Flourless, butter free and naturally fruity sweetened… this is what this incredibly tasty and extra moist chocolate cake is all about.
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I got invited to try this amazing recipe by a friend of mine a week ago on a train trip to Göteborg (West coast of Sweden). For me who strongly believes that true baking has to be done with so-called “true” ingredients like butter, sugar and flour, I would never have given this cake a chance.
More than that: I would never have guessed that it was flourless (it still seems almost impossible according to its perfect texture) and naturally gluten free. Entirely sweetened by fruits – with dates actually – you would not think there is no refined sugar in the recipe. The cake is perfectly sweetened and does not taste fruits at all. Then coconut oil is used instead of butter – a much healthier alternative and guaranteed with no cholesterol!
But I am telling you, what surprises me the most in this chocolate cake is its amazing extra moist texture that makes you think that there is no way it is a healthy recipe! It took me a while to understand it could be so moist without any flour!
For fun, I did the test separately with several of my friends this weekend and asked them to guess which ingredients this cake was made of. Each single time, they answered flour in the first place, then sugar and butter. I think it says a lot about this non-looking-but-still-very-healthy chocolate cake!
To finish with, you will be amazed by the simplicity of the recipe. With only 6 main ingredients + baking soda, all you have to do is basically to mix everything in a food processor and then pour the batter into a form. Easy, right?
Whether you care about healthy food a lot (and try to avoid refined sugar or butter as much as possible) or not, I really encourage you to taste this recipe at least once. A serving size is indeed the perfect healthy snack to enjoy in the afternoon and will satisfy your chocolate cravings!
And for other healthy recipes with chocolate, you can also try one of these :
- 5 ingredients snickers bliss balls
- Healthy Double Chocolate Avocado Cookies (sugar and dairy free + a vegan version)
- Healthy Oat-Peanut Butter Cups (Vegan)
- Healthy Vegan Chocolate Chip Blondies (refined sugar free)
- Easy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars (vegan, gluten free, no added sugar)
- Sugar-Free Almond Butter Banana Muffins
Healthy Extra Moist Chocolate Cake
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Healthy
Flourless, butter free and naturally fruity sweetened… this is what this incredibly tasty and extra moist chocolate cake is all about.
Email me this recipe
We’ll send it straight to your inbox, along with weekly food inspiration!
Ingredients
- 7.5 oz (200g) unsweetened baking chocolate or at 70% cocoa
- 1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/4 cup (200g) pitted dates, or about 10 dates
- 3 large eggs
- 1/4 cup (60ml) coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- In a food processor, pulse chocolate, cocoa powder and baking soda until texture of coarse sand.
- Pulse pitted dates, then eggs, coconut oil and vanilla.
- Transfer the batter into a 8×8 inch (20 x 20 cm) baking dish.
- Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow to cool before serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8 servings
- Calories: 166 kcal
- Sugar: 3.7g
- Sodium: 103mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 10.7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9.3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 17.1g
- Fiber: 4.7g
- Protein: 6.5g
- Cholesterol: 61mg
Did you make this recipe?
Lastly, if you make this Healthy Extra Moist Chocolate Cake, be sure to leave a comment and give this recipe a rating, letting me know how you liked it. And of course, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Thank you and enjoy!
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AMANDINE
Bonjour,
Etant intolérante au lactose, je vais essayer cette recette ! On est d’accord qu’il faut des dattes séchées ?
Merci
Delphine Fortin
Oui en effet Amandine, il s’agit bien de dattes séchées.
Delphine Fortin
L’une comme l’autre fonctionnera dans cette recette.
Amalina Azlan
Hi, i tried the recipe. And it is lovely! Even without the sugar it’s still considerable perfect and sweet. Thanks for posting the recipe!!
Jacoby
Hi I’d love to make this, but can’t put the dates in! I’m guessing it would completely change the texture without them, so is there something else I could replace it with instead that would make it completely sugar free? Or would it be okay without them? It needs to be diabetic friendly 🙂
Delphine Fortin
Hi! I like the idea to make this cake diabetic friendly. Because the dates bring both the sweetness and the chewy texture to the cake, I wouldn’t skip them completely in this recipe. However you can try to use less dates and maybe compensate with a little bit of unsweetened apple sauce. I hope it helps a little bit. Del
Yu
This chocolate cake is amazing! Made it last night for a meeting and it was a huge hit with everyone. So moist and pleasantly sweet. Thank you from Kuching, Malaysia ❤️
Delphine Fortin
Oh thank you so much for your feedback, and happy to hear everyone liked it! 🙂
Yu
Hi again! I noticed someone asking about freezing the cake. I tried keeping a small slice in the freezer for about a week, took it out, let it thaw for a minute, cut it and it was still so good. It stayed moist and yummy. 🙂
Delphine Fortin
Thank you for sharing this with us, Yu! Highly appreciated!
sophia
Hi Delphine. What is the chocolate powder you put on top of the cake in your pics? Thanks!
Delphine Fortin
Hi Sophia! I use the Droste unsweetened cocoa powder. I hope it helps! 🙂
Saphire
Bonjour, wouhaaou déjà merci beaucoup pour cette recette qui met l’eau à la bouche, hummmmm! Auriez vous une idée du nombre global de calories dans ce gâteau afin que je puisse avoir une idée de ce que cela fait pour 100gr? Je fais un régime strict et cherche des recettes pour mes collations. Merci beaucoup 🙂
Dana
Can this cake be made the night before? And if so, would you refrigerate or leave at room temperature?
Thanks!
Delphine Fortin
Hi Dana! Yes, you can totally make this cake a day ahead and keep it at room temperature, covered.
rosie_line
Bonjour,
La texture est assez granuleuse alors ? de jolies photos, une foule d’ idées, merci je me suis abonnée.
J’ ai déjà utilisé l’ huile de coco, mais elle rancit vite.
Merci et bel été. ♫
Delphine Fortin
Bonjour! Normalement non la texture n’est pas très granuleuse, donc cela signifie qu’il faudrait alors en effet faire tremper les dattes au préalable voir en retirer la peau ensuite pour être sûr de ne conserver que le moelleux. En espérant vous aider un peu, je vous souhaite également un très bel été!
Judie
Hi,
Can I switch the dates to honey. As I’m not anywhere I can get either fresh or dates. Also can I melt my chocolate and mix into the batter. I’ve got loads of 70% dark chocolate but I don’t want to use my blender as I use it for something else.
Thks
Delphine Fortin
Hi Judie. I am not sure about the changes you are asking; it would be a totally different recipe in terms of results. For the honey it might work but you will loose the chewiness brought by the dates (My advice is to use dates and let them soak in hot water to make sure they are soft enough). As for the chocolate, it’s is better to grate it than melt it for this recipe. I hope this helps!
Amber
I will tell you first that I had so much trouble mixing this. My dates were pitted and fairly fresh, but too sticky, they kept forming a massive ball. Maybe I should have soaked them anyway, even if they were not dried?
The chocolate was a little bit of a pain to mix, but only because I tried to use a bullet mixer (I was afraid for my old food processor) and the pieces went flying. I ended up finishing in the food processor, and it turned out like coarse sand, as it should be.
While processing the dates, it helps to take the lid off occasionally and use a fork to separate and move the dates around a bit. I also cut mine into smaller pieces before processing them.
Besides these two set backs (and the general mess as I stuffed my tiny processor full of batter, but that was my fault), the rest of the mixing and baking went smoothly!
After 20 minutes, I pulled the cake out of the oven and checked the center with a knife. It was done! I was able to cut it while it was fresh and hot, and it had a nice solid substance to it. It didn’t fall apart like many cakes do.
The cake had a lovely, moist texture just like you would get from making a Betty Crocker cake out of a box.
And let me tell you something else, it tasted phenomenal! It was the best chocolate cake I have ever tasted in my life. It was well worth all my pains.
Next time, I will try using my blender instead! If you have any tips in regards to my experience, please let me know!
moleena
Hi Delphine – I would love to try this recipe this weekend. Quick question, can the cake be baked a day in advance?
Will the cake still be moist ?
Thanks.
Delphine Fortin
Hi Moleena! This is actually a good question. Mine usually disappear the same day within an hour or so, so I couldn’t really tell. I would say that it is best the first day, though. Have a great weekend! Del
Jo
Thanks for the recipe! I made for a charity bake sale and it went well! Dates are amazing and the cacao adds that intense chocolate flavour 🙂
Bella
Chocolate has sugar in it.
Is there something I can replace it with?
Delphine Fortin
You can use 100% unsweetened chocolate, that would work perfectly fine! I usually prefer to use 70% cocoa as I do not mind sugar too much, but the unsweetened one works in this recipe thanks to the dates that naturally sweeten the batter.
Sonia
Bonjour, j’ai envie de réaliser votre recette mais je voudrais savoir avec quoi vous avez saupoudré le gâteau? cacao en poudre, canelle?
Merci!
Delphine Fortin
Bonjour Sonia ! Très bonne idée que de vouloir tester ce gâteau, il est bluffant ! Ici j’ai saupoudré de cacao en poudre en effet 🙂
Sonia
Je vous remercie. Entretemps, j’ai déjà fait la recette et j’ai saupoudré avec de la canelle. On a aimé
Merci
Delphine Fortin
Très heureuse d’apprendre cela, merci Sonia!!
Devon
HOLY CRAP THESE ARE AMAZING! i didn’t have high hopes for healthyish brownies but these are yummier than 2-bite brownies. so moist. Thanks!
Delphine Fortin
So happy to hear that. Thank you!! 🙂
jane o’keeffe
Delicious, moist and light. I do not like over rich chocolate cakes, but this one is superb and the fact that it is butter, sugar and flour free is an added bonus, ideal for any gluten intolerant friends or those on a diet. But in my house it is just popular because it tastes so good! (PS I do not have a food processor so I just blended all my ingredients in my nutribullet!)
Delphine Fortin
Thank you so much, Jane, I’m really happy you liked it! This chocolate cake is my go-to recipe whenever I crave for a little chocolate but still want to eat healthy-ish 🙂
Camille Delecourt
Super recette ! Je l’ai faite hier avec une tablette de chocolat standard, je n’ai pas regretté car je pense qu’avec un chocolat sans sucre ça aurait été trop fort pour nous. J’ai du faire fondre le chocolat au bain marie parce que mon mixeur n’était pas assez puissant (c’est dur d’être étudiant haha). J’ai ajouté à mis cuisson une couche de pâte à cookie vegan et saine faite maison et franchement c’était top. La prochaine fois je ferais sans cookie et avec des morceaux de fruits pour couper le chocolat (morceaux de poires, etc.). Merci beaucoup pour la recette je la referai sans souci !
Danièle
Mon mixer ne me permet pas de hacher le chocolat. Est-il possible de le faire fondre au bain-marie ?
Delphine Fortin
Bonjour Danièle. Malheureusement non, car ici la méthode utilisée donne aussi la texture au gâteau. Essayez peut être de couper le chocolat en petits morceaux et ensuite de le mixer si possible. Sinon vous pouvez aussi le râper, mais cela risque de prendre un peu de temps. J’espère que vous parviendrez à trouver une solution qui vous convient car ce gâteau est un pur délice!
Pascale
Bonjour
Testé ce midi avec mon mari en suivant exactement la recette : une tuerie!
C’est même dangereux car on n’arrive plus à s’arrêter:)
La consistance est exceptionnelle, on a le goût du chocolat et de la noix de coco mais celui des dattes disparaît complétement. Va certainement devenir une référence à la maison.
Encore merci pour ces super recettes.
Delphine Fortin
Ah oui je vois exactement de quoi vous parlez Pascale. Ce gâteau est très gourmand en effet 🙂 Merci pour votre retour, j’apprécie beaucoup.
Ingrid
Bonjour. Quel gâteau appétissant *_*
Je n’ai pas de dates… Est-il possible de faire sans ou bien jouent-elles un rôle capital dans la réussite du gâteau ?
Merci 🙂
Delphine Fortin
Elles jouent un rôle important tant niveau goût que texture, et je conseille pas d’essayer de s’en passer pour cette recette.. J’aurais bien quelques idées mais n’aya pas testé moi même je ne m’aventurerais pas. En espérant avoir répondu à ta question autant que possible. Del.
Ingrid
Je te remercie pour ta réponse rapide 🙂
Je vais essayer d’en trouver alors.