DOUBLE LAYER CHOCOLATE PROTEIN CAKE

February 27, 2016

This Double Layer Chocolate Protein Cake is one of my post popular recipes, and it’s no wonder! This decadent chocolate cake is single-serve, gluten-free, low in sugar and high in protein. It seriously tastes like Costco’s All American Chocolate Cake. For those who’ve never experienced this wonder, it’s basically a chocolate lover’s heaven! The Costco cake is so decadent and insanely rich. Each 7 oz. slice of All American Chocolate cake has almost 800 calories and 94g of sugar! This healthy version on the other hand, has only 341 calories and 5g sugar for the entire cake!

Protein powder tips

I used Quest Protein Powder in Chocolate Milkshake for this cake. You can use whatever whey you have on hand, but some work better than others. Whey blends (like Quest) that combine whey isolate, casein, and milk protein work best for baking! Whey concentrate comes in close second. Whey isolates, however, are the absolute worst for baking. They always make baked goods come out spongey or dry (unless you use very little).

You may be able to substitute a vegan protein powder in this recipe, although I haven’t tested it. In my experience, you’ll probably need extra liquid to thin out the batter if using a plant-based protein powder 😉

Sweetener substitutions

To add the perfect amount of sweetness without extra calories, I used my favorite organic stevia blend that’s twice as sweet as sugar with no bitter aftertaste. If your stevia tastes bitter, it’s probably cheap quality! I generally avoid store brand stevia and stick to either Truvia or Pyure.

Feel free to substitute the stevia blend for twice as much (six tablespoons) baking stevia, granulated erythritol, monk fruit blend, or a granulated sugar like coconut sugar. If using stevia extract or drops, please refer to the brand-specific conversion chart!

Other substitutions

The secret ingredient in this recipe is canned 100% pure pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie filling). All you pumpkin haters out there, stay with me! You can’t taste the pumpkin one bit, thanks to the strong cacao flavor. Just trust me, okay? You won’t even notice it! With that said, if you must substitute the pumpkin for something else your best bet would be either another squash puree, or prune baby food. Substituting half unsweetened applesauce, half Greek yogurt may also work, but will alter the flavor and texture.

Also, if you’re allergic to eggs, you can substitute 1 tbsp. ground flaxseed with 2 tbsp. warm water, or a vegan egg replacer.

The avocado oil simply improves the texture of this cake, adding tenderness and a richer mouthfeel. You can substitute any vegetable oil, coconut oil, or omit it altogether.

Sugar free chocolate frosting

The sugar-free frosting is a combination of Quest Chocolate Milkshake protein powder, canned pure pumpkin, dark (Dutch process) cocoa powder, Vitafiber syrup, and pure vanilla extract. Vitafiber syrup is a sugar-free fiber syrup naturally-derived from the tapioca plant.

You can use any chocolate whey protein in the frosting so long as you like the taste! You can also use regular unsweetened cocoa instead of dark if that’s all you have. Feel free to swap the VitaFiber syrup for sugar free chocolate syrup, agave syrup, or light corn syrup. NOTE: the latter two will increase the overall calories and sugar.

The pumpkin in the frosting is purely for texture, not for flavor. You could also use coconut cream, but doing so will increase the calories and fat.

I decided to melt some dark chocolate over top for a little extra decadence, but this is optional and it tastes amazing without it.

Now, here’s the printable recipe for this Double Layer Chocolate Protein Cake! Please leave a comment below if you try it 😉

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