What could be better than a chocolate chip cookie but in the form of a cake? This recipe was a bit of a happy surprise. I’ve been making either the almond flour cake or flourless chocolate cake for birthdays and celebrations alike for years.
For Walker’s birthday in May, I decided to have some fun and experiment a little bit with this recipe. To my surprise, it turned out exactly like a soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie, but in cake form.
This Chocolate Chip Cookie cake is gluten-free, paleo-friendly and packed with healthy fat and fibre from the almond flour.
If you make gluten-free baked goods on the regular, than you'll likely have all the ingredients on hand. I regularly (like once per month) buy all my gluten-free baking staples from Rise Market (see my code to save on all your health staples below).
The almond flour is a key ingredient, so I wouldn't try and make a substitution for a different flour. Plus it has such an amazing texture and really gives this cookie cake it's wow-factor!
In fact, when Vienna had her first taste she said "This is lightening bolt good Mommy!" - that's high praise from a 7 year old. She also tested it straight out of the oven to make sure it had good "bounce-back" and it passed the test, thank goodness!
Desserts
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
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Ingredients
- 2-1/2 cups almond flour
- 3 tbsp coconut flour*
- 1/4 cup arrowroot or tapioca flour**
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda, aluminum-free
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 4 large eggs, whisked
- 1/4 cup water
- 3/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Line a round cake pan (8 or 9 inch pan) with parchment paper.
- Combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda and chocolate chips in a large bowl.
- In another bowl, combine the eggs, water, maple syrup and vanilla extract.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix together until combined. Let the batter settle for a few minutes and then using a spatula, pour batter into cake pan.
- Place cake in middle rack. Bake for 35-45 minutes until a fork inserted comes out clean. Check cake at 30 minutes if top is getting brown, cover with tin foil until fully baked.
- Place cake on a cooling rack once baked. Let cake cool completely before removing from cake pan.
- This cake stores in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for up to a month.
Notes
Serves 6-8
*Yes this ingredient is necessary. Coconut flour absorbs a LOT of moisture and imparts a lovely cake texture. Do not skip this.
**You can find arrowroot / tapioca flour (aka starch) at your local health food store or online. It's always in the baking section.
***You can use less maple syrup. If you reduce the syrup, add an equal amount of applesauce in place of the syrup.
Regarding substitutions, I have not made this cake nut-free. Since the main ingredient is almond flour I would not try and substitute a different flour. Instead, try the Flourless Gluten-free Dark Chocolate Cake for a nut-free cake.
Enjoy it with some coconut whipped cream, or ice cream - it’s also delicious just as is. I have a feeling it’s gonna become a favourite in your home for birthdays, celebrations or for no reason at all - like it has in the McJordan home. I'm very excited for you to try this recipe and can't wait to hear what you think in the comments below.
Enjoy!
Joy xo
A substitute for almond flour could be Tigernut flour. Not a nut but comes from a tuber. It has a sweet caramel taste. I find when using it I can reduce the sugar by a third.
ReplyThat's a great suggestion! Didn't even think of that one. Thank you for sharing :)
Ps if you reduce the maple syrup, just make sure you add some more moisture.
Can you make this vegan/plant-based by substituting flax eggs or similar substitute ?
ReplyHi Natalie, almond flour is a tough one but it really needs the eggs to hold it together. Typically recipes with 1-2 eggs, can work with a flax egg but this one has 4. Maybe someone will comment below and share if they made it without eggs. My feeling is that it won't provide enough hold. Sorry about that!
I saw this recipe in my email newsletter this morning and decided to make it as a special treat for breakfast. Delicious! We decreased the maple syrup to just 1/4 cup and increased the water to around a 1/2 cup to compensate for less syrup. My daughter said she’d like this cake for her birthday party. Thanks!!
ReplyPerfect, glad to hear you customized it to your liking, sweeteness wise. Glad it was a hit!
Hello Joy. How wonderfully moist will this cake be if you make it on a Sunday to serve it two days later on a Tuesday? I would like to make it for special friends but thing is tricky. What do you think?
ReplyIt would still be moist by Tuesday as long as you keep it in the fridge in an airtight container. I've found by day 5 in the fridge it's still moist! Enjoy!
OMG this is divine. Had it with the first strawberries of the season...... perfection. I cut the maple syrup to 1/2 cup, and increased water to 1/2 cup. Felt the chocolate chips would add a sweetness so didn't need a much maple syrup. It was so good my partner who isn't gluten free loves it.
ReplyLove your modifications and the first strawberries of the season indeed sounds divine! Glad you loved it!
So delicious and decadent. The whole family loved it!
ReplySo happy to hear that it was a hit!
Hi Joy. Imade this cake for my moms birthday thinking that we would eat it for dessert . But we whent to the Keg for dinner and we were so full that the mere thought of more food was a big no no. So we ate the nex day. It was so yummy. Now with my b day on Friday we will have it again.
ReplyGlad you discovered it tastes great a few days later! It's a keeper!
We love this recipe so much that I make it as muffins every single week. Great any time of day and each muffin has 10 grams of protein! They can also sit on the counter for 4 days and taste just as good as on day one. Thanks for a great recipe :-)
ReplyThat's a great idea to turn it into muffins, glad you love this recipe!
I made this cake on the weekend to celebrate our adult daughter’s birthday and it was a hit. I think this cake will become a regular one for our birthday celebrations.
ReplyAwesome! I hope it becomes a regular in your home :)
Can I use 3 eggs instead of 4? It’s all I have on hand! Lol.
ReplyYou'll probably want to add some more liquid if you remove an egg. Egg is important to hold it together and give it binding power. Hope it works out!
Can you replace the arrowroot or tapioca flour?
ReplyYes you can!
Well, I didn’t expect to be making a cake today, but I stumbled across your recipe and figured why not? Glad I followed the link… it’s easy to make and very yummy! I’ll be saving this recipe as my go-to treat for GF guests. Thanks, Joy!
ReplyGlad you enjoyed it! Always a winner:)
Hi Joy, where is the cute cake pan in the picture from? :)
ReplyThe funfetti one? I got it off amazon and it's silicon.
Ok, made last night and have a couple comments: 1) Add salt, it 100% needs it. I didn’t measure, but 1/2 tsp would be fair. 2) I used large eggs and my cake tasted eggy. I’d reduce the recipe by 1 egg, and sub with 1/4 unsweetened apple sauce. 3) 3/4 cup chocolate chips worked for me, and I’m a chocoholic! Just to save some pennies:) Great texture and appreciate there’s no added oil! I think the 1/4 apple sauce would improve the texture even more.
ReplyThanks for sharing your thoughts! Glad you enjoyed it!
Oh! As an edit, it freezes and thaws beautifully for anyone wanting to stash some away for the future :) And I had another idea that to keep a bit more protein in the recipe, instead of subbing one of the eggs with apple sauce, plain Greek / higher protein yoghurt would prob work great! I’ll make again and report back :)
It’s my second time baking this cookie pie and this time I tried using 4 flax eggs. (3 tbsp. water to 1 Tbsp flax seed for each egg) It worked wonderfully, a little moist but the taste is great. I baked it for 55 min. Love this cookie pie!
ReplySo happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your egg-free version. I'm sure many of my readers will appreciate it!
If I wanted to make muffins from this recipe how long would I bake them for? I know I’ve seen the bake time somewhere online but I can’t recall.
ReplyI would try half the time as a starting point. I can't recall off the top of my head. Maybe check the comments to see if anyone else said how long it took them.