Chocolate Skinny Cake with Fresh Fruit
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup applesauce
3/4 cup vanilla yogurt (you can use Greek yogurt)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup good quality cocoa powder
3/4 cup milk
1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 pint fresh strawberries
1/2 pint fresh blueberries
1/2 pint fresh blackberries
1 pint fresh raspberries
2 big bunches of red or green grapes
Fresh whipped cream
Store-bought chocolate syrup
1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar, optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare (spray or butter and flour) two 8-inch round cake pans.
Warm the coconut oil in a microwave for up to 30 seconds; you want it softened or even melted (but not hot to the touch). Pour coconut oil into stand mixer with paddle attachment.
Add in brown sugar, applesauce, yogurt and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt and cocoa powder. With mixer on low, slowly add a third of the dry ingredients into the applesauce mixture, alternating with the milk. Keep alternating until the dry ingredients and milk are gone. Remove bowl from mixture and fold in chocolate chips by hand.
Divide batter between two cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 22 to 26 minutes or until an inserted toothpick is removed clean. Cool cakes in pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire rack.
To assemble cake:
Rinse all fruit so that it is shiny and clean.
Prepare whipped cream and get chocolate sauce ready.
Place one cooled layer of cake on cake stand or plate and cover in about 3/4 cup of whipped cream.
Place a strawberry that is about 1 to 1 ½ inches high in the center of the cake, upside down. This will help the whipped cream to not smoosh out when you place the next layer on. Now take some of your fruit and spread it around the edges of the cake. Because this is a naked cake, you will want to pay attention to how you place the fruit on the edge.
Once cake is covered in fruit, place next layer of chocolate cake on top. Starting with a bunch of grapes that are still attached to the vine, place them on cake and then build up around them.
Fill in with blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Place a few more grapes around to balance out the color.
Finally place some strawberries around the edge and maybe even one on top.
Drizzle chocolate syrup over cake and chill until ready to serve. If you want to add confectioners’ sugar sprinkle it on immediately before serving. Serves 10.
