Olive oil and chocolate? Crazy as it sounds, it’s a match made in heaven. February is Heart Month and of course Valentine’s Day, not that anybody needs a reason to bake a chocolate cake! I decided to celebrate it this year by raiding the baking aisle in Nature’s Fare, with a side trip to the olive oil section.
This perfectly moist cake is full of heart-healthy extra virgin olive oil (which has the most antioxidants of the olive oils) and hemp seeds filled with omega-3 fats that are also amazing for the ticker. It also happens to be dairy free for those avoiding dairy.
Topped a slice with a dollop of coconut whip or vanilla ice cream to take it to a whole new level. I promise it will be love at first bite!
You’ll need a heart shaped cake pan to ‘get the look’, or any round or square 9″ pan will do.
Serves 8
Ingredients:
- 1 c. flour
- ½ c. cocoa
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ c. hemp seeds (optional)
- 2/3 c. sugar
- ½ c. almond milk
- 2/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
- 3 eggs
- ¼ c. honey
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- ½ tsp. almond extract
- 1/2 c. small dark chocolate chunks or chips (I used Prana)
- Coconut whip topping (optional)*
- Large unsweetened coconut flakes (optional for garnish)
*You can find this in the frozen ice cream section of Nature’s Fare Markets, HIGHLY recommend it on this cake!
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 325F and grease and flour a 9” round pan or a heart shaped pan of the same size.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, hemp seeds and sugar.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond milk, olive oil, eggs, honey, vanilla and almond extract until well combined.
- Scrape the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula and whisk together until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks or chips.
- Using a rubber spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean with no crumbs. Do not over bake the cake as it will dry it out.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and invert onto a cooling rack.
- Serve with a dollop of coconut whip topping and large flaked coconut if desired.
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it! xo
I’d love to be on your email address to receive some more of these wonderful recepies! Thanks, Niki
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Ah, This Looks SO good! Cant wait to try.
Are hemp seeds same as hemp hearts?
Yes they are!
Can I substitute coconut milk for almond milk?
Hi Tracy, I can’t see why not. I haven’t tried it but it should work!
I tried this cake and it was DELICIOUS!!!!! Will be making it again for my birthday this weekend
xoxo
Yay!!! Thanks for the feedback and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
I’ve made this three times now into mini cupcakes for special occasions and they are so good (and so pretty with the coconut whip and flakes of toasted coconut). Superstore Kelowna carries the Coconut whip for $3.97 a can!
Just wondering if it’s 325 convection? I’ve baked the cake twice and both times required longer then 30mins. Anything I could be doing wrong?
Hi Danielle it really depends on the oven – I had an older oven too when I created this so perhaps it cooked hot – it’s likely nothing you are doing wrong, I should add a range of time for people as baking usually varies!