Cranberry-Chocolate Cake
As a kid, I always liked marbled pound cakes and swirled cheesecakes. And two-toned frozen yogurts. Somehow, seeing two flavors intertwined on one plate (or in one cone) makes both of them doubly delicious. And you know what the best part is? It’s ridiculously easy to make marbled and swirled desserts — doing so usually just involves a bit of judicious pouring and/or fork-dragging. (Or, in the case of a thick soup garnished with a curlicue of cream, some skilled spoon-dragging.)
This cranberry-chocolate cake topped with a vanilla batter is an easy two-toning feat: just pour the top layer over the bottom layer, get the cake into the oven ASAP, and sit back and enjoy the scent of chocolate permeating your kitchen.
Cranberry-Chocolate Cake
This cake is gluten-free. If you’d like to make it with wheat, simply substitute 1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour for the gluten-free flours in the bottom layer and then 2 T. of whole-wheat flour for the 2 T. brown rice flour in the top layer.
For the bottom layer:
1/2 cup almond flour*
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup teff flour*
2 tsp. baking powder
Pinch sea salt
3/4 stick of butter (6 T.)
1/4 cup cocoa powder, preferably non-Dutched
3/4 cup maple syrup
2 eggs, preferably from pastured hens
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries OR 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
For the top layer:
1/2 stick butter (4 T.), preferably from pastured cows
2/3 cup whole-milk Greek yogurt OR pureed pumpkin
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 egg, preferably from pastured hens
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 T. brown rice flour
1 tsp. baking powder
Pinch sea salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease an 11×7 glass pan.
To make the bottom layer, in a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside. Melt the butter, cocoa powder, and maple syrup in a medium saucepan over low heat, whisking often to speed along the process. As soon as you have a smooth, well-blended mixture, scrape the chocolate into a large mixing bowl. Stir in eggs and flour mixture, then gently stir in cranberries. Pour bottom layer into greased pan.
In a clean mixing bowl, cream together the butter, yogurt, and maple syrup until smooth. Beat in remaining top-layer ingredients and then pour into pan on top of the chocolate layer.
Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. (If you hit a cranberry, try another spot.)
Garnish with additional cocoa powder or chocolate curls if you like, or serve the cake with dollops of whole-milk Greek yogurt that’s been sweetened to taste with maple syrup.
Enjoy!
* You can easily grind almonds and teff in a coffee grinder if you’d like to make your own flour — it’ll take 10 seconds and save you a chunk of change if you already have sliced/slivered almonds and whole teff grains on hand.
Cranberry-Chocolate Cake
As a kid, I always liked marbled pound cakes and swirled cheesecakes. And two-toned frozen yogurts. Somehow, seeing two flavors intertwined on one plate (or in one cone) makes both of them doubly delicious. And you know what the best part is? It’s ridiculously easy to make marbled and swirled desserts — doing so usually just involves a bit of judicious pouring and/or fork-dragging. (Or, in the case of a thick soup garnished with a curlicue of cream, some skilled spoon-dragging.)
This cranberry-chocolate cake topped with a vanilla batter is an easy two-toning feat: just pour the top layer over the bottom layer, get the cake into the oven ASAP, and sit back and enjoy the scent of chocolate permeating your kitchen.
Cranberry-Chocolate Cake
This cake is gluten-free. If you’d like to make it with wheat, simply substitute 1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour for the gluten-free flours in the bottom layer and then 2 T. of whole-wheat flour for the 2 T. brown rice flour in the top layer.
For the bottom layer:
1/2 cup almond flour*
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup teff flour*
2 tsp. baking powder
Pinch sea salt
3/4 stick of butter (6 T.)
1/4 cup cocoa powder, preferably non-Dutched
3/4 cup maple syrup
2 eggs, preferably from pastured hens
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries OR 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
For the top layer:
1/2 stick butter (4 T.), preferably from pastured cows
2/3 cup whole-milk Greek yogurt OR pureed pumpkin
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 egg, preferably from pastured hens
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 T. brown rice flour
1 tsp. baking powder
Pinch sea salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease an 11×7 glass pan.
To make the bottom layer, in a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside. Melt the butter, cocoa powder, and maple syrup in a medium saucepan over low heat, whisking often to speed along the process. As soon as you have a smooth, well-blended mixture, scrape the chocolate into a large mixing bowl. Stir in eggs and flour mixture, then gently stir in cranberries. Pour bottom layer into greased pan.
In a clean mixing bowl, cream together the butter, yogurt, and maple syrup until smooth. Beat in remaining top-layer ingredients and then pour into pan on top of the chocolate layer.
Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. (If you hit a cranberry, try another spot.)
Garnish with additional cocoa powder or chocolate curls if you like, or serve the cake with dollops of whole-milk Greek yogurt that’s been sweetened to taste with maple syrup.
Enjoy!
* You can easily grind almonds and teff in a coffee grinder if you’d like to make your own flour — it’ll take 10 seconds and save you a chunk of change if you already have sliced/slivered almonds and whole teff grains on hand.