Grain-Free Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Drizzle

One of my all-time favorite flavor combinations is peanut butter and chocolate. I eat peanut butter (or any nut butter) by the spoonful as a snack and I tend to incorporate a variety of nuts into my dishes. Chocolate, well is simply amazing – enough said! So when you put the two together it’s like a party in your mouth!

I’ve had my eye on Lauren’s Healthy Chocolate Cake over at Healthy Indulgences for quite a while now, and I finally got around to making it…with much excitement might I add! I kept thinking about this cake for several days so I happily gave in to my chocolate cake craving : ) I combined Kelly’s Vanilla Bean Cake over at the Spunky Coconut and Lauren’s chocolate cake to make my own version. Lauren uses erythritol in many of her recipes and since I had never used this natural sweetener before, I thought I would give it a try. Although the result was extremely yummy, next time I will just use honey and stevia because my tummy wasn’t fond of the sugar alcohols*.

So what makes this cake grain-free? It has a secret ingredient – beans!!! I’ve made black bean brownies several times in my past but this was my first shot at a bean cake, and it worked beautifully! And oh my, the batter was so good I kept sneaking tastes 🙂 Don’t expect the texture of this flourless cake to equate exactly to a typical flour variety or a boxed-cake, but it’s incredibly moist and decadent! Even if you do not like beans, you will still enjoy this cake because you won’t be able to taste them (I promise!!!).

If you do not like peanut butter or cannot eat peanuts, you can easily substitute any nut or seed butter (almond, sunflower, etc) in the icing to suite your fancy.

Grain-Free Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

Cake Ingredients

2 cups cooked black beans, room temperature (can use canned but rinse very well in colander)
6 eggs
3/4 tsp liquid stevia (I used NuNaturals brand)
2 1/2 tsp gluten free vanilla extract
1/3 cup erythritol
2 1/2 Tbsp honey (or agave)
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted over low heat so it’s in liquid form (or melted butter)
1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp dark chocolate cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark)
1 1/2 Tbsp coconut flour
1/2 Tbsp milk (almond, coconut, rice, cow etc)
1 tsp chia seed, optional
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp gluten free baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Peanut Butter Icing Ingredients

1 cup creamy peanut butter (I used salted because I love the sweet/salty combo)
1-3 Tbsp milk of choice (depending on how thick you want your frosting)
1-3 Tbsp honey (or agave) or more to taste, depending on how sweet you want it

For serving, optional

Chopped roasted salted peanuts
Chocolate or carob chips or chocolate shavings

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325F. In a 9-inch round springform pan, grease sides and bottom with coconut oil or butter and line bottom with parchment paper.
2. In a blender or a food processor, add beans, eggs, stevia, vanilla, erythritol and honey and puree well.
3. Then add remaining ingredients (coconut oil through baking soda) to blender/food processor and puree well. Make sure they are no clumps!
4. Add batter to the pan and bake for about 27-30 minutes or until your tester comes out mostly clean (ovens vary). Once cooked, remove from oven and let cool. ~You could also make cupcakes and bake for about 21-23 minutes.
5. Once the cake has cooled completely, start your peanut butter icing/drizzle. In a small mixing bowl, combine peanut butter, milk and honey and mix well with a spoon. Add milk a little at a time to reach your preferred consistency.
6. Remove sides of the springform pan and spread frosting over the cake. OR if you want mini cakes like the ones I made, cut the cake round in half horizontally, then use a round biscuit cutter to cut small cake rounds. Spread the frosting between two layers, drizzle additional icing on top, and garnish with chocolate chips/shavings and chopped peanuts. Enjoy!!!

*If you are not baking this cake with erythritol, increase the amount of honey to 1/3 cup.

Recipe Notes: If you want to use regular cocoa powder, eliminate the coconut flour and increase cocoa to 1/2 cup. Also, Lauren recommends letting the cake sit overnight for the best flavor, but our cake didn’t last too long…