The Best Healthy Birthday Cake EVER -- Using Soaked Grains

Wow. This. Is. Good. Cake. If you at all strive for "healthy" in your birthday celebrations, you'll want to give this cake a try. I made this cake for my husband's birthday two weekends ago. It was so delicious, I decided to give it a second try at a mother/daughter tea I was hosting the next weekend.


We thoroughly enjoyed it both times. I would even serve this cake to company -- even to guests who aren't necessarily used to whole foods. Honestly, I feel if I don't put another post up on this blog, I'll still have made my contribution to society with this recipe. (Well, maybe I do have higher ambitions than just inventing a chocolate cake recipe.) I'm just saying it was good cake and I think you'll enjoy it too!

Before I post the recipe, let me make a few comments about this cake, which I will call Super Moist Oatmeal Chocolate Cake.

• This cake is super moist, like it's got pudding in the mix.
• When we ate this cake for my husband's birthday, my kids and I all decided we wanted the same cake for our birthdays. Which means, I will make some variations on it as the year progresses. And, I will have to address the next issue... making a healthy icing for using on children's decorated cakes.
• This cake does have oats in it. Which is a little un-normal for cakes. It tastes absolutely delicious. Just expect some texture from the oats. But, like I said, it is super moist, which is the important part of the texture... like rich velvet... It doesn't even really need ice cream on the side.
• The cake tastes even better the next day. So, you might want to consider making it a day ahead of your event.
• This cake uses all whole, unfractionated, unadulaterated, natural food ingredients.
• Also, I wanted to use soaked grains because whole grains are difficult to digest and contain some enzyme inhibitors. Soaking grains for 12-24 hours using yogurt, kefir or lemon juice will neutralize the phytates, making the grain more digestible and the nutrients more available.
• I baked this cake first in a 9x13 pan and second in a bundt pan. I think it turned out better as a sheet cake. The top was very soft and yummy, and it didn't even need icing. But, with a bundt pan, once it is flipped onto a plate, the top becomes the outside edge.

So, here's the recipe:

Super Moist Oatmeal Chocolate Cake

• 1 c. rolled oats
• 1 3/4 c. boiled water
• 1 3/4 c. whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbsp. plain yogurt (or kefir)
• 1/2 c. butter or coconut oil (I used one each time and both worked.)
• 2 c. Sucanat or Rapadura
• 2 eggs
• 3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 c. chocolate chips (I used naturally sweetened, organic chocolate chips.)
• 1/2 c. chopped walnuts, optional (I used this for the birthday cake, but not the tea cake.)
  

First, boil the 1 3/4 cups of water. Pour it over 1 cup of oats, and stir to combine. Let stand for 30 minutes to cool.

(It needs to be below 115 degrees so that it won't kill the active cultures in the yogurt. It took 30 minutes to reach about 105 degrees. I don't think it is necessary to always use a thermometer since it just has to be within a range. 30 minutes should get you between 105 and 115 every time.)

After 30 minutes, add in the 1 3/4 cups of flour and the 2 Tbsp. plain yogurt. Stir well to combine. It should look like this:

Cover loosely and leave at room temperature overnight.

When you are ready to make the cake, melt 1/2 cup of butter or coconut oil in a saucepan. Add the 2 cups of natural sweetener. And 3 Tbsp. cocoa powder. Then stir in the 2 eggs and mix well.

In a mixer, beat the soaked grains on medium high speed for about 2 minutes, scraping the sides a few times as you go. While the batter is beating, add the baking soda and salt. It will look like a very wet bread dough when you start. And the beating will soften it up, breaking most of the gluten strands.

Pour in the oil, sweetener and egg mixture and beat again at medium-high speed for another 2 minutes. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into a 9x13 pan (or a bundt pan). If you are using walnuts, sprinkle them on the top of the batter. I only put them on half since some of my family prefers their cakes without nuts.

Bake at 350 degrees. For the 9x13 pan, it took 40 minutes to bake. For the bundt cake I made, it took 55 minutes before it tested done with a toothpick. Like I said above, I think it worked better in the sheet pan, but the presentation was better as a bundt cake.

So there you have it! In our opinion, it is by far the best "healthy" cake we have ever tasted AND it rivals most unhealthy chocolate cakes as well. I think most people you serve it to would not even guess you used whole grains! As you can see, it rose really nicely, which made a moist, light whole grain cake.

I hope you enjoy this recipe!

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For your health,