Chocolate Genoise Sponge

This recipe is: Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Low Fodmap, Suitable for Interstitial Cystitis, Paleo and Refined Sugar Free

 

Makes 17 fairy cakes

Approx 113 kcals each

Ingredients

• 75 grams rice flour
• 50 grams ground almonds
• 25 grams raw cacao powder
• 40 grams coconut oil
• 4 medium eggs
• 150 grams coconut palm sugar

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius fan
2. Prepare cupcake cases either paper or silicone
3. Melt the coconut oil (can be done on the hob or microwave)
4. Whisk together the eggs and sugar on high for about 10 minutes using an electric whisk
5. Sift the almonds, flour and cacao together in a bowl
6. Spoon a third of the flour mix and half of the melted oil into the egg mixture and fold together
7. Repeat step six
8. Finally fold in the remaining flour mix to the rest of the ingredients making sure not to loose to much air
9. Divide the mixture into the paper cases
10. Cook for 15 - 20 minutes until a knife comes out clean
11. Leave to cool and store in an airtight container/tin
12. The cakes are at their best for about 3 days but still fine to eat after this for a few days

As we were adapting a genoise sponge recipe to suit my dietary requirements we weren't sure how these would turn out but the cakes worked out excellently. They have light, airy texture with a bite to them. Also, they have lovely rich chocolate flavour. They are quite sweet, and I might try cutting down the coconut sugar in the future, as after cutting out refined sugars from my diet, I find I prefer things less 'sweet'. They are not crumbly and hold together well which is not always the case for GF baking! They could easily pass as traditional gluten containing cake and people without allergies would never realise the difference. The technique behind a genoise sponge definitely works to the gluten free flours advantage, as it allows air into the mixture, and we didn't have to include any xantham gum or raising agent to the batter.


What to do with your sponge?

Now that we had our cupcakes for the week the combinations of how to eat them were plentiful and really you can add all sorts to make them even more delicious but I decided to create a more patisserie style dessert!

Ingredients

• 15 grams Salted caramel coyo yoghurt
• 5 grams dark chocolate (I used ombar 72%)

Method

1. Carefully cut the cupcake into three thin pieces
2. Put the largest section on the bottom and spread about a third of the coyo on top
3. Place the middle sized piece on top and spread another third of the coyo
4. Finally place the smallest later on top and coat with the rest of the coyo
5. Decorate with some finely chopped (or grated) chocolate and voila you have a quick but lovely cake to serve as afternoon tea or even as part of a dessert! (Adds about 60 kcal to each cake)

Really the options are endless once you have your sponge. I have also eaten them with nut butters, vanilla coo coconut butter and blueberry chia jam (very easy to make and lots of recipes online) or you could try whipped coconut cream sweetened with a maple syrup swirled on top!

 

Essentially it is a basic delicious chocolate sponge that you can eat as plainly or as decadently as you desire!


Enjoy.

(N.B. I love to bake but due to being bed bound most of the time it's not that easy so all the recipes are on here are a collaboration between my mum and I. Most of the time that means me wrapped up in a blanket and instructing her as she goes along, but it seems to work and is a lot of fun doing it together)