Chocolate Sponge Cake
A dairy-free chocolate sponge made with oat flour and sweetened with dates.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Dates soak
- 10 min
- Bake
- 40–45 min
- Cool
- 60 min*
- Makes
- 20 slices
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1½ cups Medjool dates, pitted
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1¼ cups unsweetened almond milk (Isola Bio / Joya Organic preferred)
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 2¼ cups oat flour (levelled)
- ½ cup unsweetened raw cacao powder
- ½ tsp monk fruit powder (or adjust to taste)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
Nutrition
Per slice (1/20 of batch), estimated
- Calories
- 115 kcal
- Protein
- 2.2 g
- Carbohydrates
- 17.2 g
- Fat
- 5.0 g
- Fibre
- 2.3 g
Method
- 1
Prep: Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
- 2
Soften the dates: Place dates in a bowl. Add boiling water + almond milk.
- 3
Cover and soak for 10 minutes until very soft.
- 4
Blend: Transfer to a blender and blend until completely smooth and creamy.
- 5
Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together oat flour, cacao powder, monk fruit, baking soda, and baking powder.
- 6
Combine: Pour the blended mixture into the dry ingredients.
- 7
Add olive oil and vanilla.
- 8
Mix gently: Mix until just combined and smooth. Do not overmix.
- 9
Bake: Pour into the lined pan and level the top.
- 10
Bake for 40–45 minutes until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- 11
Cool: Let cool completely before slicing into 20 pieces.
This is still a dessert even though it uses dates, oats and cacao. Enjoy it as such; the fibre-rich ingredients improve the profile, but there is no need to turn every sweet food into a “health food.”
Notes
Dairy-free | Refined sugar-free | Vegetable-forward
Pan: 9-inch square (or similar) Nutrition basis: 1½ cups pitted dates ≈240 g, 2¼ cups oat flour ≈207 g; ⅓ cup olive oil ≈72 g; non-caloric monk fruit; no glaze. Estimates use USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy and label proxies; ingredient weights and brands vary. Total carbohydrate includes fibre.
* Cool 60 min or until fully cool.