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Snacks

Chocolate Snack Cake

February 23, 2022 by Alexandra Daum
Time: 55 minutes   Servings: 9
This low sugar vegan chocolate snack cake is sweetened partly with banana, and made with whole grain flour for a healthier chocolate cake.
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Woman holding a plate with a piece of ganache topped chocolate cake.

A simple one-bowl recipe, this vegan chocolate snack cake is so easy to make and great to have on hand. Perfectly reasonable for breakfast, it includes fruit, is minimally sweetened, and made with whole grain flour. Chocolate for breakfast is always a good thing.

This is truly a snack cake in that it won’t make you crash after having a slice. It’s a good afternoon snack in that you should feel you have more energy after a piece, not less, so it’ll keep you going until dinner time.

It’s slightly dense, very chocolate-y, and has just a hint of banana flavour. Think old fashioned sheet cake but with whole grains.

Table of Contents hide
Why You Should Try This Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
Step by Step
Recipe Notes
How to Store
Expert Tips
Chocolate Snack Cake

Why You Should Try This Recipe

Chocolate snacking cake is truly the best afternoon pick-me-up without a sugar crash – with a lower sugar content than a normal cake, it’s a great way to get a bit of chocolate. If that doesn’t pique your interest, consider:

  • It’s a one bowl recipe: everything is mixed in a single bowl. All you need is a bowl, fork, and whisk to make the batter.
  • It’s a high-fibre cake: it’s still a cake and contains sugar, but this recipe also provides a good chunk of daily protein and fibre needs in a single piece, thanks to the whole-grain spelt flour.

Ingredients

Chocolate snack cake ingredients.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

  • Spelt Flour: substitute light spelt flour or whole wheat pastry flour for whole spelt. I haven’t tried making this recipe gluten-free.
  • Cocoa: use baking cocoa, not raw cacao, if possible (and not drinking cocoa).
  • Banana: as ripe as you have. The riper the banana, the sweeter it will be.
  • Oat Milk: or another dairy-free milk. Don’t use canned coconut milk for this recipe.
  • Olive Oil: or another light tasting liquid oil, like avocado oil. Not coconut oil, which can make the cake heavy when it cools.
  • Vanilla: extract. If using powder, reduce the amount by half.
  • Chocolate Chips: optional, but a nice addition! Mini chips make for more chocolate per bite.

Step by Step

1. Mash bananas: add to the mixing bowl and mash with a fork, or puree if you don’t like the texture.
2. Add liquids: add all the remaining liquid ingredients to the same bowl.

Chocolate snack cake steps 1 to 4.

3. Mix: whisk very well to combine. The oil will separate, that’s normal.
4. Add dry ingredients: to the same bowl, add the dry ingredients, no need to sift them in.
5. Mix the batter: use a whisk or wooden spoon but don’t over mix. A few streaks of flour are fine.
6. Add chocolate: gently fold in with a spatula to avoid over-working the gluten.

Chocolate snack cake steps 5-8.

7. Transfer to tin: spoon the cake batter into a greased square baking tin.
8. Bake: for about 40 minutes, but do a toothpick test to be sure.

If you can’t see the recipe video for this post, please watch it here instead.

Recipe Notes

The cake is pictured topped with vegan chocolate ganache. This is optional – you could also use coconut whipped cream or leave it as is.

I haven’t tested this, but it should be fine to bake in a standard round cake tin rather than square. If using a differently sized dish, be sure to do a skewer test and check the cake sooner than the time listed in the recipe.

How to Store

Storage: this will depend partly on the temperature of your home, as the cake contains banana. If topping with ganache or whipped cream, the cake must be refrigerated in a sealed container. Otherwise, it can usually be kept at room temperature for a couple of days.

Freezing: chocolate snack cake freezes really well – cool fully, then freeze in an airtight container for up to six months. Individual pieces can be frozen and thawed in the refrigerator overnight or more quickly at room temperature before serving.

A square piece of chocolate cake topped with ganache.

Expert Tips

If this is your first time baking a cake, or the first time you’re trying to bake with spelt or whole grain flours, here are some helpful tips for the best results.

  • Don’t over mix: as spelt flour contains gluten, when over-mixed it can make for a tough cake. Mix until just combined and don’t whisk too long.
  • Careful with flour types: some readers have had success with using gluten-free flours, but I have not tested this. I wouldn’t recommend subbing almond flour, for example, but have heard that oat works well. Proceed with caution, as this is a spelt-specific recipe.
  • Grease the tin: no need to line with parchment, but a good even greasing is valuable here! I usually use coconut oil for greasing as it’s easier to see where the tin has been coated.
  • Check oven temperature: this is a common problem with underachieving cakes. Home ovens often run 10-20°C off from what they’re set at (I’ve had an oven that was often 50°C too hot!) so a small oven thermometer works wonders. If you find that your bakes are often failing despite following the recipe exactly, you may need to check this.
  • Bake in advance: if you plan on topping the cake with ganache or any other icing, keep in mind that it must be completely cool beforehand. This can take several hours, so plan accordingly.

More Chocolate Snacks

Chocolate Puffed Quinoa Bars
Double Chocolate Chickpea Flour Cookies
Chocolate Beet Muffins
Peanut Butter Puffed Wheat Squares

If you make this Chocolate Snack Cake or any other snack recipes on Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email.

Yield: 9 pieces

Chocolate Snack Cake

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
4.75 from 8 votes

Ingredients

Metric – American
  • 1 large overripe banana
  • 375 ml oat milk
  • 60 ml olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 300 grams whole grain spelt flour
  • 100 grams coconut sugar
  • 50 grams cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 50 grams dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a 20cm (8 inch) square baking tin.
  • Add the banana to a large bowl and mash with a fork. Whisk in the oat milk, olive oil, and vanilla until combined. whisk together the flour, coconut sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla. Stir in the chopped chocolate.
  • Add the the flour, coconut sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined, but be careful not to over mix.
  • Add the chocolate chips and fold to evenly incorporate.
  • Transfer the batter into the prepared cake tin. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
  • Remove from the oven and cool for ten minutes in the tin before carefully removing and cooling completely on a wire rack.
  • If topping with ganache, the cake should be refrigerated. Otherwise, it can be stored in an airtight container in a cool place for 2-3 days. This cake freezes well.

Video


Nutrition

Serving: 1piece Calories: 307kcal Carbohydrates: 48g Protein: 7g Fat: 11g Saturated Fat: 3g Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g Monounsaturated Fat: 5g Cholesterol: 1mg Sodium: 339mg Potassium: 189mg Fiber: 7g Sugar: 14g Vitamin A: 96IU Vitamin C: 1mg Calcium: 139mg Iron: 3mg
© Alexandra Daum
Course: Desserts
Cuisine: American
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This post was first published in January 2018. It has been updated with additional pictures and a video as of February 2022.

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Previous Post: « Crispy Lentil, Orange, and Pomegranate Salad
Next Post: Sourdough Rye Bread »

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Comments

  1. Oni says

    August 30, 2022 at 9:35 pm

    Hi,
    Can you make this with white spelt flour and would there be changes in the amount of the flour needed? That’s the flour that I have. I also have whole grain rye that I can maybe use a mixture of the 2.
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Alexandra Daum says

      August 31, 2022 at 6:24 am

      Hi Oni, yes you can use light/white spelt flour. It won’t change the amount needed. You can also do half-half light spelt and rye, that would be nice.

      Reply
  2. Michele says

    February 27, 2022 at 3:28 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious! Not too sweet just right! I did not have spelt flour so I substituted oat flour and it came out perfect. Instead of the ganache I threw on some chopped walnuts over the top just before putting it in the oven. I will definitely be making this again!

    Reply
  3. Carson says

    November 25, 2021 at 3:41 pm

    Is there a sub for applesauce? Made this before with banana and really enjoyed it.

    Reply
    • Alexandra Daum says

      November 25, 2021 at 4:15 pm

      I haven’t tried it, but you should be able to make it with a slightly lower amount of applesauce in place of the banana. I’m thinking between 50-70g but would have to test to get an exact amount.

      Reply
  4. Heidi | The Simple Green says

    March 15, 2019 at 10:05 am

    5 stars
    Happy belated birthday to your sis! I'm looking forward to trying this over the weekend…the photos/styling make me want to eat this so bad!

    Reply
  5. Helen says

    December 4, 2018 at 12:31 pm

    I just mad this, and I can honestly say it is the best chocolate cake I have ever had. I am not a big fan of super sweet cakes so this was perfect! It is also filling in a good way, will sure make again soon!

    Reply
    • Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says

      January 2, 2019 at 6:39 pm

      So happy to hear that Helen, thank you!

      Reply
  6. Alexandra Daum says

    February 3, 2018 at 5:15 pm

    Thanks Heidi! Can't wait to hear how you like it 🙂

    Reply
  7. Nicky Hawthorne says

    February 3, 2018 at 7:05 am

    Thanks! I’ll try your oil idea ?

    Reply
  8. Heidi | The Simple Green says

    February 3, 2018 at 4:20 am

    5 stars
    Happy belated birthday to your sis! I'm looking forward to trying this over the weekend…the photos/styling make me want to eat this so bad!

    Reply
  9. Alexandra Daum says

    January 31, 2018 at 6:24 pm

    It's melted chocolate! I forgot to note that in the recipe, I'm going to update it. It does set though after about half an hour, so if you want it to be really shiny you could either do it just before serving or mix a little oil (like hazelnut, maybe?) with the chocolate when you melt it. It still tastes good when it's set though!

    Reply
  10. Nicky Hawthorne says

    January 31, 2018 at 6:22 pm

    Did you drizzle chocolate syrup on top? I’m gonna make this this wkend for a party. Want mine to look as cool as yours!

    Reply
  11. Alexandra Daum says

    January 31, 2018 at 2:34 pm

    lol! She texted me to say she's going to make it – maybe I'll be there one year for her birthday, who knows! Thanks, Traci 🙂 A little dark chocolate (or a lot!) is good for the soul!

    Reply
  12. Alexandra Daum says

    January 31, 2018 at 2:32 pm

    Thanks so much, Asha! <3

    Reply
  13. Traci | Vanilla And bean says

    January 31, 2018 at 2:19 pm

    Happy birthday sister! You're so sweet to make this for her… then devour it for her too! lol. Oh the power of bananas and chocolate. This looks absolutely scrumptious Alexandra. And Oh how you tease us with that drizzly chocolate! So much goodness!

    Reply
  14. Asha Shivakumar says

    January 31, 2018 at 5:48 am

    Happy Birthday to your sister!!
    This looks absolutely amazing and snack cake, how perfect!!!
    xoxo

    Reply

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