Treat yourself and the ones you love with this amazing and healthy date sweetened chocolate layer cake recipe.

This chocolate cake is like nothing you’ve ever enjoyed before. It’s moist, open crumb and the sweetness from the dates will make you love this cake. And the fact that it’s made without processed sugar and with whole wheat flour will make you smile.

As this cake bakes in your oven, you’re anticipation will grow as you smell the tantalizing aroma of chocolate. You’ll love taking a bite of this delicious chocolate cake.

Jump to Recipe – Print Recipe

Chocolate Layer Cake Sweetened with Dates

This easy chocolate date cake is beautifully sweetened thanks to medjool dates that have been blended into a paste. You create this rich, creamy date paste simply by blending dates, chocolate, and cocoa powder together after a quick soak in boiling hot water.

This chocolatey date paste incorporates beautifully into the batter for an even distribution of sweetness and chocolatey flavor.

And when you add in some healthy fat from avocado oil and richness from eggs, all together these ingredients produce a cake that’s moist, rich, and tender. And this is all done without processed sugar and white flour!

Plus, making this layer cake is super easy and fast, you’ll go from wanting cake to having cake in no time!

You’ll love this classic treat with a healthy spin. You’ll also love how easy it is to make and clean up this date sweetened chocolate layer cake.

Ingredients

For this healthy chocolate cake recipe you’ll need:

Whole wheat flour – I used white whole wheat flour here because of it’s stellar nutritional profile paired with it’s mild flavor. Traditional whole wheat flour is made with red wheat berries which have a stronger wheat flavor.

Salt – It enhances the chocolate flavor of the cake.

Baking powder and Baking Soda – All the dates in this recipe could create a dense cake. In order to combat that, I’ve employed two leavening agents to help give the cake an open crumb (plus a trick I’ll explain on the next line).

Apple cider vinegar – Remember the bubbly reaction you got when you mixed baking soda and vinegar in elementary school science? Well, that trick is used in this recipe. The vinegar and the baking soda react to help make the cake not be dense.

Dates – Medjool dates are the all star sweetener for this layer cake. Not only are they sweet and delicious, but they’re also a good source of magnesium, selenium, potassium, and other vitamins and minerals.

Unsweetened Chocolate – Adding in unsweetened chocolate gives the cake great chocolate flavor without any processed sugar. However, if you don’t mind a little added sugar, you can use a semisweet or bittersweet chocolate instead.

Hot water – Using hot water in this recipe accomplishes 3 things. First, it softens the dates so they’ll blend up ultra smooth. Second, it melts the chocolate. And third, hot liquid helps you get the most chocolate flavor out of your cocoa powder because it releases the flavor from the solid particles.

Vanilla extract – Vanilla is a mainstay in any cake recipe.

Avocado oil – You can use any neutral oil here. Some options are canola, vegetable, and grapeseed. I like to use avocado oil because it both has a neutral flavor and offers several health benefits.

Eggs – You’ll need two for this recipe.

How to Make Date Sweetened Chocolate Cake

Like I said, this cake is a cinch to make. Here’s a quick rundown of the steps:

Prep. Heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and line two 8” round cake pans.
Soak. Put chopped dates, chocolate, and cocoa powder in a blender and pour boiling hot water over. Let soak for 5 minutes.
Whisk. Thoroughly whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in a big bowl.
Blend. Add vanilla, apple cider vinegar, oil, and eggs to soaked dates. Blend until very smooth.
Mix. Pour the chocolate date paste mixture in with the dry ingredients. Gently fold together.
Bake. Divide the batter between the two prepared pans. Bake for 20 minutes.
Cool. Let the cakes cool in the pans then on wire racks. Once completely cooled, you can frost, slice, and get to eating!

Tips for the Best Healthy Chocolate Date Cake

Make sure the boiling hot water is cooled before adding the eggs. Let the dates soak in the hot water for at least 5 minutes before adding the eggs. If you immediately add the eggs after pouring the boiling hot water over the dates and chocolate, you are at risk of cooking and curdling the eggs. You do not want cooked eggs bits in your cake!
Use room temperature eggs. Cold eggs might make the melted chocolate solidify.
Chop the unsweetened chocolate pretty small. You want it to be able to easily melt when you pour the hot water on it.
Blend the dates really well. A high speed blender works best for this, but a regular blender or a food processor will work too.
Get the cakes in the oven quickly after mixing the wet and dry ingredients. Once you mix the wet and dry ingredients together, the baking soda and apple cider vinegar will immediately start reacting (it won’t be crazy like your grade school volcano, the batter will just be a bit bubbly). You don’t want to lose out on that lift, so get those cakes in the oven ASAP.
On that same note, make sure to gently mix the wet and dry together. Mixing too vigorously can knock out all the air and contribute to a dense cake. Channel your inner Moira and gently fold the ingredients together.
Don’t over bake the cake. Over baking the cake will result in a dry cake. You know a cake is done when the center is set and there’s a little bit of space between the cake and the side of the pan.

How to Make Ahead and Store

If you’re making this date sweetened chocolate layer cake in advance, it’s simple to keep the cake layers fresh for until your ready to frost and serve.

First, let the cake layers cool completely. Once cooled, individually wrap the layers in plastic wrap. Take care to completely wrap the cakes so no part gets dry.

You can let them sit wrapped on your counter for 3 – 4 days or keep in your fridge for up to a week.