"Paleo" Flourless Chocolate Cake

The CAKE, ready for its close-up.

Myer tastes the cake.

For about a year an a half, Myer and I have been eating a mostly Paleo-style diet. We decided to take this route due to a number of factors, including a book we both read titled Good Calories, Bad Calories by science journalist Gary Taubes. I could write countless blog posts about various aspects of this book/diet/lifestyle; suffice it to say, however, that I've not done much baking lately. I don't crave bread or grain products--- I actually never had much of a passion for them--- but when a birthday rolls around, I do like to create something that I can stick candles into. This year for Myer's birthday I dreamed up a cake recipe in my brain-kitchen that seemed flawless. I only needed to manifest it! I didn't have much of a budget to buy extra ingredients for experimentation, so I had to trust the vision and hope that a failure in the kitchen wouldn't lower my wife-score too dramatically. Luckily for me, the first try was an absolute success! You know how I could tell? The look in Myer's eyes: Pure Love. If you've ever cooked something delicious for your beloved, you know exactly what I mean. 

The ingredients are very simple, which, I believe, is the basic tenet of "Paleo" eating. I've read some recipes that are so long and complex, it seems the antithesis of ancestral eating philosophy... I mean, to be frank, baking isn't really "Paleo" at all, is it? That's why I don't do it very often. Anyhow, the simpler, the better. And the less processed your initial ingredients, the better. Here's what you need:

The Requisite Elements.

These are the main ingredients, although I also added some spices and vanilla. Below is the recipe with amounts and instructions:

Cake... Perfect Husband Phood.

PALEO CHOCOLATE CAKE

6 VERY RIPE BANANAS

6 EGGS

¼ CUP COCONUT OIL

1 TABLESPOON VANILLA

2 ½ TEASPOONS BAKING SODA

2 TEASPOONS CINNAMON

1 TEASPOON GINGER

PINCH OF CAYENNE

PINCH OF CLOVES

2 CUPS COCOA POWDER

COMBINE BANANAS, EGGS, COCONUT OIL, AND VANILLA; MASH/MIX WELL. COMBINE SPICES, COCOA AND BAKING SODA. THEN STIR DRY INGREDIENTS INTO WET UNTIL CONSISTENCY IS SMOOTH.

BAKE AT 350°F IN WELL-OILED SPRINGFORM PAN WITH PARCHMENT PAPER UNTIL TOOTHPICK COMES CLEAN, ABOUT 1 HOUR 5 MINUTES

WHEN COOL, FROST WITH ALMOND BUTTER AND DECORATE WITH YOUR CHOICE OF DRIED FRUIT.

I put a bottle of honey out at the party, just in case folks wanted more sweetness than the bananas and raisins had to offer, but no one opted for a drizzle. Either they were being super-polite, or else the cake really did please everybody. Myer's pleasure was unmistakable, I can tell you that. Husband cake-tasting-expression does not lie! All in all, it was an exciting experiment and I look forward to other similar culinary experiences on future special occasions.

Consistency and texture were amazing....

It was VERY dark chocolate....

These raspberries were grown, picked, and dried by Mom....

Myer gets his wish!

Chocolate

I have been making a concerted effort to incorporate more chocolate into my diet. Yes, you read that right. But perhaps I should use the more specific term cacao, because what I'm referring to here is the pure ingredient, not the sugar-lined candy. I love chocolate; who doesn't? But while the cacao makes me feel awesome, the sugar tends to weaken my immune system and causes my heart to race. So I've embarked on a mission to create chocolate delicacies sans sugar. I now realize that not only is it much healthier this way, but I actually adore the taste of bitter chocolate. 

As you may know, cacao is a very nutritious food when minimally processed. 2.5 tablespoons of raw cacao powder (such as Navitas Naturals, one I've tried and can vouch for) contain: 3 grams protein, 23% RDI magnesium, 7% potassium, 8% iron, as well as trace amounts of calcium, copper, selenium, manganese, zinc, vitamins E, K, several Bs, and choline. Most of us don't get enough magnesium in our diets, so cacao can be very helpful in that respect. Then there are the oft-touted antioxidants in the form of flavonoids called catechins and epicatechins that help lower blood pressure and prevent systemic inflammation. These compounds are also found in other foods, such as green tea and red wine, but are particularly concentrated in pure cacao. 

Aztec woman mixing cacao drink

The cultivation of cacao in its native Mesoamerica may date back as far as 1900 BCE. There is evidence that it was used to create a kind fermented alcoholic beverage, and was also employed ritualistically, medicinally (it was thought to be an aphrodisiac), and as a currency. The Mayans identified cacao with the rain god Kon, and consumed it in the form of a thick, hot, foamy drink made spicy with chili peppers. Much later, around 1400 CE, the Aztecs (who associated cacao with the god Quetzacoatl) were making a similar beverage. Unlike the Mayans, they drank their concoction cold. Not until the 16th century had any European tasted chocolate... and so you see, only in recent history has cacao had anything to do with sugar. Christopher Columbus and the Spanish conquistadors brought it back to the old world, where it quickly became both sweetened and wildly popular. Even the origins of the word "chocolate" can be traced back to the Aztec "xocoatl", the name of their bitter foamy drink. Theobroma cacao, the Latin name for the cacao tree, means "food of the gods." By the mid-1800s, food scientists in Europe had figured out how to process cacao into its modern form: the chocolate bar.  

I've experimented with raw cacao powder and have come up with many delicious and healthy ways to partake. Here are two.

Coconut Hot Chocolate

1 heaping teaspoon coconut oil

1 ounce coconut milk

2 tablespoons cacao powder

Dash of cinnamon 

Sprinkle of cayenne 

Boiling water

Combine coconut milk and dry ingredients in a cup; stir well. Add coconut oil and mix vigorously until the texture is smooth. Then fill the cup with hot water, bit by bit, stirring as you go so as to prevent globbing. Enjoy HOT! 

Chocolate Truffles
1 egg raw yolk
1/2 teaspoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon cacao powder

Combine ingredients and, if necessary, add more cacao until consistency is easily molded and holds its shape. Then you can do whatever you want with it in terms of flavors. (Refrigerate your finished creations prior to eating, since they contain the egg yolk). Below are three of my recent versions: the first has orange peels and clove powder, the second is sprinkled with cayenne pepper and topped with a dehydrated raspberry (grown and harvested by me own mum, I might add!), and the third has cardamom kneaded in and is garnished with toasted sesame seeds and Hawaiian red salt. The possibilities are endless. Go wild.