This was my birthday cake. Twice.
On Wednesday, my friend Brenna and her family surprised me with it. It was so good that I called Brenna yesterday morning — my birthday morning, the day I turned 37 (just when did I begin to approach 40? I feel like I should be edging toward 30). I asked her for the recipe so I could make it again for myself. “It was so good and I want more of it.” That about sums it up.
Since I’ll probably take the leftovers as little squares to a Christmas party tonight, I might have to make more of it on the weekend. You might have to make some, too. You just might.
Chocolate Mousse Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups grass-fed butter
- 1 cup raw honey mild flavor preferred
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- pinch sea salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons instant coffee substitute * optional
- 8 organic or pastured eggs
Instructions
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Makes (1) 8" x 11" pan.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Butter an 8-by-11-inch cake pan and set aside.
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Over low heat, melt butter with honey, cocoa powder, sea salt, vanilla and coffee substitute (if using).
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When ingredients are smooth and butter is melted, remove from heat.
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Lightly beat eggs in a mixing bowl.
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While whisking, add chocolate mixture.
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Mix until smooth.
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Pour into buttered cake pan.
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Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
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Chill thoroughly.
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Cut and serve.
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Optional: Spread with whipped cream before serving.
Recipe Notes
*Dandy Blend, Caffix, Pero, Roma, etc. or 1 tsp. ground chicory root or finely ground coffee.
Use the chicory for grain-free (thanks, Rosalyn!). The others are derived from roasted grains. Some grain-free folks drink these anyway.
Have a blessed weekend! Got any special plans to which you could take this cake? 🙂
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Happy Birthday Wardee! 37 sounds so young, I am fast approaching 58!
This recipe makes my day 🙂 Have a wonderful day birthday girl!
Wardee, I think I forgot to wish you a happy birthday yesterday! I meant to, so I hope you had a wonderful day. That cake looks delish!
Mmmm, happy birthday! I think I will have to make this for dinner. As the main course. 🙂
BTW – you can use ground chicory instead of instant coffee for the same effect!
Oh, I was hoping you’d share this recipe when I saw the b-day cake picture on your FB yesterday. But I didn’t want to ask. Thanks! I’m now wishing I had more butter and eggs in the house so I could make it while the kids are napping. 🙂 I beat you to 37 by just a few months… it’s not so bad… especially since my hubby just turned 40. 🙂
Shannon — You can ask any time! It does take alot of eggs and butter. I wish you had more around, too. My husband is older as well — 45. So I guess we are the young ones, huh? 😉
Thanks for the idea, Rosalyn. I added it to the recipe. Thanks for the birthday wishes everyone! 🙂
This looks soooo good. I want to make it now, but I don’t know what chicory is, and we don’t drink instant coffee. Can you use fresh ground coffee by any chance?
Pattie — You can leave it out. Or you can use finely ground coffee — fine as in espresso grind. Its purpose is to enhance the chocolate flavor. I hope you like it!
Thank you! (o:
I keep a small jar of Espresso powder on hand for recipes like this. It doesn’t take much, so a little jar lasts a long time!
Sounds great and simple! I love when conventional recipes need very little tweaking to be real food! Happy birthday yesterday!
I love that, too. Thanks for the birthday wishes!
Oh YUM! I might have to make that soon. Would it be good with a lightly peppermint flavored whipped cream? I’m thinking holidays, here 😉
Peppermint whip cream would be AWESOME!
Holy Moly….and happy birthday! 🙂
Happy Birthday! (I turn 37 in a few months, so we are the same age 😉
The cake looks delicious!
I tried Roma once and thought it was AMAZING and I don’t even like coffee… I’ve been grain-free on and off but wish I could get my hands on some Roma.
Thanks for the recipe!
Wardee – looks fantastic!!
Sounds so good. Happy Birthday Wardee. I turn 58 in February so 37 sounds so young and far, far away…… I still don’t think I’m in my 50’s. Hard to imagine. Probably even harder to imagine for my mom! 🙂
Looks so good! I’ll be trying the recipe! What is it in the picture that looks like white dots on the cake?
Marg — I’m not sure! I did beat the eggs by hand and our homegrown egg whites are so thick — maybe bits of egg white? It hasn’t bothered any of us. 🙂
Looks really awesome! I’ll be making this for my birthday next week. I’ll be 46. Happy Birthday to another December baby.
Have a blessed birthday year Wardee! This recipe looks delish! I’ll be making this one over the holidays. Thanks for sharing and all that you do!
Hi Wardee, you are the same age as me! I turn 37 in January. Perhaps i will make this for my birthday cake too!
A number of people seem to have had problems making this cake so I just wanted to share a success story! I did make it for my birthday and it was yummy if a little heavy (and my attempt at icing wasn’t the greatest). My daughter liked it enough to ask for it for her birthday and for the 2nd attempt I WHISKED THE EGGS SEPARATELY and folded them into the rest of the ingredients. This made an amazing light and fluffy cake which I topped with a whipped egg white + honey frosting, lightly coloured with beetroot powder and a few drops food grade rose essential oil. Wow! This cake was awesome and the party guests agreed!
I’ve been wanting to make a special dessert for my friends at christmas. This will fill the bill and more some. Thank you so very much.
I hope you had a happy birthday, and thank you for sharing the recipe!! Believe me, you are still very young. When you get past 50, you won’t believe how much you have picked up in the intervening years!
Wow~!! Happy Birthday, Wardee! And thank you for the great recipe. Do you think I could use Teechu (is that how it’s spelled?) instead of the coffee substitute?
Yolanda — Yes! Just grind it up more finely — like espresso fine.
that looks heavenly! can i buy chicory at my local store? i’d love to make this for christmas, but i don’t think i want to give my kids a caffeine high…or does the caffeine get cooked out of the coffee?
I think you’re most likely to find chicory in the bulk spices/herbs section. Perhaps at a health food store if your grocer isn’t that well stocked. But I’m not sure. Mine came from Azure Standard.
Thanks! I’m heading to the HFS tonight, and I’m hoping they have it. They no longer have a bulk herb section, unfortunately. If they don’t have it, I may order from MRH.
Also, I just realized how silly I must have sounded asking about the caffeine being cooked our of the coffee…apparently, I’ve never heard of hot coffee! Ha!
That looks absolutely delicious! You could make it Christmas-y by adding some peppermint extract.
Well, I think I messed up. Mine doesn’t really look anything like yours, but more like a chocolatey bread. I think two things happened…One, I used duck eggs, instead of chicken eggs. That is usually a good thing for me with baking, but I think it may have been a bad thing here, because it caused the cake to rise like crazy. Also, I may have overcooked it, because it’s cakey on the outside, and while it’s moist on the inside, it doesn’t look anything like the yumminess in the picture here!
I’m going to try again in a few days, maybe after I get some coffee or chicory root. I’ll use chicken eggs, and I’ll be sure not to overcook it!
Wow. Simply brilliant- this looks so good! I made some sourdough brownies yesterday that remind me of this, but I love that it’s grain free. .. I’m prepping for a grain-free January to see if that clears up my son’s eczema and need some good options for baking. This is new territory for me; I’m a sourdough girl. lol
I did a double-take with the butter and honey amounts but I’m sure you only need a *tiny* square to be satisfied! 🙂
You’re always right there with a new adventure when we need it! Thanks Wardee!
BTW, I am with you in the feeling like I am closing in on 30. (Having celebrated this birthday a few months ago.) Where is all the time going?
was looking for a grain-free recipe for my birthday dessert and this looks yummy! could i make cupcakes out of the same batter or would it not work out well?
Hi, came across this today as I was frantically searching for anything w/chocolate & easy. (I’ve been sick w/the flu & all things Christmas stopped till today–1st day out of bed : ) This looks divine!!. Is there anything I can substitute for the coffee flavor? I’m probably am one of the few who do not enjoy the taste of coffee/mocha in my food. Any ideas from anyone?? Merry Christmas everyone!!!
Ellie — Just leave it out. 🙂 Feel better soon!
I baked this today and it puffed up crazy big in the oven, started to burn on top while solidifying in the middle, and then deflated by about half while cooling. So interesting! I’m chilling it overnight and will trim as needed tomorrow before topping with whipped cream…yum! I baked it in a well-buttered 9″ round silicone cake pan…do you think the shape made that big of a difference?
The batter tasted great and we look forward to enjoying it tomorrow. Thanks for another recipe!
yeah mine did that, too, and it just turned out plain gross! threw it all out-what a waste of expensive ingredients!! Never gonna make again! lol the whipped cream was good!! =P
I just trimmed off the overcooked lumps from the top after it deflated and then covered the whole thing in vanilla whipped cream…it was fabulous! It turned out a bit too rich for the kids, but DH and I came back for forkfuls over the week until it was all gone!
mine also came out unedible, a light coffee cream colour in the middle like scrambled egg texture and dark brown on the outter, all cooked thoroughly and all. it doubled in size pretty fast and deflated instantly after taking them out. total waste of ingredients!!!
Hi! This looks delicious. I’m planning on making it for my son’s second birthday. He’s never had any type of cake, so I wanted to find one with the whole ingredients for his first taste! This may be a silly question, but do you use unsalted butter? Thanks and Happy belated birthday!
Megan — I use salted butter. Any butter would be fine, though. Add some more salt (1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon to taste) if your butter is unsalted.
Great…thanks!
Hi,
This is my first comment here…of course, it has to be on something chocolatey. 🙂 I’m just curious if you separated the eggs, beat yolks in with the chocolate mixture and whipped the egg whites to soft peaks and then folded those into the chocolate mixture, if it would have a lighter, more airy texture, like a sponge cake, or even a mousse cake.
I’m totally hungry right now. This looks sooooo good. Thanks for the grain-free recipe. I’m planning on going grain-free starting next week. I also have some of your other grain free recipes bookmarked.
Hi, Sarah! That is a good idea — I really don’t know if it will work or not. I’d hope so! Be sure to let me know if you try it. 🙂
This cake does puff up tremendously in the oven, as others have noted, and that is with the beating of whole eggs I call for.
Hello, I was wondering if I could use coconut oil instead of butter?
Kelly — Yes!
Here’s the answer to your question about gluten, Wardee:
http://www.dandyblend.com/FAQ.asp#HOW%20CAN%20THERE%20BE%20NO%20GLUTEN%20WHEN%20IT%20CONTAINS%20BARLEY%20AND%20RYE?
(Hope it’s okay to post a link from the Dandy Blend page)
~Karen
HI Wardeh!
I was excited to see this cake and tried it out for a belated birthday dinner for a friend of mine. I’m trying to figure out what I did wrong – maybe you can shed some light.
Don’t ask me why, I decided to do half butter and half coconut oil. My butter was salted so I’m wondering if this messed things up. I didn’t add the coffee flavoring because I don’t have any. I also was short a large pan because I was roasting chicken and the other one ended up in the rat cage (yes we have a pet rat!). Anyway, I put the batter in 2 round cake pans, probably 8 or 9 inches. I also placed parchment paper on the bottom to keep it from sticking.
So what happened was on both cakes, a thin layer of cooked egg formed on the bottom and slightly underneath the parchment paper separate from the regular chocolate layer. It was very strange and I’m wondering if it is because I did half butter and half coconut oil – I just didn’t think it would affect it.
Maybe I got the chocolate mixture too hot and then when I poured it into the pan, the egg started cooking??
I just don’t know what I did to make this egg layer. We ended up just scraping it off the bottom but it was kind of funky. Any suggestions would be helpful and if anyone else had this happen then please let me know!
Thanks so much,
Sarah
This recipe looks wonderful and I can’t wait to try it. I am hoping someday you can put a print option on your web page. It would be so helpful!
Questions:
Can I use organic cane sugar – no honey or maple in the house and we are in a state of emergency due to freezing rain/icy roads.
Where do you find an 8 x 11 pan? I have a 7 x 11, and a couple 9 x 13s. Do you think cutting the recipe in half and using a square 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 pan might work?
Thanks – it looks yummy!
I baked this today because I had no flour in the house and needed something sweet. I baked in an 8 x 11 pan. It baked and tasted like a chocolate soufflé. It took about an hour and a half to cook all the way through. Next time I might just bake it in little ramekins and make individual portions. It’s a good recipe and yummy.