This clean eating Instant Pot chocolate cake recipe is a wonderful way to enjoy a smaller, homemade cake without turning on the oven.
It’s been a while since I’ve “cleaned up” (adapted for clean eating) somebody else’s recipe. It’s not something I do often. Mostly, when I have a craving for some sort of junk food but don’t want to eat a ton of processed ingredients.
I wanted something that had a small yield so as not to have a ton of leftovers I wouldn’t eat. I also didn’t want to heat up the kitchen with my stove because the house was hot enough with 90 degree weather outside and no air conditioning inside. So I turned to my Instant Pot (and no, I was not paid to promote it.).
I adapted this clean eating Instant Pot chocolate cake recipe from Carve Your Craving.
I made this several times and discovered that the texture could be greatly affected by the sweetener used. I’ll share that information with you here so you can make a decision on the outcome you want for your own cake.
DIFFERENT SWEETENERS AND THEIR EFFECTS:
- Dry sugar, such as xylitol (which technically isn’t clean, but which I use because of my blood sugar) or an unprocessed sugar such as Sucanat give a much more dense cake. More like a brownie.
- Honey will affect the flavor slightly, but will give you a much sweeter cake with a more crumbly texture.
- Maple syrup will give you a less sweet cake (which I preferred out of all of them) and definitely a far more dry and crumbly texture.
AMOUNTS OF SWEETER:
- Dry sugars – 1/2 cup
- Fluid sugars – 1/3 cup
TOPPINGS:
- Strawberries were excellent on this cake!
- Other berries will work too.
- Nut butter frosting.
- Make a simple chocolate ganache using coconut cream and dark chocolate chips in a double boiler.
FILLINGS:
- 100% fruit spread (like jam).
- Homemade chocolate ganache using coconut cream and chocolate.
- Nut butter frosting.
- Coconut whipped cream.
- Regular whipped cream sweetened with honey.
- Apple butter
- Sweet potato butter
- Persimmon butter
- Fig butter
RECIPE NOTES:
With liquid sweetener, I purposely gave an amount that was on the low side in order to keep the sugar content down. The cake will not be overly sweet with these measurements. If you too want to keep the sugar on the low side, you could add 1 tsp. of pure liquid stevia to make the cake a bit sweeter. But if you add any type of frosting or filling, it should be plenty sweet. You can always add a bit more liquid sweetener, but if you add too much, you’ll have a hard time getting your cake to cook completely. So don’t overdo it.
NEED SUPPLIES? HERE’S WHAT I USED:
CLICK PLAY TO SEE HOW TO EASILY SLICE A CAKE WITH DENTAL FLOSS!
(yes, this is the only way I slice a cake.)
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY THESE CLEAN EATING RECIPES:
CLEAN EATING INSTANT POT CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE:
This delicious cake offers a small yield perfect for one or two people and you never have to turn on your oven!
- 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup unprocessed sugar (see notes above)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/4 cup if using maple syrup for sweetener)
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (+ 2 tbsp. if necessary for consistency - Use 1/3 cup if using liquid sweetener)
- 1/4 cup oil
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
Combine all dry ingredients, whisking well to work out any clumps in the cocoa powder.
Add in the wet ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined. The batter will be on the thicker side.
Pour the batter into a greased, 6 inch cake pan.
Place a trivet in your Instant Pot insert and add 2 cups water.
Place the cake pan on the trivet.
Close the lid and the vent.
Press the Manual button and adjust time to 12 minutes.
Allow a 10 minute natural release after baking time is done.
Release any remaining steam by opening the vent.
Carefully remove lid.
TIP: Hold the lid straight (horizontal) instead of tipping to avoid water on the lid dripping on your cake.
Life the cake pan out and allow to cool.
Run a spatula or plastic knife around the edge of the cake to release it from the pan and turn the cake out onto a platter or cooling rack.
Slice and decorate as desired.
Cut and serve!
Please note that the nutrition data below is a ballpark figure. Exact data is not possible.
Lynn says
Would adding an egg make it more fudge like?
The Gracious Pantry says
Lynn – You could try it, but the “fudge effect” usually comes with added fat. While a yolk does have more fat, I’m not sure if that alone would do it. Worth a shot though! It certainly wouldn’t hurt it. 🙂