I’m not gonna lie to you.

This is not a healthy dessert alternative for the hard core sweet tooth in you looking for a healthier way to satisfy their cravings.

This one is for the trained healthy eater.

No. It’s even worse than that.

This one is for the open minded trained healthy eater! 😉

It’s… different. It’s special, to say the least. It takes some getting used to.

So then, if that’s the case, why do I even bother posting the recipe, you ask?

Because, I got used to it. It really grew on me, and I learned to love it. Crave it even. A bit like broccoli, I guess. I mean, hey! Who likes broccoli on their first try?

In fact, you know what? I’d LOVE to have a slice of this cake right now. But of course, it’s long gone. Unfortunately.

I have to admit that I didn’t care much for my first bite. Or my first slice, for that matter.

I felt the cake was missing something. A little bit of zing, a little bit of bam, a little bit of oomph. I mean, you look at that deep, dark brown color, you look at that dense, creamy texture and you expect to bite into this decadent, rich, exploding, in your face, extra strong, super crazy satisfying chocolate flavor.

Hey, I mean, there is over a cup of extra dark cocoa powder in that cake. You have every right to expect such an explosion of flavor, don’t you?

The truth is, it’s not really that chocolaty. At least, not on the first day. It does get better with time, though. I think it was at its best after spending 3 days in the fridge.

Oh, and another thing… as if the “deflated” chocolate flavor wasn’t enough, the orange sort of also went AWOL. Well, rather, it was completely overpowered by Ms. Banana, who shamelessely stole the show. I mean, who knew that bananas had such a strong taste!

So instead of getting a lovely chocolate orange flavor, which is one of my favorite chocolate combos, by the way, you get some sort of a chocolate/banorange combination. Next time I make this one, you can be sure that I will find a way to replace that banana. I’m thinking more dates might do the trick…

As far as the sweetness level goes, you’ll notice that I’ve barely added any sugar at all to this puppy. It shows! There is no way you could ever complain of this dessert being overly sweet, because, well, it’s not! Far from there.

Still, I really loved it, once I got used to it.

And I would make it again, without a moment of hesitation.

Think you are as extreme and crazy as I am? Go ahead and give that one a try.

But please, don’t give me hell if you end up not liking it.

You can’t say I haven’ t given you fair warning. 😉

HEALTHY FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE AND ORANGE CAKE
Inspired by Mellissa’s Chocolate Orange Garbanzo Beans Cake

INGREDIENTS
(Serves 12)

Cake

  • 3 cups chickpeas
  • 3 tbsp + ½ tsp baking soda
  • 200g pitted dates
  • The juice and zest of 2 oranges
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 egg whites
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ¾ cup extra dark cocoa powder
  • ¼ cup water
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • Splash pure vanilla extract
  • ½ cup pistachios, chopped

 Icing

  • 1½ cup pureed chickpea mixture (from above)
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 banana (not too ripe)
  • The zest of one orange
  • 300g soft tofu, strained
  • 1 cup  0% fat Greek yogurt
  • ½ cup extra dark cocoa powder
  • 2 tbsp coconut flour
  • ¼ cup liquid honey
  • ¼ tsp salt

Garnish

  • Chopped pistachio
  • Orange slices

INSTRUCTIONS

For cake

  1. Soak chickpeas in clean water with 3 tablespoons of baking soda for at least 8 hours.
  2. Drain, rinse and soak again in tap water for a few more hours. The grains should absorb most of the water and almost double their volume.
  3. Rinse the chickpeas well and put them in a large pot. Cover with water, add ½ tsp baking soda and NO salt. Cook until the grains are very tender, almost mushy, about 30 minutes. Regularly skim the surface during cooking process to remove foam and loose peels floating. When cooked, drain the chickpeas and allow to cool for a 5-10 minutes before you continue.
  4. Add chickpeas to your food processor and process into a thick puree. Reserve 1½ cup for icing
  5. Add dates and orange juice and zest to a small pan and cook on medium low heat until the dates start to break down and the mixture turns into a thick puree
  6. Add to chickpea mixture, process until well blended and put in the refrigerator to cool completely, at least 4 hours.
  7. Preheat oven to 375F and coat a 9 inch, non-stick round cake pan with cooking spray.
  8. Add eggs, egg whites, baking powder, cocoa powder, water, salt and vanilla extract to cooled chickpea mixture and process until well combined. You might have to break down the mixture with a spatula to help get it started and scrape the sides a few times to make sure that it all gets well incorporated.
  9. Add the pistachio and process for a few seconds to break them down a bit.
  10. Transfer the cake batter into the prepared cake pan and bake in a 375F oven for 55 minutes to an hour.
  11. Remove from pan and cool completely on a cooling rack. Transfer to fridge and allow to cool for at least 2 hours before adding icing. (Strain tofu while cake is cooling)

For icing

  1. Place tofu in a fine mesh strainer. Place that strainer over a medium bowl to collect the liquid and put a small plate over the tofu. Add a weight, such as a large can of tomatoes or pumpkin puree, on top of the plate, and allow tofu to strain for at least 2 hours.
  2. When tofu is done straining, add it to the bowl of your food processor, along with the rest of the ingredients of the icing. Process until smooth.
  3. Place cake on a cake plate and mound icing in the middle. Spread icing delicately all the way to the edge.
  4. Garnish with chopped pistachio and orange slices.