In The Kitchen

GOOD &Good

FOR YOU

Jump into February in style and whip up this deep dark luscious chocolate cake dressed with a creamy almond or peanut butter frosting. It’s flour free and full of antioxidants bound to blow away the fiercest of winter bugs. This creation will not only lighten moods and boost bodies with its rich dark chocolate and cacao, but it’s also low glycemic by using coconut sugar, all the while tantalizing your taste buds.

Cake Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter 8 oz (70-72 %) dark chocolate (Equal Exchange or Hu are very good brands) 6 large responsibly laid eggs, room temperature 2/3 cup coconut sugar (ground very fine in a blender) 1 1/2 tsp vanilla vanilla paste or extract 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp unsweetened cacao powder (Navitas is a good brand)

Nut Buttercream Ingredients:

I cup creamy organic peanut or almond butter with no sugar or oils added 1 cup unsalted butter Pinch of sea salt 2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract 1 1/2 cups organic powdered sugar Justin’s mini dark chocolate peanut or almond butter cups (optional)

Buttercream Instructions:

Beat together the nut butter, butter, salt, and vanilla Continue beating until fluffy while adding in the powdered sugar.

Cake Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease two 8-inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Melt the butter and chocolate on the stove top on low heat. Meanwhile beat together the eggs and sugar for about four minutes at high speed until pale and doubled in volume and then add the vanilla. Sift in the cocoa and mix until combined. Add in the melted chocolate mixture and beat until combined. Divide into prepared cake pans and bake for about 13-15 minutes or until knife comes out with some crumbs attached but is no longer wet. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes then remove from pans onto pieces of parchment paper.

Assembly:

Lay one layer of cake on a serving platter and frost with a layer of buttercream. Top with the other cake layer and then frost the top and sides with the rest of the buttercream. Arrange halved mini nut Butter Cups around the top of the cake if desired. Makes One 8-inch cake.

Photography by Glenn Roberson Jill Dahan lives in Cornelius and is the author of Starting Fresh! Recipes for Life. You can learn more about her at www.jilldahan.com. To learn more about her nonprofit,

Sunninghill Jill Kids, visit www.sunninghilljillkids.org.