Low Fat Dark Chocolate Cake

Occasionally I come across a recipe that I feel completely compelled to fix. Not because I think it will taste great but because it stretches the boundaries of culinary appropriateness.  In my world, there are certain things that go together: bacon and eggs, peanut butter and jelly, burgers and fries, you get my drift. In no part of my world does chocolate and sauerkraut work together. Yes I said sauerkraut.  Those two things really shouldn’t be spoken of in the same sentence. This recipe has changed my mind about that.

Why this works

In order to lighten up a traditional chocolate cake, you have to remove some of the fat. Unfortunately, the fat adds moisture and gives good cakes their texture. In this case the moisture if provided by pureed sauerkraut. When I say pureed I mean food processed to an absolute pulp. You shouldn’t be able to pick out any bits or pieces of sauerkraut.  The puree is folded into the cake batter and baked like any other cake.

How it tastes

This cake isn’t overly sweet and gets a dark rich flavor from the cocoa powder. If you puree the sauerkraut enough, you absolutely can’t taste it at all. My husband won’t touch sauerkraut with a ten foot pole and he loved this. I never told him what was in it. I served it with Hershe’s Light Chocolate Syrup to keep is low fat. You could also add a glaze, dust it with more cocoa powder,  add a fruit topping,  or a scoop of ice cream.

The nutritionals per slice

209 calories, 7 fat grams, 2 grams fiber, 35 carbs

Secret Ingredient Low Fat Dark Chocolate Cake Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups strong black coffee
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup canned sauerkraut
1/2 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a Bundt pan with cooking spray.
2. Put sauerkraut in blender or food processor. Pulse until sauerkraut is completely pureed. In between pulses, use spoon to clean down the sides of the processor or blender to make sure all of the sauerkraut is fully incorporated.  If sauerkraut is dry, add water a couple tablespoons in between pulses. This will help get to a pureed consistency.
3. In a large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking soda and cocoa powder. Add melted butter, hot coffee and vanilla extract; mix well.
4. Add sauerkraut and blend thoroughly.
5. Pour batter into pan; bake in center of oven until a tester inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 50 to 60 minutes.
6.  Cool cake in pan for about 20 minutes and then turn out onto a baking rack to cool completely.
7. Cake  should yield 14 pieces. 1 serving  = 1 slice.

This recipe was adapted from Weight Watchers International