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Yes you read that right! The chocolate cake that I have for you today is indeed 100% AIP compliant! This chocolate cake is also the best tasting chocolate cake that I have ever had. Seriously. I am not kidding. Yes it’s that good indeed! When I first offered it to my teenage daughter, she took the bowl in an offhand manner probably thinking that it was one of mom’s ‘healthy desserts’ so it might taste a bit weird. But as soon as she had her first bite, she went ‘Mom, did you say this was AIP? Really? Wow! This is amazing!’…and she went on to have two pieces of the cake!
There you go! And between the two of us, we polished off all but one small piece of the cake in two days flat! We saved that one piece for my son who was coming back from college later that week. I had to put that piece away ….really far away from me – I stuck it in our backup refrigerator that’s in the garage just to guard it from myself! 🙂
OK wait. It gets better – this recipe is super easy too! Yes, thanks to Beth Blends’ new AIP Baking Flour blend! 
Beth sent me a package to try out and boy, I am so glad I decided to bake a chocolate cake using the blend. I had earlier used a small portion of the blend to make pancakes and they came out great too. The pancakes were so spongy and ‘cake’ like that I decided to try baking a cake from it! And boy, I wasn’t disappointed.
This cake is really AMAZING! It ticks all the boxes for me!
- It is easy to make!
- It is a perfectly spongy cake – just like any regular cake that uses gluten! No one will even guess that it’s AIP!
- It has an amazing flavor! I am not kidding when I say that this cake is the best tasting chocolate cake I ever had!
- It is AIP and top 8 allergen free!
- It is also gelatin free and vegan for those who don’t do gelatin!
- It is also cassava and coconut free and therefore great for those who are allergic to those ingredients.
- The chocolate frosting is out of this world too! And so easy to make too!
Seriously this cake is to die for!
What are the ingredients in this AIP Chocolate Cake?
- Beth’s Nut/Cassava Free Grain Free Flour Blend – This blend consists of Tigernut flour, arrowroot flour, plantain flour, cream of tartar and baking soda
- Apple Sauce – Any organic, unsweetened brand should work. You can substitute with mashed banana too!
- Raw Cacao – Raw Cacao gives the cake a wonderful chocolate flavor. You can use cocoa powder as a replacement but I recommend raw cacao over cocoa. For AIP, carob powder is an easy replacement.
- Coconut Milk – I use Native Forest Simple (Make sure to shake the can well before use)
- Avocado Oil (you can also use extra virgin olive oil instead)
- Sweeteners: Maple Syrup and Coconut Sugar. Both of these are needed to get the right texture and flavor of the cake.
- Sea Salt – I like to use Himalayan pink salt
- Vanilla extract – Any organic brand
- Gelatin – This helps to bind the flours well and give the cake a cake texture. If you want to keep this vegan, you can avoid the gelatin however the cake becomes too soft without it and it’s a bit challenging to handle and frost.
- The frosting contains extra virgin coconut oil, raw cacao (or carob for AIP), runny honey(honey that is liquid at room temperature), vanilla extract and sea salt.
What’s the size of this cake?
This recipe is perfect for baking a small 6 1/2 inches dia cake (makes 6-8 servings). I bake it in a small 6 1/2 inch dia pan. But you can easily double this recipe and bake it in two 6 or 7 inch pans making it a two layer cake with a layer of frosting in the middle. That would be a special occasion cake! This post has both these type of cake pics in case you are wondering as I got a chance to make this cake again for Christmas where I made a two layered cake that makes 8 generous size servings or about 12 small servings! The double layer cake is made by doubling this recipe to make two 6 1/2 inch dia cakes and layering them with a frosting layer in the middle and on the top!
Alright, I won’t torture you for too long! Here’s the recipe for this drool worthy chocolate cake that beats all chocolate cakes in my opinion! It’s my holiday gift to you! Hope you can make this recipe! BTW, when you go to purchase Beth’s Nut/Cassava Free Grain Free Flour Blend, you can use coupon code COOK2NOURISH to get 10% off your order!
If you do make this cake, please come back and leave a review here! I would love to see that and will help other people find this recipe! Enjoy! Happy Holidays!
I also want to apologize in advance to those who do not have access to this flour blend. Here are many other AIP Cake recipes that you can try that uses AIP flours that are easily available:
Fudgy Chocolate Cake
Strawberry Banana Cake
Coconut Rum Cake
AIP Christmas Cake
AIP Pound Cake with a Blackberry Sauce
I also made a step by step video of this recipe! Here it is!:
- 1 cup (4 oz) Beth's Blend Nut and Cassava free flour blend
- ½ cup apple sauce (or ½ cup mashed banana)
- ½ cup coconut milk (canned or homemade)
- ¼ cup avocado oil (or extra virgin olive oil)
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- ¼ cup raw cacao or carob (use carob for AIP)
- ¼ tsp Himalayan pink salt or any sea salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp gelatin
- 3 tbsp hot water
- ¼ cup raw cacao or carob powder (use carob for AIP)
- 2½ tbsps melted coconut oil (if you are using carob, use melted palm shortening instead of coconut oil - see notes)
- 1½ tbsp runny honey (use 1 tbsp for less sweet)
- pinch sea salt
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract or vanilla powder (use vanilla powder for AIP)
- Pre heat oven to 350 F. Grease a small round cake pan (between 6 and 7 inches dia).
- In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients (except the gelatin and the hot water) and mix gently using a whisk to get a smooth lump free mixture. Keep aside.
- Next in a small bowl, add the hot water and then sprinkle the gelatin on it. Using a fork, quickly stir the mixture until all the gelatin dissolves completely in the water. Pour this gelatin mixture into the above flour mixture and stir to incorporate it completely in it.
- Pour this batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 F for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cake from the oven and let cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes. Slowly loosen the edges of the cake using a butter knife and carefully flip the cake onto a serving plate or a cake stand. Transfer cake with stand or plate to a refrigerator and let sit for an hour in the refrigerator before frosting. Frost the cake with the chocolate frosting(see below) on top.
- Mix all ingredients in a small mixing bowl using a whisk until smooth and creamy.
If you are using carob for the frosting, I recommend you use melted palm shortening instead of coconut oil. that is because some brands of carob do not mix homogeneously with coconut oil.
You can omit the gelatin if you want to keep this vegan, however the cake becomes a bit too soft and crumbly without the gelatin.
This cake is the bomb!! Thank you so much for sharing it!! I of course didn’t have the flour blend available so I mixed 1/2 cup cassava flour, 1/4 cup Tapioca flour, 1/4 cup coconut flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp cream of tartar. Baked it in a 6 inch springform pan and baked closer to 43-45 minutes. After it cooled I used the carob powder to make frosting. Just like another comment said it balled up, but it was still delicious and I added it to the top. I thawed out some frozen Berries to eat with it, and it was all insanely delicious!!
I was so excited for this cake. Unfortunately I burnt it 😂 It’s still delicious. But I did deal with a problem that the frosting became all these little balls. I did use carob and I used palm shortening but maybe that was my issue.
I am so sorry you burnt it. I am glad you still found it delicious! Next time maybe you can cook for slightly lesser time.
This is an informative recipe for me. I never tried this before. I think it will be so delicious and i will definitely follow your recipe. thank you so much for sharing.
Has anyone made this with carob. How is it?
Absolutely delicious recipe!!! I love using Beth’s Blends. So moist and “chocolatey Thank you for creating this recipe and allowing us to have a decadent cake!!
Thanks so much for sharing! Yes isn’t it wonderfully decadent? I am so happy that you loved it! I would love it if you could rate the recipe too so others can find it!
I just started to learn about AIP as I was always on keto but asked to do AIP for my Hashimotos as keto’s nuts, dairy and eggs are not allowed on AIP. Was surprised to see all these tuber flours, as keto doesn’t allow tubers due to high carbs. I miss these flour type of cooking and am happy to know AIP offers a good range of such flour substitutes. However, I was appalled when I heard these flours have high lectins and oxalates, not only high carbs but these inflammatory elements and to stay away for protecting the already flared thyroid which needs to heal from the antibodies. Can you please clarify for this AIP newbie? Also, are maple sugar/honey/coconut sugar allowed? My AIP list I got from the functional doc has only meats, fruits and vegetables. He said quinoa and wild rice can be eaten on occasion as I am vegetarian. Thanks for your reply in advance! From an Eager Hashimotos healer!
hello Samantha, Thank you for your question. Where did you hear that the AIP flours have lectins? These flours are from tubers and hence they do not have lectins or other anti nutrients that aggravate leaky gut. These flours are also prebiotic – which means they feed the good bacteria in our gut so they can be beneficial to you. It is also important however to have a proper balance of protein, carbs and fats and not go crazy on these flours alone. And of course, each individual is different and some folks may react to some of these flours. So you will have to determine what works best for your body. I am glad that you are working with a functional med practitioner. Hope that answers your question. Here is more info I found on the AIP flours which state that they are actually free of lectins: https://creativeinmykitchen.com/quick-guide-to-lectin-free-gluten-free-flours/
Can you please tell me how to substitute that blend with the actual ingredients since it’s outrageously expensive and ONLY available in the US. It’s extremely disappointing for the millions of people not part of the Elitist US of A club to be excluded from amazing recipes, when it’s one of the strictest diets in the world. Shouldn’t everyone have the opportunity to indulge??
hello Rowena, I understand your frustration about not being able to get your hands on this blend. I have other AIP cake recipes on my blog that you can take a look at. And contrary to what you are assuming, I also do not have the formula of the flour blend since the product does not belong to me. And being a recipe developer and blogger myself, I understand that developing recipes including flour blend recipes is not an easy task. Recipe development is a lot of hard work and a successful recipe sometimes comes only after a lot of failed attempts. Considering that I have a lot of respect for other recipe developers like Beth who create AIP products for the community. Don’t you think it is fair that they be compensated for all their hard work? Also, I have mentioned the ingredients of the flour blend in my post so that people like you who do not have access to it can try to experiment with the ingredients and try to create a similar version of this cake. Regarding everyone having the opportunity to indulge, I absolutely agree that everyone has the right. But unfortunately, I do not control who has access to products and who does not. Also, why should people who can have access to this product deprived of this opportunity? It is just unfortunate that you live outside the US.I think Beth Blend products will be soon coming to the international market as well. Regards, Indira
Hey Rowena
I’m sorry that you won’t be able to enjoy this cake because you don’t have access to Beth Blends products. Please know that I’m making every effort to get the product on the shelves (and virtual shelves) of grocery stores everywhere. Not just in the US. However my company is only 6 months old and expanding requires time. But once I do expand and grow, I should be able to reduce the price to make it more accessible.
I’m funding the company myself which means growth happens slower than anyone would like. I ask for your patience and understanding during this time.
Additionally, can you tell me what country you’re from? If I know that there are fans in a particular area, I’ll keep that in mind for the future.
These ladies have responded so kind to you Rowena even in the midst of your entitlement. Maybe you were just having a bad day. Anyhow, I hope you find some delicious healthy recipes!