Healthy-ish Chocolate Snack Cake
Okay, I’m not a “health food” blogger or a nutritionist or anything like that, but I’m obsessed with my Healthy-ish Chocolate Snack Cake! I’ve been making an effort to be more conscious of the ingredients I use in my baking. These cakes are the result of my attempts to be healthy-ish. Still fudgy, indulgent, and delicious, but made with better, more natural ingredients. Sign me up!
This chocolate snack cake is so easy to make for an afternoon snack or sweet treat at the end of the day. It’s baked in the microwave, so you don’t have to wait 20 minutes or more for your snack. It’s also naturally egg-free, and can easily be done dairy-free and gluten-free. It’s even got a decent little dose of protein in it!
Healthy-ish Chocolate Snack Cake
Y’all, I am obsessed with this recipe. No kidding, I think I made them every day for a week and a half while I was “testing” different ingredients and trying to get the recipe right. This little snack cake is packed with deep chocolate flavor, and is still super fudgy and indulgent. But it’s not overly sweet—it’s just sweet enough! Thanks to coconut sugar (or maple syrup) and cacao powder, the sweetness is more natural.
This recipe makes two small snack cakes (I use two, 6-ounce ramekins like these). You could, of course, pour all the batter into one larger dish or mug for a larger portion. But I really like the smaller portion; it’s the perfect size for snacking, and my fiancé loves it, too.
I tested this recipe several times with different ingredients and combinations. The recipe I’m sharing today is my preferred version, but you can substitute any of the ingredients below to get your preferred chocolate snack cake.
In my experiments, I made this cake with:
- Peanut butter (natural)
- Mixed nut and seed butter
- Regular milk
- Almond milk
- Tahini
- Almond flour
- Gluten-free flour blend
- Regular, all-purpose flour
- Coconut sugar
- Maple syrup
My preferred recipe, as you’ll see below, uses tahini, regular AP flour, and coconut sugar. That combination resulted in my favorite texture (light and cakey) and was still super moist. In my experiments, the peanut butter and mixed nut/seed butter resulted in a more dense cake, and almond flour made it crumbly (but not dry). But you do you, and find your own favorite combination!
Related: I’ve been experimenting with tahini a lot more recently, thanks to these Tahini Brownies from Ambitious Kitchen. Tahini might be a more regular ingredient in my kitchen.
How to Make This
When I said this is easy to make, I mean super easy!
To make it, you will need:
- Flour
- Milk (dairy or non-dairy milk works)
- Tahini or nut butter
- Coconut sugar or maple syrup
- Cacao powder
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Chocolate chips for topping
- Small mixing bowl
- Two small ramekins, lightly greased
First, mix the nut butter or tahini, sugar, and milk together in your small mixing bowl. Once those are combined, add the flour, cacao powder, baking powder, and salt, and mix again. The batter should be thick but pourable.
Next, divide the batter between your two lightly greased ramekins. Smooth out the tops, and sprinkle some chocolate chips on top if you’d like.
Then, to bake them, just pop them in your microwave! The cook time will vary slightly based on your particular microwave, but mine took 1 minute and 15 seconds. Since there’s no egg in this recipe, it’s okay if it’s slightly underbaked. I actually like mine on the gooey-er side.
You can top your snack cakes with a little scoop of ice cream, some whipped cream, or sweetened yogurt. But it’s not necessary—these are so good on their own, they don’t need anything else on top!
Did you like this recipe? You might also like:
- Winter Fruit Salad
- Double Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins
- Edible Cookie Dough (Mostly Guiltless)
- Sausage & Veggie Sheet Pan Dinner
Thanks so much for reading and eating along, y’all! If you’re craving more, follow me on Instagram and Pinterest, and sign up for my email list so you never miss a recipe. If you make one of my recipes, tag me on Instagram or share a photo on my Facebook page so I can see your work!
Healthy-ish Chocolate Snack Cake
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- 2 tbsp cacao powder
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- Pinch salt
- Chocolate chips for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Combine the tahini, sugar, and milk in a small mixing bowl. Mix well.
- Add flour, cacao powder, baking powder, and salt, and mix until combined.
- Divide the batter into two small, lightly greased ramekins. Add some chocolate chips on top if you'd like.
- Place the ramekins in your microwave and cook for 60-80 seconds, depending on your microwave.
- Carefully remove from the microwave. Let cool for 2 minutes, then enjoy while warm!
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