Carob Cake with Fudge Icing
Carob Cake with Fudge Icing is a moist layered chocolaty cake slathered in gooey fudge icing. The cake is made with almond flour making it gluten free and paleo. The creation of this chocolaty gluten free carob cake was no accident, my fiance and I were grocery shopping and he wanted to buy a McCain’s Deep and Delicious Cake. The holistic nutritionist in me was curious to see what actually went into the cake, so I took a peek at the ingredients:
Sugar, water, wheat flour, liquid whole egg, soya oil, coconut oil, cocoa, glucose solids, glycerin, rice starch and citrus fibre, mono and diglycerides, milk ingredients, dextrose, ground flaxseed, salt, baking soda, baking powder, natural flavour, agar.
What I saw didn’t surprise me: lots and lots of sugar (sugar, glucose solids, glycerin, dextrose), gluten, dairy, processed oil, genetically modified ingredients and, of course, natural flavour, which can be anything derived from a food source including bugs, animal by-products and MSG!
You can actually learn how to make my carob cake with fudge icing in my Online Cooking Class! I will walk you through all of the steps in real time and provide you with the health benefits of all of the ingredients and suggest baking substitutes.
Click to unlock the full 51-minute cooking class
I knew I could make a healthier version that tasted even better, so I convinced my fiance not to buy the cake and set to work in the kitchen when we got home. After a couple variations I got the proportions just right, he was super excited about the outcome and savoured every bite.
Carob
I decided to use carob in this cake recipe because it is naturally sweeter than chocolate which allowed me to use less sweetener. Chocolate also contains caffeine and is a common allergen (I’m actually sensitive to it!) so it’s not suitable for everyone. Don’t get me wrong, I love my chocolate but its fun to mix it up every now and then.
Carob is a legume that comes from a tree native to the Mediterranean, the seed pods are commonly ground to make a sweet dark powder that has caramel and earthy undertones. It is naturally caffeine free and is high in antioxidants that help prevent free radical damage and signs of ageing. Compared to chocolate, carob is three times richer in calcium and it contains high amounts of fibre. In fact, the fibre found in carob absorbs liquid and has a binding action in the intestinal tract that can help relieve digestive problems like diarrhea.
If you are having trouble finding carob powder, you can get it here on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca.
This carob cake is the perfect cake to bring to a celebration and has become our go-to dessert for dinner parties. The sweet fudge icing reminds me of the middle layer of a Dairy Queen Cake- creamy, thick and delicious. The fudge icing is sweetened with dates and stevia and the carob cake is sweetened with just enough maple syrup to make it taste like a treat, but it won’t leave you with a sugar crash.
Carob Cake with Fudge Icing
(gluten free, paleo, dairy free)
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Serving Size: 8
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup carob powder
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/2 cup maple syrup (at room temperature)
- 2 eggs (at room temperature)
- 2 tsp vanilla
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper.
- Mix the carob powder, almond flour, coconut flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.
- In a medium size bowl mix the melted coconut oil, room temperature maple syrup, eggs and vanilla. It is important that the eggs and maple syrup be at room temperature, otherwise, the coconut oil will harden and clump.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth and mixed.
- Pour the carob cake batter into the baking dish and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Fudge Icing
Inactive Prep time: 30 minutes
Prep time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
- 10 dates
- 3 Tbsp carob powder
- 3 Tbsp melted coconut oil
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 15 drops stevia
- 6 Tbsp date soaking water
Directions:
- Soak the dates in water for 30 minutes to soften them.
- Place the dates, carob powder, coconut oil, cinnamon, vanilla and stevia in a food processor and blend until smooth. Slowly add the water the dates soaked in until the icing is a fudge consistency, roughly 3-6 Tbsp of water.
- Once the carob cake has cooled, cut it in half and slather the bottom layer with fudge icing. Place the next layer on top and cover it with icing and serve.
Have you tried carob before? What did you think? Let me know in the comments and feel free to add a link to your favourite carob recipe!
- 1/2 cup carob powder
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/2 cup maple syrup (at room temperature)
- 2 eggs (at room temperature)
- 2 tsp vanilla
- Fudge Icing
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper.
- Mix the carob powder, almond flour, coconut flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.
- In a medium size bowl mix the melted coconut oil, room temperature maple syrup, eggs and vanilla. It is important that the eggs and maple syrup be at room temperature, otherwise, the coconut oil will harden and clump.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth and mixed.
- Pour the carob cake batter into the baking dish and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Hi! I borrowed *very* heavily from this recipe for the cake I made today. Thank you!
http://anotherdamncookingblog.wordpress.com/2013/10/25/better-than-makeup-sex-cake-paleo-gluten-free/
Thank jesse! I am going to use this recipe but i will sub flours and egg for spelt and flax and fingers cross it will be delish!! Will post photos when done 🙂
I really like the cake but I decided to take out the maple syrup and use honey instead.
This is a great recipe for ppl who suffer from Interstitial Cystitis because there’s no chocolate and you can switch out stuff with less sugary ingredients. I have been looking for a cake recipe that I could eat and started to lose hope, now I can have my cake and eat it too. Thanks for posting this recipe i’m going to share it with my fellow IC sufferers and they can enjoy it as well.
do you think this would work with 2 egg-replacements?
chia/flax egg?
or the powdered kind?
thanks!
-monika
Hi Monika, I did try it with a chia eggs and I found the cake didn’t hold together as much as I would have liked. It still tasted amazing but it was a little crumbly, that is why I decided to post the version with eggs. I did make a great vegan version that is not gluten free or paleo that has 3/4 of a cup of spelt flour instead of the almond and coconut flour. If you don’t have a gluten allergy or follow a paleo diet the using spelt flour and flax eggs will work great.
I’m sensitive to dairy and I’m always creating and looking for non-dairy recipes. For the cake I made I used 1/4 cup brown rice flour and 1/4 cup ground flax instead of almond flour, Agave nectar instead of Maple syrup. And I mixed carob powder, coconut oil, Agave nectar, cinnamon, vanilla essence, a little water for icing and poured it on top of the cake as soon it came out of the oven to make it more moist.
Thanks for sharing your substitutions Mutale, that sounds delicious.
Great recipe, thanks. I used a cup pf cooked sweet potato in place of the eggs and it worked fine. I also used 3 tbsp of maple syrup in the frosting in place of the stevia and date water. The frosting was excellent. Without the eggs, the cake was too crumbly to slice in half so just topped with frosting and raspberries. Delicious!
Thanks so much for sharing your substitutions Emma! I have never used sweet potato in potato in place of eggs, I bet it would be super moist but I’m not surprised it didn’t stay together. The maple syrup substitution is awesome, it is perfect for people who don’t have stevia on hand.
I haven’t been able to find carob powder in the stores I visited (Australia), but got carob syrup instead. Is there any way I could substitute the powder for syrup? Many thanks!
Hi Oana! I have never heard of carob syrup, that is awesome. You could use it but you would have to play around and add more flour.
Thanks so much for this recipe Jesse! I’ve got Lyme Disease and am cutting any sugar from my diet, so I want to avoid Maple Syrup. Do you have any replacement suggestions? I’ve been reading about yacon syrup and wonder if that would work in the cake? Thanks!
Hi Sue, yacon syrup would be perfect! You could also try coconut nectar.
I would love to make this cake for us/my daughter, she loves dates 🙂 and is a perfect recipe option since all her allergies. I am even considering to make the fudge icing alone and use it as a spread for her gluten free bread and waffles, it sounds delicious! Now the thing is with the cake, she cant have eggs either, and as it was mentioned chia/flax meal substitute wont work well neither the sweet potato, for a layered cake and I wanted to make her a cake,,cake ! 🙂 Any other ideas for substituting eggs, the powdered box thing i have never tried it, but I’ve read things like baking powder and vinegar, or gelatin??! Any thoughts? Thank You!
Hi Anica, I’m so happy you like the recipe! The fudge icing is would be delicious on waffler or bread as a treat.
I haven’t tried it with an egg replacer powder but I know people that have had great success with it. You could also try using a gluten free flour mix that has xanthan gum along with the flax egg, I haven’t tried this with this recipe but it may work. I don’t have experience with baking powder and vinegar or gelatin so I can’t really comment on that. It sounds interesting though!
I just pulled my carob cake out of the oven. The smoky, sweet smell of carob fills my kitchen. I grew up eating carob treats. Our family volunteered at a food co-op and I remember eating carob covered raisins and carob cookies while passing the time with my brother, playing games on the old wood floors of the store. Now that I’m watching histamine levels of foods, I’ve been desperate to find something to replace chocolate. It was a pleasant surprise to find your recipe and to remember my love of carob as a girl. Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Sheryl, I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe and it took you back to your childhood! Carob covered raisins sound delicious, I’ll have to keep a look out for them.
Hi Jesse, thanks for the great recipe, I used chia seeds instead of eggs and skipped vanilla but it still turned out delicious and surprisingly moist. Yummm! I would love to use an adjusted version of the recipe in my blog that I´m just starting to work on, would thad be ok with you? Thank you!
Hi Nat, I’m so happy it worked with chia eggs! The vegan version I make uses spelt flour because I found the gluten free version crumbly.
You can certainly share your adjusted version on your blog! I just ask that you change up the recipe title, add Adapted from Jesse Lane Wellness with a link to my website beside the title and change up the directions. This is better for both of us in terms of SEO. Let me know when you post it so I can share it with my tribe!
Thanks Jesse!
I will be substituting the maple syrup for brown rice syrup. I have had severe digestive candida and after years on the candida diet (ZERO SUGAR), I have been able to incorporate grain sweeteners.
Brown rice syrup is a grain sweetener, and works great for me.
Thanks for the recipe
Hi Nicole, brown rice syrup will be perfect in this recipe! I know that the candida diet can be very challenging, it is so exciting that you are now able to incorporate grain sweeteners back into your diet.
Hi Jesse,
We made this cake last year for my Mom who has both low blood sugar and candida issues. She loved it, but it was still a bit too sweet for her as it gave her a bit of a reaction. Which of your other desserts would you suggest so we can try making her something that avoids processed sugars, dairy, gluten, etc. but won’t be overly sweet so she can actually enjoy it without it irritating either her candida or blood sugar? Thanks so much for your help!
Hi Jadd! I’m so happy to hear she loved the cake but so sorry she had a reaction. Here are some yummy desserts that are sweetened with stevia so they won’t irritate candida or blood sugar:
Carob Hazelnut Bark
Raw Mojito Squares
Healthy Peanut Butter Cups
Raw Lemon Cheesecake
Vanilla Almond Protein Truffles
This cake is so fluffy and tatses beautiful! I use honey instead of maple syrup for the cake and only half has much as your recipe. We love it hot from the oven without the icing. Great recipe, Thankyou!
Hi Monica, thank you so much for the glowing review! I’m so happy to know that honey works as well as maple syrup! I love this recipe so much I put it on the cover of my cookbook!
Hi
I can’t get stevia drops where I live only stevia powder.
Any idea how much is the equivalent in powder form for the fudge icing?
Cheers
Hi Roisin! You can use 1/8 – 1/4 tsp of pure powdered stevia or leave it out completely!
Holy moley…. I just made this cake and it is honestly the best recipe I’ve made in a longgg time! I am already allergic to gluten and dairy, and recently found out I can’t have caffeine either – and chocolate was one of the only treats I could eat! So lately I’ve switched to carob. And your recipe tastes better than any chocolate cake I’ve made or eaten, I no longer feel like I’m missing out. Thankyou.
Hi Bec! Thank you so much for taking the time to write and let me know, you made my night!!! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the cake so much!!! If you are allergic to dairy and gluten then you will love my recipes in my cookbook Healthy Dairy-Free Dessert, most of them are gluten-free and you can always sub carob for chocolate!
This cake is absolutely brilliant!!! It will definetely go Into my collection of favourites. I made an icing of blended dates, peanutbutter, carob powder and water which complemented the cake beautifully. Thank you Regards from Susanne from Denmark
Hi Susanne, Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment. I’m soooo happy to hear that you enjoyed the cake so much. I LOVE the modification you made to the icing, I need to try that!!! Love, Peace & Healthy Eats, Jesse Lane Lee
Can I use chickpea flour instead of almond flour? Would the measurement be the same? Thanks!
Hi Alona, I never use chickpea flour so I’m honestly not sure! I think you could do the substitute but I’m not sure if the texture would stay the same or not.
Made this today for my husband’s birthday as he looooves carob and it turned out amazing. I used stevia instead of maple syrup (with a bit of almond milk to make up for the lack of liquid), and didn’t find the stevia necessary in the fughe icing. Great great recipe, had to comment to thank you for sharing it xx
You made my day Flavia! I’m so happy to hear that you and your husband enjoyed the recipe. I love the modification you made.
Hi Jesse
I am allergic to nuts including coconut. Could I substitute using a mix of gluten free flours and how much Xanthum gum would I need to use? I tried a different recipe using carob instead of cocoa and it turned out a brick. I need help.
Hi Marie,
I don’t bake with Xanthum gum or gluten-free flour mixes so I’m not sure exactly what measurements would work. You could try 3/4 cup of rice flour. If you do let me know if it turns out!