Go forward, eat chocolate cake every day. One wholesome cookbook author provides us permission — and a recipe that’s protein-packed.
Rachel Riggs’ signature unfussy cake asks for only one bowl, a single whisk and 10 minutes to get the oven prepared. The result’s a chocolate dessert that comprises 18 grams of protein per slice and tastes so superb that Riggs ate a chunk as a part of lunch every day for six years straight.
No marvel she named it The Everyday Chocolate Cake.
“This is a legit dessert. I think it’s virtually indistinguishable from any mainstream chocolate cake,” mentioned Riggs, who included it in her debut cookbook, “In Good Health: Uncomplicated, Allergen-Aware Recipes for a Nourished Life.”
“In this cake, the almond flour provides healthy fats, and the pure maple syrup, cocoa powder and unsweetened chocolate deliver antioxidants. Eggs are nutrition powerhouses, too,” Riggs defined.
Each serving of this cake has as a lot appetite-taming, muscle-building protein as three giant eggs, which is courtesy of the almond flour, eggs and cocoa powder. (The cocoa powder alone provides about 4 grams per ¼ cup.
Each egg tacks on 6 grams, and every cup of almond flour layers on 32 grams extra protein.) Keep in thoughts that it additionally has 39 grams of sugar per slice (together with the ganache), courtesy of the pure sweetener maple syrup, so you possibly can decide how typically you’d like to fit this into your weight loss program.
The inspiration for this cake got here from a not-so-sweet place. Riggs has been obsessed with meals for so long as she will be able to bear in mind.
“Cheese is where my deepest passion was, so I opened a specialty food shop in 2006. Within four years, there was a substantial shift in my health, so I was forced to close my shop,” the author recalled.
The signs began off subtly however grew over time to the purpose that the profound fatigue they triggered resulted in “punishing payback for hours, days — or sometimes weeks,” she mentioned. “Like so many people with chronic illness, I went from doctor to doctor, then started broadening my scope and traveling for medical care. It remained a mystery.”

During her mission to strive something that may ease the ache and fatigue, Riggs launched into a doctor-approved, strict elimination weight loss program.
“I went three months without this whole swath of ingredients,” Riggs mentioned. “Eventually, I was able to start adding those things in, and that’s how you identify if something isn’t a good fit for your body.”
Riggs found she felt higher eliminating her unique potential triggers, together with grains (not simply gluten), dairy, refined sugars, legumes, peanuts, shellfish and nightshades (a category of greens that features tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and eggplants). She nonetheless finds lots of various meals to eat, such as meat, fish, seafood, fruits, many nuts, most greens, seeds, herbs and spices.
Looking to cook dinner with a restricted ingredient checklist, Riggs discovered inspiring choices missing and began growing her personal recipes “to feed myself and my husband food that didn’t feel punitive,” Riggs mentioned.
The end result was her first cookbook, “In Good Health.” When pulling collectively these recipes, the nonnegotiables, she determined, had been nourishment, deliciousness and ease.

“There aren’t any adaptations or faux foods here,” Riggs mentioned. Instead, “it’s really just whole, nutrient-dense food. These are the recipes that I’ve been relying on for years.”
Yes, berries, candy potatoes and salmon are on the menu. As is ahi tuna, roasted almonds, rotisserie hen and extra. “Even if somebody doesn’t have their own restrictions, we’re all cooking for people that do these days,” she mentioned. “This book is a great resource for when you’re cooking for friends or relatives who have dietary restrictions, say, for a holiday, which can be very daunting.”
Start with The Everyday Chocolate Cake and quickly you’ll be making an attempt Morning Glory Muffins, Zesty Herbed Tahini Dip and Savory French Onion Beef.
Serves 6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Bake time: 25 minutes
Cool time: 20 minutes
Total cooking time: 1 hour 5 minutes
One of Riggs’ most beloved cures for her cravings is that this cake, which will get its decadent crumb from the cocoa powder.
She makes use of a premium cocoa powder with the next fats content material that offers it a richer taste. “When you’re cooking with so few ingredients, the ingredients matter,” Riggs mentioned. (That’s why she contains her product picks within the cookbook.)
Once you’ve mastered this model of The Everyday Chocolate Cake, Riggs provides you permission to combine issues up. Try including ⅛ teaspoon of mint extract to the ganache for a minty chocolate cookie vibe, she mentioned, or add a drop or two of orange oil as a substitute. Or bake the identical batter in a cupcake pan for a single-serving dessert.
“My book also includes a birthday cake variation on this with a thicker, more spreadable ganache, because nobody should have to celebrate a birthday without a birthday cake,” Riggs advised me.
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Virgin coconut oil, for greasing
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2 ½ cups (260 grams) superfine blanched almond flour
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¼ cup (30 grams) cocoa powder, ideally Valrhona
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1 teaspoon baking soda
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¾ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
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¾ cup (235 grams) pure maple syrup
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3 giant eggs, room temperature
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¼ cup (60 grams) canned full-fat, additive-free coconut milk (see word)
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2 ounces (57 grams) 100% unsweetened chocolate (see word)
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2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
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⅛ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
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Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 levels Fahrenheit (177 levels Celsius). Thoroughly grease a 9-inch (23-centimeter) nonstick springform pan with coconut oil and line the underside with parchment paper.
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In a medium mixing bowl, whisk collectively almond flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt, breaking apart any lumps. Add the maple syrup and eggs, and whisk till clean and mixed effectively. Pour the batter into the springform pan. Using a rubber spatula, unfold it towards the sides and faucet the pan on the counter to stage the batter.
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Bake for 25 minutes on the middle rack. Cool for 20 minutes, then switch the cake to a serving plate.
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Allow the cake to chill utterly earlier than making the ganache.
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Make the ganache: Combine all ganache elements in a small glass or porcelain bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Using a small whisk, whisk gently for two to three minutes, till the chocolate is melted, clean, shiny and barely thickened however nonetheless pourable.
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Pour the chocolate ganache onto the highest (heart) of the cake. Using an offset spatula or the again of a spoon, rigorously unfold the ganache over the cake, nudging it gently over the sting and permitting it to drip down the edges as a lot as you want.
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Refrigerate the cake, uncovered, for half-hour so the ganache can set.
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Cover and retailer at room temperature for as much as three days, or within the fridge for as much as per week.
Note: Look for a baking bar that comprises solely cacao beans, similar to baking bars by Guittard. Use full-fat coconut milk that doesn’t comprise components or thickening brokers — Riggs likes Trader Joe’s Organic Coconut Milk or Native Forest Organic Coconut Milk Simple.
Karla Walsh is a Des Moines, Iowa-based freelance way of life author with greater than 16 years of editorial expertise.