Gluten free & Dairy free

Sometimes only a chocolate cake will satisfy our taste buds’ silent cries for some sweet attention. As someone who prefers not to consume dairy or gluten, I decided to create this dark cacao sponge so that is was gluten & dairy free as well as 100% organic!

EQUIPMENT NEEDED:

  • Electric mixer with whisk attachment
  • Baking tray lined with baking paper
  • Oven
  • A bar mixer, blender or whisk & mixing bowl

INGREDIENTS: (All organic, if possible)

FOR THE CACAO SPONGE BASE:

  • 8 x organic egg yolks
  • 4 x whole organic eggs
  • 1 ½ cups x coconut sugar
  • 1 ½ cups x cacao powder
  • 1 cup x brown rice flour
  • 1 teaspoon x vanilla bean seeds,paste, or powder
  • 1 x 400ml tin coconut cream
  • 2 teaspoons x finely chopped orange zest (or 2 drops x food grade orange essential oil)
  • ½ teaspoon x baking powder

FOR THE RAW CACAO FUDGE SAUCE:

  • ½ cup x raw honey
  • ½ cup x coconut cream (the thick, top skimming)
  • ½ cup x raw cacao powder
  • ½ cup x extra virgin coconut
  • 1 teaspoon x vanilla bean seeds, powder or paste
  • a good pinch x sea salt

HOW TO MAKE:

FOR THE RAW CACAO FUDGE SAUCE:

  1. Warm coconut oil in a steel mixing bowl over boiling water until it is completely liquid.
  2. Add the rest of your ingredients and mix together well with a whisk, bar mixer or in a blender.
  3. Cool in the fridge while you bake the sponge.

FOR THE CACAO SPONGE:

  1. Preheat the oven to 170 celsius.
  2. Add eggs, vanilla & coconut sugar to mixer and mix on high for 6-7 minutes or until silking and pale. The mix should leave a long stringy like ribbon trail from the mixer when it is pulled out of the mix.
  3. Turn the mixer to medium/low speed and add your coconut cream. Once it’s completely mixed in, add your cacao, rice flour, orange zest and finally, baking powder.
  4. Once everything is mixed through well, pour into baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for about 20 minutes or until slightly firm and spongy to touch. (You can insert a knife into the centre and if it comes out clean, then it’s ready. If it’s slightly wet, then leave in the oven for a little while longer.)
  5. Leave to cool to room temperature on bench.
  6. To add the raw cacao fudge, either pour over the cake and return to fridge to cool before slicing or slice the cake into pieces and add little dollops of the fudge sauce onto each.

TO SERVE:

  • Serve at room temperature if you would like it to be fluffy and warm or cool from the fridge if you would like it to be a little chewier. Be sure to dust with a little fresh cacao powder and indulge with a cup of peppermint or chai tea in front of a fire.

Enjoy!!

About The Chef:

Simon Favorito: Executive Chef and Head of Wholefood Education

Simon Favorito comes from a lineage of wholefood chefs & has spent over half his life helping people to discover the magic of wholefood medicine through the culinary arts as a chef, a natural health practitioner, coach & teacher.

Simon offers conscious event catering, educational courses and personalized coaching that combine natural health principles, wholistic nutritional, modern psychology, traditional & contemporary food philosophy to help individuals create their own life changing food culture.

You can find Si cooking and teaching at Billabong Retreat every week Wednesday to Friday. For information on Wholefoods medicine, recipes, workshops and courses, be sure to visit Simon’s Facebook page: Your Conscious Kitchen. or his Instagram Page

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