Feel Less Guilty Chocolate Bundt Cake

chocolatechiacake

If you are weary of all of the holiday overindulgence that is about to ensue, I suggest you continue to read for a recipe that you can feel good about and have your chocolate too.

Chia seeds are becoming the buzz ingredient in many natural foods products. This is a recipe I developed in 2004, it was featured in  Eating Well magazine.  Alas a search on their site did not reveal that recipe. Back then flax seeds were the rage, and they are still very good but chia has some distinct advantages.

They are high in protein, fiber and unlike flax, you don’t have to grind chia in order to get the benefits of the omega 3 fatty acids and ALA. Chia is also high in calcium, iron and in anti-oxidants. Chia does not contain phtyoestrogens like flax does. This is only a concern for those of you who are trying to reduce the amount of estrogens that you are getting from food. That said I do recommend that you use chia meal in this recipe. Seeds work too but they have a tendency to stick in your teeth.


Unlike flax, chia is not as easy to grind in a coffee grinder because of the small size of the seeds. Cold milled chia seeds are available at good natural foods stores or online. If you can’t find them or don’t want to bother, then use ground flax seeds or replace the seeds with a nut flour. The cake will still be delicious and offer you more stealth health in form of fiber, vitamin e and protein than a regular piece of chocolate cake.

Plum butter, like apple sauce, can be used as a fat replacer in baking. Making dried plum butter is easy. You simply take 1 cup of putted dried plums (aka prunes) and rehydrate in 6 Tbsp. boiled water. Let that sit for a few minutes then puree in a food processor until very smooth. This will make 1 cup of puree. If you don’t want to bother than you can purchase fat replacer.

I chose to use plum butter because the flavor is actually very complimentary to cocoa. I like to say it acts as a potentiator in that it helps to round out and enhance the cocoa flavors in a positive way. It is also a great source of antioxidants.

Bottom line: My kids snarfed the cake and I felt good knowing that their afternoon snack proved them with 7 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber and antioxidants  in a 250 calorie piece of cake.

Feel less Guilty Chocolate Bundt Cake

1/2 cup almond or hazelnut flour (hazelnut is especially good here but has more flavor than the almond)
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup milled chia seeds
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup canola or safflower oil (you could even use coconut oil as it’s mild in flavor)
1 tsp. vanilla extract plus 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
1/2 cup dried plum puree (see note above)
1/2 cup hot water
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift the dry ingredients, except for the sugars, together. In a mixing bowl blend the sugars with the eggs. Alternate adding the remaining liquids with the dry ingredients until all incorporated.

Fold in the chocolate chips and pour into a prepared bundt pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick come out clean when pushed through the center of the cake. Allow to cool for 10 to 20 minutes before turning out on to a plate and serving.

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