The "less guilt" Chocolate Indulgence Cake
In the spirit of the new year as we try to cut back a little to make up for holiday calories, I thought I'd introduce you to what I (cleverly) call the Chocolate Indulgence Cake. We associate food indulgences with high calories, but we don't have to in this case! Although the Chocolate Indulgence Cake delivers a rich chocolatey flavor and moist light texture, it's anything but caloric when compared to traditional chocolate cakes full of butter, sugar, and many other fats and sweeteners in addition to the fat and sugar in the chocolate.
I've often been asked for "healthier" chocolate cake recipes for people on more restrictive diets, and I think this one fits the bill while satisfying our chocolate craving!
Not only does this cake have no butter, it also contains no flour (using cornstarch instead), and I've used a stevia-based zero calorie sweetener instead of white granulated sugar (but only about 3 tablespoons of it). The chocolate used is a dark chocolate, which does contain sugar, but a small amount overall; and you can choose a darker chocolate (i.e., higher percentage cacao) with even less sugar, if you wish.
Lastly, this cake comes with a surprising ingredient to make up for the lack of butter to aid in its moist texture -- are you ready? It's finely grated fresh zucchini! "What?! There is a green vegetable in my chocolate cake?" you say. Don't shut down your browser now -- you'll be surprised at what it offers to the cake's texture without even knowing it's there.
So -- no added white sugar, no butter, no flour, and a melting texture thanks to a green vegetable -- all resulting in a delicious and indulgent chocolate cake. You're welcome. Enjoy!