Vanilla Almond Cake with Chocolate and Strawberries

This dessert comes together quickly and is easier than it looks.

There are only three  dry (excluding a pinch of salt) and three wet ingredients, mixed in one bowl, then pressed into a pan and baked. to form the cake. I use a tart pan with removable bottom, but any cake pan will do although I recommend you line it and/or grease it for easy removal.

The chocolate topping is made with the avocado, syrup and cacao, but you can sub out yogurt for the avocado.  The keys to get the thickest yogurt you can find, like ten steps beyond greek, put a spoon in it and it stands up by itself thick.  I use Culina brand non-dairy.  The proportions change if you use the yogurt.  For one (5oz) container of yogurt, I only use 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1/4 cup cacao powder instead of the 1/2 cups. The only thing I will say about the yogurt versus avocado is that if you use a thinner yogurt, it likely will soak into the cake over time, so you might have to eat it more quickly to avoid a pudding like consistency of the cake if refrigerated overnight.

Almond flour is a very specific flour and absorbs liquids different than other flours.  If you have a nut allergy, you can sub out oat flour but it will change the density of the cake since oat flour is very heavy.  If you decide to go with another flour, you may have to experiment a bit with the liquid to flour ratio. Coconut flour is not a good substitute for almond flour.

I like to slice the strawberries thinly and apply them in the circular pattern to form a large flour, but you could also use raspberries or any other fruit you’d like to put on top because doesn’t everything go with chocolate?

Ingredients:

• 1  1/4 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 avocado
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup cacao powder
• strawberries

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 350 and grease or line with parchment a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the almond flour, oat flour, salt and baking powder.  Whisk or stir in the 1/4 cup maple syrup, applesauce and vanilla extract.  Pour the mixture into the tart pan, lightly patting it down to distribute evenly.
3. Put the pan in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the center springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted.
4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl or blender, combine the avocado, 1/2 cup maple syrup and cacao powder.  Mix or blend until smooth and creamy.
5. Core or remove the tops of the berries and slice into 1/4″ slices lengthwise.
6. When the cake is cooled, you can remove it from the pan.  Spread the chocolate mixture on top then add the berries.  I started putting the berries around the outside, then worked my way in adding each ring until I got to the center.  I off-set each ring so that the center of the strawberries on the second ring lined up with the space between the strawberries on the first ring and so on, but you can use any pattern that pleases you.
7. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Enjoy!