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    Home » Sugar Free Baking

    Chocolate Coffee Cake

    LAST UPDATED: June 17, 2021 | PUBLISHED: June 17, 2021 | BY: Kim

    This Chocolate Coffee Cake is a rich and velvety cake is also a flourless chocolate cake.  Its packed with protein, decadent chocolate and coffee flavour and is naturally sweetened.  It also stays moist for days thanks to the inclusion of olive oil.

    Jump to Recipe
    chocolate coffee cake of serving platter

    Recipe Highlights

    • Its rich, soft and full of chocolate and coffee flavours
    • Easy to make all in one bowl
    • It’s a healthier style of chocolate cake that’s naturally sweetened
    • Simple to make for first time bakers
    • High Protein and Full of fibre to keep you fuller for longer
    • Satisfies those sugar cravings with just one slice
    • Its super moist and won’t dry out thanks to the olive oil
    • It goes perfect with your morning cuppa

    I love making chocolate cake recipes and have made alot that I've shared here, all naturally sweetened of course. I think I have a bit of a chocolate cake addiction!

    This cake is made with almond meal like this chocolate cake that is covered with luscious chocolate cream cheese frosting!

    Ingredients

    ingredients for chocolate coffee cake

    Ingredient Notes

    • Almond Meal:  Almond meal provides lots of fibre and protein.  Not to be confused with almond flour, almond meal is coarser and provides a beautiful texture without being too heavy.
    • Cocoa Powder:  I use unsweetened cocoa powder as opposed to cooking chocolate powder from the baking aisle as this is generally very sweet.
    • Coffee:  Any type of instant coffee will work.  Alternatively you can use fresh espresso
    • Sweetener: I love using Lakanto Sweetener in my baking recipes.  I used Lakanto golden  for this one.  Any type of granulated sweetener that measures like sugar would work.  I’ve also used granulated stevia on many occasions and had succuss.
    • Maple Syrup:  You can use either pure maple syrup or one of the many sugar free maple syrups available these days.  Opting for a sugar free maple syrup would reduce the sugar content per slice to almost negligible.
    • Milk:  any milk will work, dairy or non dairy.  The milk helps to add moisture to the batter
    • Olive Oil:  I love using extra virgin olive oil as it adds beautiful moistness to baked goods.  Alternatively you could use vegetable oil, grapeseed oil or even coconut oil.
    • Vanilla Essence:  provides an extra bit of flavour and helps to balance out the chocolate and coffee.
    • Eggs:  6 large are required for this recipe and it’s a lot of eggs I know.  But this amount of eggs really works and helps to pack this cake full or protein and fibre.  Eggs also help to provide structure to the cake helping to give it form and rise nicely in the oven.

    How To Make

    1. Preheat oven.
    2. Mix wet ingredients:  Add the oil, milk, maple syrup, eggs, sweetener and vanilla essence to a large mixing bowl and mix together with a whisk until well combined.
    mixing eggs and milk in a bowl to make a batter
    1. Add dry ingredients:  Add cocoa powder, baking powder, coffee  powder, and almond meal to wet mixture and use a spatula to mix the ingredients until combined and the batter is smooth and silky.
    Mixing wet ingredients into dry ingredients in a bowl
    1. Pour into baking tin and cook:  Pour mixture into the baking tin and bake for 35 minutes at 160°C (325°F) Fan.
    chocolate cake before and after baking
    1. Let it cool before frosting:  To test if cake is cooked in the centre, insert a cake skewer or toothpick and if it comes out mostly clean, it is cooked.  Let cake sit in the tin for around 10 to 15 minutes before removing from tin, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely – make sure to keep covered with a tea towel whilst cooling.
    2. Frosting: Add the ingredients to a bowl and whisk together.
    whisking frosting ingredients together in a bowl

    Recipe Tips

    • Cocoa Powder:  If there are lumps in the Cocoa Powder press  them out with the back of a spoon or your finger so they don’t clump in the cake.
    • Eggs:  Room temperature eggs are better than eggs straight from the fridge because room temperature eggs will create more air in your cake batter, helping it to rise and give it lightness.
    • Cake tin:  I used a 22cm/8 inch springform cake tin, lined with baking paper on the bottom, and spray oil on the sides.  Using a spring form tin makes it easier to remove the cake from the tin.
    • Cooling Cake:  Let cake cool in the tin for 20 mins before removing to a wire rack to cool completely
    • Frosting Cake:  Make sure cake is completely cooled before frosting so it doesn’t run off
    single slice of chocolate cake on a plate

    Frosting Alternative

    • 2 large Avocados
    • ½ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
    • 1 tablespoon Orange Juice
    • ⅓ cup Plus 1 tablespoon Granulated Sweetener that measures like sugar

    Blitz all ingredients in a blender until smooth and velvety and spread over a cooled cake.

    chocolate cake with slice out

    Common Questions

    How much coffee should I put into a Chocolate Cake?

    Too much coffee may result in a bitterness, and too little and you won’t taste it.  Making a concentrated coffee mixture works well using two teaspoons of instant coffee dissolved in hot water, or the same amount of espresso.

    What does adding coffee to chocolate cake do?

    The addition of coffee adds a richness and flavour to the chocolate cake.  You can still taste the chocolate but there are background notes of coffee that complement the chocolate.

    What can I use instead of coffee in chocolate cake?

    Instead of using coffee, you can simply replace it with hot water, peanut butter, or even orange juice.  Aim to use something that isn’t sweet as the cake already has enough sweetness.

    More Chocolate Cake Recipes

    • Black Bean Chocolate Cake
    • Chocolate Orange Cake
    • Chocolate Avocado Cake
    • Gluten Free Mud Cake
    chocolate coffee cake of serving platter

    Chocolate Coffee Cake

    Kim
    This Chocolate Coffee Cake is a rich and velvety cake is also a flourless chocolate cake.  Its packed with protein, decadent chocolate and coffee flavour and is naturally sweetened. 
    4.34 from 3 votes
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    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 35 mins
    45 mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 10 slices
    Calories 450 kcal

    Ingredients
     

    • ¾ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    • ½ cup Milk
    • ½ cup Pure Maple Syrup
    • 6 large Eggs - Room Temperature
    • ½ cup Granulated sweetener
    • 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
    • 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
    • ¾ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
    • 3½ cups Almond Meal
    • 2 teaspoons Instant Coffee Powder

    FROSTING

    • 1 cup Monkfruit Sweetener Icing Powder,or similar
    • ⅓ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
    • ½ teaspoon Instant Coffee Powder
    • 1 tablespoon Water
    • 2 tablespoons Butter, room temperature

    Instructions
     

    Cake

    • Preheat fan oven to 160°C (325°F). Line a 20cm (8 inch) round springform cake tins with baking paper/parchment paper to prevent cake from sticking.
    • Add the oil, milk, maple syrup, eggs, sweetener and vanilla essence to a large mixing bowl and mix together with a whisk until well combined.
    • Add cocoa powder, baking powder, coffee powder, and almond meal to wet mixture and use a spatula to mix the ingredients until combined and the batter is smooth and silky.
    • Pour mixture into the baking tin and bake for 35 minutes at 160°C (325°F) Fan.
    • To test if cake is cooked in the centre, insert a cake skewer or toothpick and if it comes out mostly clean, it is cooked. Let cake sit in the tin for around 10 to 15 minutes before removing from tin, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely – make sure to keep covered with a tea towel whilst cooling.

    Frosting

    • Add frosting ingredients to a bowl and mix together with a large spoon. (Don’t microwave the butter as its what helps to create the consistency for the frosting. Butter should be soft, but not melted)
    • Use back of a dessert spoon to mix ingredients together until you have a soft paste like consistency
    • Use the back of a spoon to spread the frosting generously over the cake.

    Storage

    • Store cake in an air tight container in the fridge for upto 5 days.

    Notes

    1. Almond Meal: Almond meal provides lots of fibre and protein.  Not to be confused with almond flour, almond meal is coarser and provides a beautiful texture without being too heavy.
    2. Cocoa Powder: I use unsweetened cocoa powder as opposed to cooking chocolate powder from the baking aisle as this is generally very sweet.  If there are lumps in the Cocoa Powder press  them out with the back of a spoon or your finger so they don’t clump in the cake.
    3. Coffee: Any type of instant coffee will work.  Alternatively you can use fresh espresso
    4. Sweetener: I love using Lakanto Sweetener in my baking recipes. I used Lakanto golden  for this one.  Any type of granulated sweetener that measures like sugar would work.  I’ve also used granulated stevia on many occasions and had succuss.
    5. Maple Syrup: You can use either pure maple syrup or one of the many sugar free maple syrups available these days.  Opting for a sugar free maple syrup would reduce the sugar content per slice to almost negligible.
    6. Milk: any milk will work, dairy or non dairy.  The milk helps to add moisture to the batter
    7. Olive Oil: I love using extra virgin olive oil as it adds beautiful moistness to baked goods.  Alternatively you could use vegetable oil, grapeseed oil or even coconut oil.
    8. Vanilla Essence: provides an extra bit of flavour and helps to balance out the chocolate and coffee.
    9. Eggs: 6 large are required for this recipe and it’s a lot of eggs I know.  But this amount of eggs really works and helps to pack this cake full or protein and fibre.  Eggs also help to provide structure to the cake helping to give it form and rise nicely in the oven.  Room temperature eggs are better than eggs straight from the fridge because room temperature eggs will create more air in your cake batter, helping it to rise and give it lightness.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 450kcalProtein: 14gFat: 40gSaturated Fat: 9gFiber: 20gSugar: 10g

    Note: Sugars contained in this recipe are from naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables or other natural sweeteners.

    Keyword chocolate coffee cake
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    Hi there! I’m Kim and I'm passionate about living a life infused with mindfulness, simplicity and self-care. Here I share my recipes, tips, insights and wisdom for eating well, slowing down and reconnecting with the things that matter.

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    Kim Morris Hi there! I’m Kim. My sugar free kitchen is a site dedicated to creating healthy and delicious clean eating dinners and sweet treats with less sugar using simple ingredients and natural sweeteners. Read More...
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