Chocolate Coconut Cannellini Cake: Healthy and Vegan
A two layered superfood fudgy cake made with cannellini beans. It’s filled and iced with a velvety smooth and chocolatey vegan tofu confection. This chocolate coconut cannellini cake is grain-free, dairy-free and unrefined sugar-free.
Happy Mother’s Day to everyone. I’ll be heading off to visit my mother shortly. I was going to take her out to lunch, but turns out she hadn’t realised the significance of the day and has invited friends over. So I decided to make her an ultra healthy, dairy-free, grain-free and refined sugar-free vegan cake instead.
Why? Because I felt like it and thought it would make a nice change. So this chocolate coconut cannellini cake is what she’s getting.
Can You Make a Cake with Beans?
As it turns out, yes you can. Why did I decide to make a cannellini bean cake you might ask? Well it’s the UN International Year of Pulses, so why not make a cake using beans? I’ve heard much about the wonders of aqua faba recently so I was actually planning on making the cake with chickpeas and chickpea water.
My local Co-op let me down, however. For some unfathomable reason, it had run out of chickpeas and since our organic shop closed a couple of years ago, I had no other options. A can of cannellini beans seemed like the next best thing.
Later, I did make a vegan chocolate chickpea cake, but not with a tin of chickpeas. I used chickpea flour for that one and a most delicious cake it turned out to be.
Superfoods
I was sent some much needed superfood goodies recently from the fab folk at Goodyfull. They offer a subscription service for nutrient rich foods. You can choose what you like, how often it is sent and can pause or change your order at any time. As someone who doesn’t live anywhere near a shop selling these sort of high quality products, I find the idea of such a service particularly appealing.
As a fairly new company, the range is nut huge at the moment, but I’m sure it will grow as demand increases. They currently have three superfoods on offer: coconut flour, chia seeds and cacao powder. All are organic and certified by the Soil Association to boot. That usually inspires me with confidence in the products.
They’re all available in 100g, 250g or 500g resealable packs. Bulk orders are also available on request. The brown paper outer wrapping of the bags gives them a simple and wholesome look which appeals to me. The inner part is made of foil to keep the foods fresh and in good condition.
The coconut flour is gluten-free, wheat-free and high in fibre and protein. I’ve baked with it a few times and it always gives a lovely coconut flavour.
Chia seeds are a food hardly anyone outside of South America had heard of a few years ago but has now taken off big time. The seeds are rich in omega 3 fatty acids and high in calcium, iron, fibre, antioxidants and protein. I mostly consume them in smoothies, but soaked in water, they make a good egg replacement for vegan baking.
Cacao powder is raw cocoa powder. It’s also high in protein, rich in fibre and antioxidants and a good source of magnesium, potassium and iron.
Chocolate Coconut Cannellini Cake
I decided to create a superfood cake for Mother’s Day using all three of the above superfoods. The cannellini beans and coconut flour make up the bulk of the mixture, coconut oil provides the fat, coconut sugar the sweetener, chia seeds the binding agent and cacao powder and desiccated coconut the flavouring.
I used my Thermocook to both mix up the cannellini cake mixture and whip up the chocolate icing, but any food processor should do the trick. It’s a simple process to make the silky smooth icing. You just need to whizz up dates, silken tofu, maple syrup and a couple of other ingredients and then slather it over the cake. I used a heart shape mould for obvious reasons, but round cake tins are fine.
For those craving a light springy sponge, this cannellini cake may not be for you. It’s rich and dense with loads of flavour and passes the indulgence test with flying colours. How do I know this? I made a small one for us for purposes of quality control, you understand.
I like my healthy food to delight the senses as well nourish the body. The tofu topping is a revelation. I had some left over and it made a rich and delectable ‘pot au chocolate’.
Other Bean Cake Recipes You Might Like
- Aduki bean brownies via Food to Glow
- Black bean brownies via Tin and Thyme
- Black bean brownies with red berries via Supergolden Bakes
- Caramel chocolate chip chickpea blondies via Nadia’s Healthy Kitchen
- Chocolate black bean frosting via Food to Glow
- Haricot bean cake via Lancashire Food
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this chocolate coconut cannellini cake, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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If you’d like more vegan recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious, of course.
Choclette x
Chocolate Coconut Cannellini Cake. PIN IT.
Chocolate Coconut Cannellini Cake – The Recipe
Chocolate Coconut Cannellini Cake
Ingredients
Cannellini Cake
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 6 tbsp water
- 400 g tin cannellini beans in unsalted water
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 75 g coconut sugar
- 50 g coconut flour
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 50 g coconut oil melted
- 25 g desiccated coconut
Chocolate Tofu Icing
- 6 medjool dates pits removed
- 300 g silken tofu
- 2 tbsp raw cacao powder
- 2 tbsp maple syrup*
- 1 tbsp coconut oil melted
- 1 pinch sea salt (I used Cornish sea salt)
- dark chocolate grated for decoration – optional (I used Seed and Bean dark Cornish sea salt)
Instructions
Cannellini Cake
- Soak the chia seeds in the water for 10 minutes or until the mixture is thick and glutinous.2 tbsp chia seeds, 6 tbsp water
- Blitz in a food processor together with the salt and beans, including the bean water (aquafaba).400 g tin cannellini beans in unsalted water, 1 pinch sea salt
- Add the sugar and mix on a low speed until incorporated.75 g coconut sugar
- Either fold in the dry ingredients by hand or if using the ThermoCook, stir at speed 3 for 30 seconds.50 g coconut flour, 2 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking powder
- Stir in the coconut oil until combined. Then scrape the mixture into 2 x 18 cm silicone moulds or lined cake tins.50 g coconut oil
- Bake at 180℃ (350℉, Gas 4) for about 30 minutes or until the cakes have risen and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out more or less clean.
- Leave to cool for ten minutes, then gently turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Chocolate Tofu Icing
- Blitz all the ingredients in a food processor or blender until a smooth consistency is reached.25 g desiccated coconut, 6 medjool dates, 300 g silken tofu, 2 tbsp raw cacao powder, 2 tbsp maple syrup*, 1 tbsp coconut oil, 1 pinch sea salt
- Leave in the fridge to cool for 10 minutes or so if the mixture is too runny.
- Spread a thick layer of the mixture over one cake. Top with the other cake, then cover the top and sides with the icing.
- Sprinkle with grated chocolate if desired.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Sharing
C is for chocolate coconut cannellini cake this month. I don’t think I could get any more of the letter c in if I tried. Alpha Bakes is hosted alternately by The More Than Occasional Baker and Caroline Makes.
I’m also sending my beany vegan cake off to Maison Cupcake for Bake of the Week.
Thanks to Goodyfull for the superfoods. The post contains affiliate links. Buying through a link to the Froothie power blender will not cost you any more, but I will get a small commission. This helps keep Tin and Thyme blithe and blogging. Opinions are, as always, my own.
Can I subsitute coconut flour and sugar for regular plain flour and brown sugar?
Hi Natalie. You can easily swap the coconut sugar for brown sugar. I use these two interchangeably. Regular flour is very different to coconut flour. Of course you can use it, it will just have a slightly different result and won’t taste as coconutty either. It might be a whole lot better, but is unlikely to be worse.
Is there supposed to be coconut flour in this recipe? I can’t seem to see it in the ingredients.
Oh, very well spotted Kathryn and thank you for letting me know. Others have made the cake and reported back that it was really good, so maybe the coconut flour is redundant. I have, however, amended the recipe now to include 50g of coconut flour.
You are very welcome! It did have me thinking for a while.
It’s always useful having a 2nd pair of eyes. Even when I proof read several times, I don’t always spot errors.
Such a beautiful cake for a special celebration. I’d never have thought you can use cannelini beans in cake but clearly I was wrong! Thanks for entering AlphaBakes.
One of the things I’ve learnt since blogging Ros, is never rule out what can go into a cake 😉
Rich and dense sounds like my sort of cake. And I LOVE cannellini x
Thanks Stuart. One of the things I love about cakes, is that there is so much variety. Rich and dense is great, but so is light and airy – all depends on my mood.
This has my name ALL over it!!
Oops, Emma. I think you should have told me before I gave it to my mother 😉
Had to laugh at your Mum inviting friends round. Just as well you are quite relaxed about the whole thing. Your cake looks amazing, I’ve never made a bean cake, but I’m loving coconut flour.
Haha, it’s my own fault. I should have given her plenty of warning. She never remembers. In what ways are you using coconut flour Janice?
Ooh I LOVE the look of this one Choclette! I often make puddings that sound quite similar to your frosting but have never put it on a cake before – definitely doing this next time I bake!
Thanks Natalie. It’s wonderful stuff and works just as well as a pudding as it does on a cake 🙂
What an intriguing selection of ingredients! I love pulses but never put them in a cake – although I have done some chickpea blondies once. Thanks for submitting to #BAKEoftheWEEK 🙂
I’m not vegan, paleo or anything else other than vegetarian, but it is useful to be able to knock up suitable goodies if the occasion arises.
You are so clever – what a creative cake. Looks stunning too. Who knew that chickpeas were so popular all of a sudden – our local shop had none last week either! Thanks so much for joining in with #bakeoftheweek x
Ah, thank you. Must be a run on hummus making or something Helen!
I am so making this as soon as I can! This really appeals to me, Choclette. I already make black bean brownies, aduki bean ones too, as well as chickpea cookie dough brownies, but have yet to attempt an actual cake. A very interesting and straightforward vegan recipe. Bravo.
Thanks Kellie. It’s not a light and airy sponge, but it is definitely cake and a very tasty one at that. Your chickpea cookie dough brownies sound intriguing.
This sounds so innovative,I would have never thought you could make cake with beans!! I will have to try it.
As long as you’re not looking for a super springy sponge Nayna, they work surprisingly well.
I have a huge bag of cacao and usually just use it in smoothies. Now I want to make this cake 🙂
I usually use it to make raw chocolates and really should add it smoothies a bit more often 😉
So pretty, I made brownies and blondies with beans from an American cookbook that I won on MLLA challenge, but never got round to sharing it on my blog. I love that it is heart shaped, made with love.
I was convinced you’d have a cake made with beans on your blog Shaheen. I’ve come across quite a lot of brownies made with them, but this is the first actual bean cake I’ve made. Always made with love 😉
This sounds amazing Choclette – fab idea to use Cannelini beans, and your icing sounds really good. Those superfood pouches look lovely – must give them a try.
Thanks Kate. Pouches sound so much more elegant than bags. The cake was good, but that icing / mousse is just gorgeous.
I love the heart shape – do you have a tin in that shape?! Sounds like a great cake to bake, and indulgent whilst being overall pretty good for you (not bad for chocolatey greatness!) Alice xx
Thanks Alice. You can’t get much better than a healthy chocolate cake 😉 I have a couple of heart shape silicone moulds. They aren’t very big though. This quantity also made a couple of mini loaves too.
That is rather an ingenious bake Choclette! Love the look of that topping too – YUM!
Janie x
And the good news is, you can eat every bit of the cake too Janie 🙂
Never used coconut flour, it’s an ingredient I’m keen to try. Not sure whether chia seeds are for me, but could I replace them with something else, or leave them out?
They’re not really noticeable in the cake, but they are a binding agent. I understand you could also use linseeds, but I’ve not tried that. Having said that, I have made more conventional cakes without eggs before and haven’t had a problem with them falling apart, so they might just be fine without!!!
I am so seriously impressed with this cake! Utterly fantastic on all levels! Gorgeous!
Thanks Elizabeth. Thankfully my mother was quite impressed too and really enjoyed it.
I’m intrigued! I hardly ever make cakes and I’ve never used anything particularly adventurous in one but I’d love to try one day.
Where there’s a will there’s a way Corina 😉
Oh wow what a cake. Love the idea of the dates in it.
The icing was delicious Sisley and the dates gave it a sort of caramel flavour.
Wow! What an unusual set of ingredients. It looks beautiful though and sounds so incredibly virtuous! Hope it went down well xx
I know it sounds virtuous, but it was really delicious and it’s gluten free too! We all had a slice by the fire with a cup of tea this afternoon. Luckily, my mother loved it – phew!
oooh, such a lovely looking cake and so worthy!… I would almost say too worthy but good that you made the very important ‘quality control’ cake just to make sure it worked…
Haha Dom. I know it sounds very worthy, but it really was a success and a big hit with my mum – thankfully!
Some ingredients in this one that I wouldn’t expect to see in a cake – love it! Looks pretty too.
Well I have to say, this is the first time I’ve ever used cannellini beans in a cake CC, but I don’t think it will be the last.
Cannellini beans in a cake. How freaking awesome. 😀
Really was Bintu – my mother couldn’t guess what was in it at all, but she liked it.
Having already made a blackbean brownie, I can really imagine that your cake using cannellini beans would be really good, it certainly looks it. I’ve never used tofu in a frosting before though – certainly one to try – looks great 🙂
Angela x
Thanks Angela. It really was good and thankfully my mother thought so too. You wouldn’t know the icing was made of tofu unless you knew – if that makes any kind of sense!
This is so my kind of cake!! I love everything about it 😀 and it looks stunning! 😀
Hey Nadia, thank you. Have I finally made something you are able to eat?