliced

• 1 tin of chickpeas (or other white beans)

• 200g bag of spinach

• 1 can of coconut milk

Method:

In a large frying pan or wok, fry the onion for few minutes in olive oil till soft. Add curry paste and fry for 1 min. Add the coconut milk, sweet potato, pepper and chickpeas and simmer for approx. 15 minutes until potato is cooked. Add spinach (fold spinach through the mixture in handfuls) simmer for a couple more minutes until spinach is wilted. If not liquidy enough add a little water. Serve immediately with rice or naan bread as desired.

Freeze left over portions in individual bags.

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My colleagues eat their veggies... Sweet Potato Chickpea Curry!

My workmates still find it a novelty that I eat a predominantly vegan diet. Having known me for so long before I changed my approach to food I think they are still waiting for the point that the ‘novelty will wear off’. I don’t preach or proclaim to know it all but if questioned I try to impart some genuine understanding as to why I do things this way. Typically most will smile and say something along the lines of ‘well I couldn’t do it’. It’s understandable and I know I would have thought exactly the same, I think it takes a first-hand experience for someone to realise the benefits in their own life and how simple it can actually be (once you get the hang of it)!

So, then my ideal opportunity came along….

I work in a relatively small architectural practice (yes, architecture is my ‘day job’) and every so often we all take it in turns to cook lunch for the rest of the team so we can all sit down together and enjoy some social time, food and gossip. I’d been teasing them all (telling them all!) for some time that when my turn came I’d cook them a vegan lunch- I think they thought I really was joking.  I also have a vegetable patch at work… yes very random, but more on that another time, so a veg patch vegan lunch before summer was over was too good to miss.

It amused me that everyone was so apprehensive and worried about what I would serve- who can be scared of some harmless veg! I also know that some of them had also hidden away a little back-up snack should it be needed. I had a mission on my hands, a mission to prove that a meal made without animals could be tasty, filling, varied, decadent and delicious. 

Success…it went down a storm and made me a very happy bunny!  So much so that many of them requested the recipes for the food I’d served.   

The meal consisted of: sweet potato, chickpea and spinach curry along with a roasted vegetable tart accompanied with potato wedges, falafel and a big mixed salad. Also for dessert (it would be a sin to forget dessert!) some of my amazing (but still in the process of being refined) sugar free, fat free, animal free chocolate brownies with blueberries and raspberries topped with (vegan) cream.  I promise I will share the brownie recipe with you soon- just not yet, it’s not quite ready (though they still gobbled it up!)

For starters…here’s a recipe to keep you going, everyone wanted more and I promise it will satisfy all the meat eaters in the crowd!

Recipe: Sweet potato curry

Makes 4 large meal sized portions (or lots more tapas style portions)

Ingredients:

• 2-3 tablespoons madras curry paste (depending on how spicy you like it)
• 1 medium onion (diced)
• 4 medium (fist sized) sweet potatoes (peeled and chopped into 1 inch chunks)
• 1 large red pepper (sliced)
• 1 x 400g tin of chickpeas
• 200g bag of spinach
• 1 x 400ml can of full fat coconut milk
• Rice, quinoa or naan to serve - optional

Method:

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion for few minutes until soft. Add curry paste and fry for 1 more min. Add the coconut milk, sweet potato, pepper and chickpeas  and cook for approx. 15-20 minutes until potato is cooked. Add spinach (fold spinach through mixture in handfuls) simmer for a couple more minutes until spinach is wilted. If thee is not liquid enough add a little water.

Serves immediately. If there are any leftover portions this curry freezes well.

Edit 2016 : I have since made this curry countless times and it's so versatile! It also works really well with many other veggies you may have to hand- I like to swap in green beans, courgette or cauliflower for the pepper and/or some of the sweet potato.

ooops, sorry... this one just snuck in!!

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