It has taken so many failed cake attempts to arrive at this recipe. But that’s one of the things I love about cooking and baking; you can always look back at the progress you made and the work it took to arrive at something beautiful. We manage several food allergies in my family. Both my mom and brother are allergic to nuts and peanuts, my brother also to cantaloupe and some shellfish, and myself to peanuts, nuts, dairy, soy, and some legumes. My nephew, now 5 years old, has a similar list of allergies to myself, plus egg and some other foods not in the “top 8” list. In the last year his sister was diagnosed with gluten intolerance.

But despite all of our restrictions we always ensure everyone is included in meals. Devising a cake recipe that suited our needs was very important. Many of the recipes I found online seemed to always have at least one ingredient that we couldn’t use. So I set about working on my own creation. Many failed attempts were eaten along the way; too dense, too mousse-y, too heavy, too gritty, not enough flavor. But then I started experimenting with my Fudgy Chocolate Bowl recipe as a cake, and real progress began to happen.

So here it is, my top 8 free, gluten free chocolate cake recipe.

WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO HERE

Ingredients

Cake
1 tbsp chia seeds
4 tbsp. water
1 cup pulverized raw sweet potato
1/2 cup allergen-free chocolate chips
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup organic honey or maple syrup
2/3 cup Gerb’s GF Flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt

Let the chia seeds soak until slimy. Add the raw, peeled sweet potato chunks to a food processor and pulse until pulverized. Add the chocolate chips and pulse until they are broken down to fine pieces. Add the vanilla, oil, and honey and pulse until smooth. Add the chia seed mixture and pulse until smooth. And finally, add all the dry ingredients and pulse until smooth and creamy. Spoon into an 8 inch cake pan lined with parchment paper and bake at 375F for 20 minutes, or for 6 large cupcakes bake for 15 minutes.

Frosting
1 1/2 cups roasted and peeled sweet potato
1 1/4 cups allergen-free dark chocolate chips
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp. Sunbutter Original Sunflower Butter

1/3 cup allergen-free mini chocolate chips for decoration

Roast the sweet potato ahead of time. Wrap the whole potato, peel and all, in aluminum foil, place it on a sheet pan, and roast at 400F for 45 minutes. When it is cool enough to touch peel the foil back and remove the skin (it should peel off easily).

Blend the sweet potato in a food processor until smooth. Add the vanilla and sunflower seed butter and blend until smooth.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave. Pour the melted chocolate into the food processor and blend until you can no longer see any streaks of sweet potato. You may need to scrape the sides and bottom with a spoon in between pulses.

Scoop a generous helping of frosting onto each cupcake and smooth it out, tapering the sides upwards. Roll the edge in the mini chocolate chips for a nice finishing touch.