Cake of the Day: Double Chocolate Cloud from ‘A Modern Way to Eat’

Every day, Yahoo Food features delectable cakes. They taste good, they look good, and they’re made by good people — talented bakers from around the world. Today, Anna Jones shares a cloud-like chocolate cake that’s just as nourishing as it is delicious from her cookbook A Modern Way To Eat.

Photo: Brian Ferry

This is everything you want in a chocolate cake: rich, bouncy, and well rounded, with a chewy brownie outside, cloud-light chocolate icing, and a dreamy chocolate glaze to top everything off.

But wait, there is a secret here. This cake is not only really tasty but really good for you too: no butter, refined sugar, or white flour but still over-the-top delicious. I let people take a couple of big chocolatey bites and then tell them just how good for them it actually is.

It’s not that I don’t have a good old-fashioned slice of cake every now and then, but I love that it’s possible to have a slice of cake that is as nourishing as it is delicious. One of the things I love about cooking, and particularly baking, is that there is always an opportunity to take something classic and make it in a way that suits how you like to eat. And I have to say that the first time I tried a slice of this, I was very proud.

I use light spelt flour here, as I prefer its more flavorful character and it is much easier on your body than white flour — however, if you can’t get your hands on it, all-purpose flour would work. Likewise, if you can’t get coconut oil, you can use melted butter. Half-fat coconut milk doesn’t work here, though.

Double Chocolate Cloud Cake
Makes one big double-layered cake

For the cake:
½ cup coconut oil
? cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
? cup white spelt flour
1¼ cup almond flour
1 cup good unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder a good pinch of salt
1 ripe banana
? cup milk (I use almond milk or ready-to-drink coconut milk)

For the icing
1 (15-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
3 tablespoons creamed honey
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the chocolate glaze:
¼ cup/60 ml milk (I use almond milk or ready-to-drink coconut milk)
4 ounces good-quality dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Grease a 9-inch/23 cm springform cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Put your can of coconut milk into the fridge to chill.

Put the coconut oil into a small pan and let it melt over low heat. Add the maple syrup and vanilla extract and mix well.

Put the spelt flour, almond flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and mix well. Mash the banana and add it to the milk. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and slowly pour in the melted coconut oil mixture and the banana and milk. Mix well.

Pour the mixture into the lined pan and level the top using the back of a spoon. Bake in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes until it feels firm to the touch and a skewer comes out clean. Don’t worry if the cake has cracked on the top, as this will all get covered by the chocolate glaze.

Remove the cake from the oven and let cool in its pan for 10 minutes. Then carefully transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Once it has had an hour in the fridge, open the can of coconut milk and scoop the thick, creamy white top layer into a bowl, leaving behind the watery stuff (you can keep this to use in smoothies). Add the honey, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract, then use an electric mixer or a whisk and a bit of elbow grease to quickly whisk it together, breaking down the coconut cream and whisking it into a smooth fluff. Transfer immediately to the fridge and let chill.

For the chocolate glaze, pour the milk into a small pan, bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat. Put the chopped chocolate into a medium bowl and pour over the hot milk, stirring until melted and glossy.

Once the cake has cooled, use a bread knife to gently slice it horizontally into two layers. Remove the top layer and set aside. Spread the chocolate- coconut icing over the bottom layer and put the top layer on. Now put the cake back on the cooling rack and place a plate underneath.

Pour the glaze all over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides (the plate underneath should catch all the drips). Pile the fruit on top and place in the fridge to chill for 10 minutes, allowing the chocolate on top to set.

Reprinted with permission from A Modern Way To Eat by Anna Jones (Ten Speed Press).

More from ‘A Modern Way to Eat’:

Warm Salad of Roasted Kale, Coconut, and Tomatoes

Avocado and Lemon Zest Spaghetti 

Popcorn Tacos