Healthier Chocolate Cake with Avocado Mousse Filling and Cream Cheese Icing

Cakes are something I have always made from a box, even when I started eating all whole foods. We ate them so little, I figured it couldn’t hurt much. Until I looked up some of the ingredients on the box. But the only cakes I could find online had like 2 sticks of butter, 3 cups of sugar, and white flour. I took one of those recipes as a base and turned it all around. I made it healthier for sure, but it still has some butter and sugar in it, so its not like its all bananas and almond flour.

I actually made it for the first time for a crowd of people. It always makes me nervous serving a new recipe to a crowd. But luckily this turned out great and I’ve made it again with the same success. Since chocolate cake is Dave’s favorite and I have 2 little girls with upcoming birthdays, I see this cake being a lot in my near future.

You can’t taste the avocado in the mousse, but if that puts you off, just substitute a double batch of the cream cheese icing. or if super chocolately rich mousse is your thing, then double to mousse recipe and frost the cake with it as well (I did this for father’s day).

Chocolate Cake

20 slices

1 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour

1 1/3 cups sugar

3/4 cup cocoa powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk or kefir

1/4 cup melted butter or oil

1/4 cup applesauce or greek yogurt

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp almond extract

1 cup hot water or freshly brewed coffee

Mouse filling:

1 ripe avocado

3/4-1 cup powdered sugar

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 Tbs milk

Cream cheese icing:

2 Tbs butter

6 Tbs cream cheese

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix buttermilk, butter, applesauce, eggs, vanilla, and almond. Mix wet, dry, and add hot liquid just until combined. Do not overstir.

Pour batter into two 8 inch round pans. Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes, until tester comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes then flip onto a cooling rack. Don’t add icing until all the way cooled.

For mousse filling, place avocado, milk, cocoa and sugar in food processor and blend until avocado is pureed and smooth.

For icing, Beat cream cheese and butter until combined well. Add powdered sugar and vanilla.

When cakes are cooled, spread avocado mousse in between the layers, then ice the entire cake in cream cheese frosting.

*The first time I made it with kefir, applesauce, and butter. The second time I made it with buttermilk, greek yogurt, and oil. They turned out the same, so when I say “or”, it really doesn’t matter!

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 237

Fat: 7.3 g

Sodium: 270 mg (11%)

Carbohydrates: 43 g

Dietary Fiber: 2.5 g

Sugars: 31 g

Protein: 3.4 g