Spelt Coconut Chocolate Cake with Coconut Milk Ganache

This spelt coconut chocolate cake has no refined sugar and is sweetened with banana and maple syrup. The coconut cream ganache has  70% dark chocolate, so although there is some sugar, it’s much better for you than milk chocolate. Plus, if you wanted to, you could omit the ganache altogether.

No sugar cakes

The cake surprised me: it has coconut in the sponge and no sugar, which changes the texture a little. It’s still cake, but a little denser than regular sponge. The ganache blew me away. Look at how silky and shiny it looks.

I usually make my ganache with regular cream, but didn’t have any. What I did have was a carton of coconut milk in my cupboard. I love it in curries, as it adds creaminess and a depth of flavour you don’t achieve with regular cream: it was perfect in my coconut chicken curry. 

Using coconut milk in cakes

Actually, as I was writing this post, I got a little confused as to the difference between coconut milk and coconut cream. I actually had to go and have a look at a carton in my cupboard. I always thought what I used was cream. However, it seems to be called milk. I think I got confused by the luscious creamy topping that forms on the milk. Anyway, whatever it’s called, it made an amazing ganache. 

This spelt coconut chocolate cake is a fairly small, one layer. I don’t know why I love making one-layer cakes so much, but it’s probably because it is only me who eats these healthier versions. That being said, I often make a less than healthy cake into one layer, so that I can’t accidentally scoff ten pieces.

If you’d like a one-layer cake that isn’t chocolate, I thoroughly recommend my lemon AirFryer cake. However, for special occasions, I most definitely bring out the two or even three layer cakes, like this gorgeous butterscotch cake. 

Make sure to tag me @thespeltkitchen on Instagram if you make this chocolate cake (or any of my other recipes). I get such a kick out of seeing you make them!

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Spelt Coconut Chocolate Cake with Coconut Milk Ganache

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1 banana
• 1 egg (large)
• 2 tbs maple syrup
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 100ml (¼ cup + 3 tbsp) coconut milk (see note 2)
• 65ml (¼ cup) vegetable oil
• 50g (½ cup) spelt flour (see note 1)
• 25g (¼ cup) cocoa
• ½ tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• 40g (½ cup + 1 tbsp desiccated coconut

Ganache:

• 60g (2 oz) dark chocolate
• 1 tbs maple syrup
• 60ml (¼ cup) coconut milk (see note 2)
• dessicated coconut (for sprinkling)

Instructions

Cake:

• Preheat oven to 180℃ (350°F). Grease an 18cm (7”) springform pan.
• I a medium bowl, mash the banana well, whisk in the egg, then add the maple syrup.
• Add coconut milk, oil, and vanilla extract, and whisk until combined. If your coconut milk has a topping of coconut cream, give it a stir before adding it to the bowl.
• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt and then stir in the coconut.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and using a whisk, gently mix everything together. Don't overmix.
• Using a spatula, scrape the sides of the bowl, then pour into the prepared pan. Please note: the batter is very runny, so don't panic.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes. The cake is ready when an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool for around 10 minutes, then remove the outside part of the springform, and turn out onto a wire rack. Allow to cool completely.

Ganache:

• Using a Bain Marie (double boiler) slowly melt the chocolate, maple syrup and coconut milk together, just until the chocolate has melted.
• Remove from the heat and either stir quickly or whisk the mixture until it's thick and glossy.
• Allow to thicken to the desired consistency (I left mine for around one hour - it was still a little runny but was thick enough not to drip right off the cake).
• Sprinkle some desiccated coconut over the top, and slice. The cake is small but will yield 6 good sized slices. Enjoy!

Notes

 

I have converted grams to cups/ounces/tablespoons using online converters. Although I have no reason to believe they are inaccurate, please be aware that I have not made this recipe with imperial measurements.

 

1. You can use regular flour instead of spelt. I often interchange spelt and regular flour (and have never had any issues at all), but for the sake of transparency, I have not made this recipe with anything other than spelt flour.
2. I used coconut milk. Mine had a really thick topping of coconut cream, and when stirred together, made something a little thicker than regular milk.