This is my version of GFCF Chocolate Cake made with flaxseed meal and xylitol. I am always in a quest to create better and healthier versions of Mei and Min Min’s favourite cakes and cookies.

I bought some flaxseed meal and xylitol in Singapore recently and have been meaning to incorporate it into my baking. Flaxseed has many health benefits, it is a great source of essential fatty acids and fibre. You can buy Bob’s Red Mill Flaxseed Meal in Village Grocer in Kuala Lumpur.

Xylitol is a natural sweetener that is low in calories, safe even for diabetics and does not promote tooth decay. Best of all, it doesn’t feed Candida, yeay! I bought a few packs of xylitol in Brown Rice Paradise in Singapore, I’m not sure if it is easily available in Malaysia. However I can easily buy it online on iHerb.com. Btw, if you don’t have xylitol, you can still use fine granulated sugar instead, use the same amount as xylitol. Do choose a good quality cocoa powder, Van Houten’s is 100% cocoa with no gluten or added sugar. It is easily found in most supermarkets. As usual, I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour and Nuttelex margarine.

I had some GFCF chocolate chips at home and felt like adding it to the cake, but you can omit it if you want. I have also purchased GFCF chocolate chips from Back 2 Basics and Brown Rice Paradise in Singapore as well as from iHerb.com. Please take note that some casein-free chocolate chips contains soy, there are both soy and soy-free chocolate chips versions in the market. Because this was my first try with flaxseed meal, I used a conservative amount of flaxseed. Perhaps next time I’ll increase it once the girls get used to the added texture.

I used my favourite Bundt Cake tin, an exact replica of my Mum’s Bundt Cake pan she bought in the USA 30 years ago. She still uses it to this day, I’ve begged her for it but she refused to give it to me:-) I managed to find one in Sydney a couple of years ago much to my delight.

In the photo above, the ‘crust’ of the cake looks quite dark. No, I didn’t burn it. To avoid the cake sticking to the tin, my mum taught me to always grease and flour the cake tin. I brush the tin with margarine, then I dump a couple of tablespoons of flour into the greased tin. Then I do the ‘shake and rotate’ move, making sure every inch is coated with the flour and shake the remaining flour out (I’ve been doing this since I was 9 years old, so I’ve got the move down pat) It tends to leave a slightly whitish residue but it’s usually not noticeable when making white cakes, but more obvious when making dark cakes. So this time, I experimented with cocoa powder instead. It did work almost as well as flour to prevent the cake from sticking, but it made the outside of the cake look very dark. It is a bit bitter but you’d hardly notice it as the cake’s sweetness makes up for it. I may need time to improve on this.

I rarely decorate my cakes with icing or frosting, there’s enough sugar and sweetness already right? But, I have melted GFCF chocolate and drizzled the cake with it, looks lovely. But this cake is yummy enough eaten plain and doesn’t need any jazzing up I feel. I hope you enjoy it as much as Mei and Min Min too!

GFCF Chocolate Cake Made with Love

Ingredients:
12oz gluten-free flour
4oz cocoa powder
1 teaspoon xantham gum
1 teaspoon baking powder
8oz margarine
8oz xylitol
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs
2 oz flaxseed meal
4oz GFCF chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius. Grease and flour a 9 inch cake tin.

Sieve the flour, cocoa, xantham gum and baking powder, set aside. In mixing bowl, cream the margarine and xylitol by hand or electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs in one at a time, mixing thoroughly in between. Add the vanilla, flaxseed meal and chocolate chips if using. Fold in the flour. Pour into a well-greased and floured 9 inch cake tin.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, a knife should come out cleanly except for the chocolate chips of course. Let it cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning it out of the tin.

Verdict:
It was lovely if I do say so myself, great texture, moist, chocolatey and very authentic. In the future I will experiment with slightly less xylitol to see if I can get away with it. The flaxseed meal gave it a hint of added texture, quite interesting but very subtle. From now on, I will probably add flaxseed meal in all my baking if possible. I am loving the texture it brings, reminiscent of the fine grainy texture of a soft wholemeal bread.

My mum who bakes fabulous cakes herself couldn’t believe it was GFCF or that I used xylitol. Most importantly, Mei and Min Min gave this cake two thumbs up and begged for another slice. And I don’t feel quite as guilty letting them eat another piece of this:-) Bon appetit!