According to my housemates, this cake is THE BEST DESSERT I’VE EVER MADE (in addition to my Chocolate Peanut Butter Jelly Cups and my Chocolate Chip Blondies) !!! Unlike me, most of my friends eat everything – gluten, dairy and heaps of refined sugar, so considering this cake is free from ALL of those things, I was over the moon when they devoured the whole cake within a few hours!

If that hasn’t already sold it to you, this Triple Chocolate Cake is layered generously with my extremely popular Sticky Toffee Date Frosting – which is quite literally the icing on the cake – it’s a sort of cross between toffee and fudge that melts in your mouth thanks to the soft Medjool dates, with caramel undertones from maca powder.

The Salted Caramel Popcorn on top adds a whole other level to both the taste and texture – crunchy yet chewy with vanilla and maple undertones. If you’re short on time or feeling a little lazy, you could easily replace it with any store-bought popcorn, but I urge you to try my Salted Caramel Popcorn recipe at least once in your life – I promise you will never look back!

The “triple” chocolate from the title comes from three different sources of chocolate – cacao, carob and a bar of dark chocolate. I personally love the individual depth of flavour given by each of these but if you can’t get hold of carob feel free to just use cocoa powder and plain chocolate! The chocolate cake itself tastes incredibly decadent but surprisingly it does not contain any butter/ margarine or oil at all (not even my beloved coconut oil!). Instead I used avocado but you can’t taste it at all – the healthy fats inside make the cake amazingly moist with the perfect texture. It is also completely FLOURLESS, using a combination of oats and almonds blended together.

Flourless Triple Chocolate Cake with Sticky Toffee Frosting and Salted Caramel Popcorn

Makes 8 large slices

Ingredients

• 100g dark chocolate, melted (I used 75% cacao)
• 2 avocados, peeled and pitted
• 1/4 cup cacao powder (can replace with regular cocoa)
• 2 tablespoons carob powder (can replace with extra cacao/cocoa)
• 2/3 cup coconut sugar
• 3 heaped tablespoons maple syrup
• 1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup almonds
• 2 tablespoons rolled oats
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 2 eggs (use flax eggs for vegan option)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• Frosting: Sticky Toffee Date Spread RECIPE HERE
• Decoration: Salted Caramel Popcorn RECIPE HERE

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 175C and line a square cake tin with greaseproof paper.
2. Pulse the almonds and oats together in a food processor until they resemble a flour.
3. Add all remaining ingredients, except dark chocolate, to the food processor and pulse until an entirely smooth mixture forms.
4. Add the melted chocolate and pulse again until fully combined.
5. Pour the batter into the lined cake tin and bake for 35 minutes, then remove from the oven and allow to cool fully.
6. Cut the cake in half. Spread half of the Sticky Toffee Date Frosting over one half of the cake, then place the other half of the cake on top and cover it with the remaining Sticky Toffee Date Frosting and decorate with Salted Caramel Popcorn.

I’d love to see photos if you make this recipe! Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @elibrechernutrition with your creations.