Dark Chocolate Cake

This one goes out to my partner in crime Veronica. We love a good piece of dark chocolate, and can often be found splitting a bar in class. It is extremely moist and rich, I would recommend serving with berries for a good contrast. Don’t let the sweet potatoes in the frosting scare you; it doesn’t taste like sweet potatoes, just adds a light sweetness and makes a sturdy frosting. Thanks again to Love & Lemons for that recipe (Check them out!).

cake:

ingredients:

1 c AP flour

1/3 c cocoa powder

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp espresso powder (won’t taste)

2/3 c almond milk

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp vanilla

heaping 1/2 coconut oil

2/3 c sugar

1/3 c brown sugar

2 tbsp ground flax+ 6 tbsp water mixed in advanced

Mix almond milk, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar and set aside. Preheat oven to 350. Oil 3 6 inch cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper. Oil parchment paper and add a small handful of flour in each. Tap until bottom and sides are coated. Tap out any excess. Whisk dry ingredients together and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat coconut oil and sugars together for 2 mins. Add half the dry mix until incorporated. Add almond milk mixture until incorporated. Add other half of dry mix. Divide batter between 3 pans and bake for about 25 mins.

Frosting:

2 large sweet potatoes (1 1/2 c flesh)

3/4 c chocolate chips (semisweet or dark are best)

1/4 c cacao powder

2 tbsp coconut oil

1/8 tsp salt

Bake sweet potatoes at 425 for an hour. Cool potatoes until cool to touch and remove peels. Place flesh and all other ingredients into blender/food processor and blend until smooth. Keep at room temperature when frosting because it’s easier to spread.

Assembly:

Once cake layers are cooled completely, build alternating layers of cake and frosting. I added white chocolate decorations that I made using melted white chocolate and a spoon, and chocolate rice cereal along the sides to decorate. Feel free to use sprinkles, more chocolate, or just serve plain.

Tips/Things I Would Change:

• If the sweet potatoes were baked in advanced (cold), melt the chocolate chips before you blend.
• Don’t refrigerate the frosting (unless you’re making it the day before), because it’s a lot easier to spread when it’ not cold.