There’s something peaceful about picking blueberries, even when you have to stand on a ladder to do it. If you get up early enough, before the sun has a chance to set itself on Broil and the air still has a hint of morning cool, you can enjoy the bird songs as you hunt for the elusive “bigger berries” among the top branches of a 15-foot-tall bush/tree. For about 15 minutes. Then the realization sets in that the berries haven’t even reached the 1-quart line in your gallon bucket, the shady sides of the bushes have the fewest berries, and that bird whose nest you’re picking around sounds mad, really mad.
Still, picking berries is something E and I look forward to every summer, more so this year because we missed last summer after our favorite pick-your-own farm went out of business. So when a friend recommended another orchard, smaller but with a friendly owner who trusts people to leave the $6 per gallon charge under a bucket while he takes a breakfast break, we made plans to get up early and get out there the next day, bringing our house guest, E’s friend G, along with us for an extra set of picking hands.
We managed to pick a gallon apiece, which seemed a good idea until I got home with 3 gallons of blueberries and nothing to do with them. I decided to freeze two-thirds of them, so as soon as I got them home, I laid six kitchen towels out on my counters and kitchen table, spread out the berries, and started picking through them to remove stems, leaves, crushed berries, and the occasional spider. The berries were damp with morning dew and condensation, so I left them out on the counter to dry completely. After a couple of hours of drying, I pulled up the edges of the towels and funneled the berries into gallon-sized freezer bags and popped them into the freezer. I did not wash the berries, which would have made them wetter, so we’ll have to wash them as we use them.
That still left a gallon of berries to eat up, so we started off by having blueberry pancakes for dinner, and for lunch the next day, I made blueberry vinaigrette for my salad. But neither of those meals put a dent in the shelf full of berries in my fridge. The girls were clamoring for a blueberry dessert, and I vaguely remembered a recipe I’d seen in Better Homes and Gardens that used blueberries in a chocolate cake. A quick internet search found it, Whole Wheat Chocolate-Blueberry Cake, the winner of BHG’s Annual Recipe Challenge. The photo was beautiful, and the idea of blueberries in chocolate cake batter was intriguing, but the recipe wasn’t vegan because of its use of egg and light whipped dessert topping nor was it fat-free because of the semisweet chocolate. So I used the basic idea for the cake and omitted the delicious-looking chocolate topping in favor of simple blueberries with a swirl of agave nectar. I also cut the sugar in half and used a new-to-me sweetener, organic date syrup, which really helped amplify the chocolate taste.
The cake turned out dark, delicious, dense, and almost brownie-like; the predominant flavor is chocolate, the blueberry flavor coming mainly from the berries on top. Because it’s less sweet than most chocolate cakes, I considered it more of an “adult” dessert and worried that the kids wouldn’t like it, but both girls devoured their pieces and then demanded seconds.
Chocolate-Blueberry Cake
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour (white whole wheat preferred)
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground chia seeds or flax seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup blueberries
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup date syrup, maple syrup, or other liquid sweetener
1 cup blueberries (for serving)
additional syrup or agave nectar to taste
Preheat oven to 350 F. In a medium bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, chia (or flax) and salt. In blender, combine water, 1/2 cup blueberries, and balsamic vinegar and blend until smooth.
Make a well in the dry ingredients. Add the syrup and the blueberry mixture. Stir until completely mixed. Pour into an oiled 9-inch round cake pan.
Bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely before inverting onto serving platter.
Serve with blueberries on top, drizzled with additional syrup or agave. (I recommend agave for drizzling.)
Servings: 8
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 144 calories, 10 calories from fat, 1.2g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 217.1mg sodium, 204mg potassium, 33.6g carbohydrates, 4.4g fiber, 14.9g sugar, 3.6g protein, 2.2 points.
Nutrition analysis is approximate and will vary depending on exact ingredients used. Though MyPoints are calculated using a formula similar to Weight Watchers Points TM, this site has no affiliation with Weight Watchers and does not guarantee the accuracy of this information.
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I'm SusanV, and I love good food. Join me as I create delicious dishes made with whole foods and without a lot of processed fat and sugar. 
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just another thing to deglutinize
but it looks awesome!
Sorry about that! I keep hoping to experiment more with gluten-free baking, but I’ve decided it’s important to get a working gluten-based recipe first. Otherwise, I might never find the time to bake at all.
Today, this afternoon, I am making a gluten free version of this! I will keep you posted, every pun intended! What a beautiful and delicious looking summer dessert!
Good luck, Ellen! I can’t wait to hear how it comes out!
Your cake looks wonderful! I went to a u-pick strawberry farm about a month ago, and did the same thing as you and froze most of our berry haul. We’ve been enjoying them in smoothies and thawed on top of ice cream.
Whoa that looks so decadent. Yum.
Your cake looks beautiful. Love the fresh berries on top!
Wow, this looks awsome! Your’s is one of the best recipe websites ever! I’m a kind of freak for healthy food and here I find tones of delicious recipes! I wish i had 3 stomachs to eat all of them at once!
Olivia, I so agree with you about wishing I had three stomachs so I could eat more. Since becoming vegan about 2 years ago (vegetarian for 22 years), I can’t stop buying cookbooks and visiting wonderful websites like this one. My husband and I just can’t eat that much, but I want to cook and bake everything!! Luckily we’re having 10 relatives from Europe visit for the summer so they are my reason to do some marathon cooking/baking. I’ve already won them over with my vegan dishes, but I bet once they taste this Chocolate Blueberry cake, I’ll see some eyes roll back in some heads!! Thank you, Susan!!
I can’t wait to try this recipe! You come up with some of the best ideas.
Blueberries make such a pretty topping.
Susan,
This looks beautiful. So dark and rich. I gasped at the photos, too, when I first saw them. They are as scrumptious as the cake must be. I will look forward to experiementing with a gluten free version of this, when blueberries arrive here, and weather permits turning on the oven!
xo
moonwatcher
What a beautiful cake. Your photography is wonderful.
WOW. That is pretty much all I can say. Oh yeah – and WANT!
This cake looks awesome. For those people wanting a gluten free version I have had very good results substituting millet flour (Bobs Red Mill) and xanthan gum for the all purpose or whole wheat flour in recipes. Have not tried this recipe yet when I do I will use 1-1/4 cups millet flour and 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum.
Wow, $6 per gallon of blueberries? I want to live where you do!!
Me too. There is nothing like that in Australia – or the part that I live in anyway. At my local fruit shop blueberries cost $6 for a handful punnet!! Soo expensive!
This looks amazing!! Definitely making it tonight or tomorrow.
I wish I didn’t have to revise your recipes when I try them, but I really want to make this cake (or a closely-simulated version) for a granddaughter who is coming to visit me tomorrow night. She loves chocolate and isn’t thrilled with my vegan pantry. I’d like to make a dessert that will be a treat for her.
Unfortunately, I have limited mobility and don’t get to the grocery store often, have a restrictive budget when I do and often do not have all the ingredients listed in your recipes. If I left out the seeds and balsamic vinegar, then substituted agave syrup for the date syrup, would I have a prayer of the cake binding together, having a moist texture and tasting good? What purpose does the balsamic vinegar serve? Same with the seeds? Sorry to ask so many questions, but cooking something new and interesting that is vegan is a bit challenging for me with the limitations listed above. Oh, yes…one more thing: How early does one have to rise to find a “…hint of…cool….” in the Jackson, MS summer morning? I’m not an early bird, so by the time I’m moving around, the sun is already “broiling”, and it’s much too hot for me! I know it’s wishing my life away to want autumn so badly, but I’ll be so glad when it’s October! Jaye
Jaye, instead of the seeds, try using a teaspoon of cornstarch (or arrowroot or potato starch) and instead of balsamic use any other vinegar or lemon juice. Both ingredients are probably completely unnecessary for binding but may add a little to the rising (and the balsamic increases the chocolaty flavor).
As for how early you have to get up to find some coolness in Jackson, I agree that it’s pretty early. We got there about 9 am, and the day started out overcast and breezy. It got hot quickly, though, so I really recommend getting there even earlier.
Thanks for the suggestions, Susan. I have those ingredients on hand, so I’ll give the cake a try tomorrow. Also, I’ve got a “short list” started for the next time I go grocery shopping. I’ve been searching through your archives and found several recipes I want to try soon. JAYE
Wow what a beautiful picture!!
You are amazing Susan when are you going
to open up your own cafe
Looks wonderful, Susan. Thank you so much! I’ve got a question: are the flax seeds ground too?
Yes. The best way to do it is to grind the seeds (chia or flax) and then measure out a teaspoonful.
Thank you! I’ve got everything ready to go then, yay!
Now I have something to do with all those blueberries I bought the other day.
I just made this cake tonight and stuffed it in the freezer for about 10 minutes so it would cool faster so we could eat it. It has a nice moist chewiness and indeed, chocolate is the dominant flavor. Any way to get more of a blueberry flavor in it? I find it has just the right amount of sweetness and it turned out great for an on-a-whim recipe that I had to have after I saw the pictures.
Thanks again for the awesome cake recipe!
I love recipes with unusual (to me) flavors!! I need to keep this one tucked away for a special occasion!
Susan,
That cake looks beautiful! I’ll think I’ll try making it tomorrow. Thanks!
Susan`-> I have saved each and every one of your recipes whether I intend to make it or not. And ditto to Angela’s request that you open a cafe displaying your food and photography genius!
I wonder, would this work with carob powder instead of cocoa?
You can try. Carob has less flavor than cocoa so you might need to use a little more and it burns more easily so you might need to reduce the temperature a little (though that would throw the timing off). More importantly, I’m not sure how acidic carob is. The acid in cocoa helps with the leavening, so the rising results may be different with carob.
Can I substitute blueberrys with any other friut. Like peach/strawberries. Please suggest.
Thanks
Haven’t tried it, but I don’t see why not. Peaches, strawberries, cherries, raspberries all sound good.
Thanks!
Two glorious Yankee blueberry recipes, both with wonderful names:
Blueberry Flummery: boil the blueberries with a little sugar and enough water to cover. While they cook down, spread slices of soft bread with margarine, and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Line a baking dish with a layer of bread, pour a ladel of berry sauce over, and repeat until bread is used up, adding berries as final layer. Weight down with a plate and several cans in the fridge over night.
Blueberry grunt: boil the berries as above, but with more water. Make dumpling dough and drop by the small spoonful into the berries. Cover until dumplings are cooked.
Beautifully styled! I have some blueberry bushes in my yard, but their yield is so small that I have been looking for a pick-your-own place nearby. Not much luck yet, but I imagine that when I do find one, I’ll do just as you guys did and end up with waaaaay too many
Great recipe! Do you care if we share it on 101usesfordatesyrup.wordpress.com?
As long as you link back to this page, I don’t mind your sharing the recipe. Thanks for asking!
Wow! That looks fantastic! And balsamic vinegar in the cake… very interesting! I can’t wait to try this!
Hi Susan – I’ve just stumbled upon your blog and am already obsessed as a new vegan. I’ve already forwarded to at least 5 people! I’m going to try to make this cake for a friend’s birthday this weekend. Can I use agave syrup instead of the date syrup? I saw that someone else asked this same question, but I didn’t see a specific response.
Thanks so much for the awesome blog and the amazing recipes!!!!!
Hi Christine–so happy you found my blog. The answer to your question is yes. Agave nectar or any other liquid sweetener will work. Hope you enjoy!
This looks delicious! I love the blueberry-chocolate combo! I am hoping (fingers crossed!) that my mother ships some of her neighbor’s big, beautiful, organic blueberries to me so I can create this cake without breaking the piggy bank.
Wow that cake looks so amazing! I love foods that can be low-calorie and still be delicious! All the joy with none of the guilt!
Vegan cooking is somewhat new to me, so I’m always excited to find new recipes!
Thanks for the link about the date syrup, I love it when there are new healthy alternatives to sugar. Did you use chia or flax when you made the cake, it’s beautiful!!
Thanks! I used the chia seed. (I always list the actual ingredient I used first, followed by any substitutions.)
Blueberry and chocolate, how interesting! I love the inclusion of balsamic vinegar.
Hey Susan, I was wondering if you got the idea for this from the BH&G winning recipe (it just so happens to be my cousins wife) Thanks for always giving credit where its due! My husband and I visit your blog often as we generally (not strickly) try to keep a vegan diet….so I am happy to see the changes you made.
WOW! That cake is astonishingly beautiful! I think your substitutions sound very clever too! Any thoughts on other fruit it might work with?
Thanks for posting!
Georgie Fear RD
I think it should work with most fruit. Apple sauce is a common substitute for oil in baking, and it or any pureed fruit will probably give similar results. I think cherries would be really good.
That cake looks delicious . as soon as i have translated all the ingredients into german i will run to the next store and buy the stuff i need
What a fabulous idea and great way to up the fruit content in sweets!! beautiful!
Susan! I just wanted to say a big big big THANK YOU for your blog! This summer I took over cooking dinners at home, but as I am the only vegetarian in the family, I really wanted to show my parents that it could be plenty delicious. I told my parents about your fat-free vegan blog (as I’ve made many of your recipes while I was away at college and knew they were yummy!) and that I’ll be cooking more of them at home as well! They were very skeptical at the thought first, but after two weeks, my dad admitted to me that not only did he enjoy the food every day, his blood pressure had also lowered to a healthy range for the first time! We’re celebrating with this blueberry chocolate cake!
We will be trying out this recipe tomorrow and are very excited.
I visit your site daily and have loved several of your recipes. We’re not a vegan family, but my 4 year old is allergic to milk, eggs and peanuts, so anytime we find a recipe that works for our family, we are very excited.
Thank you so much for the recipes!!!!
This cake looks deliciously awesome! I love blueberrys and chocolate! Can’t wait to make it!!
thanks!
I made this yesterday and it was awesome! I used flax seed for the binder and maple syrup for the sweetener. Since I didn’t have enough blueberries to top the whole cake, I made a raspberry and blueberry sauce by combining about three quarters of a cup of raspberries with a quarter cup of blueberries, with maple syrup and agave to taste and until the mixture becomes smooth and thick. It was delicious!
Another great one. Thanks for sharing.
That looks really yummy and so pretty with the blueberries on top.
I made it with maple syrup and just threw the syrup into the blender with the other wet ingredients. A suggestion I have for a topping is to blend up an extra few blueberries with some syrup (being Canadian, my vote is for maple!) and then stir the fresh blueberries into that. Of course that does mean you have to wash the blender twice . . . .
Beautiful! I go wild-blueberry picking in Maine every year; there’s a tiny island with blueberry bushes near our vacation spot. Needless to say, it’s impossible to get a gallon of those tiny wild ones! We usually make blueberry-peach pie or something.
Wow, this looks fabulous! For those wanting gluten free, I’ve discovered a mix of brown rice flour, chestnut flour and cornflour works well – it’s best to eat what you cook fresh, as things can get a bit floury by the next day, but with this cake I can’t see that being a problem…!
Hi Susan,
After commenting on your blog yesterday, I picked up a few ingredients at the health food store and made this cake for dinner. It was super easy to make (thanks for recipes with short ingredients lists and not many foreign objects) and looked great as presented on the plate.
As for the taste, I think it is lacking some moisture. I followed the recipe to a T. Did yours come out lacking moisture as well?
I have pictures to my cake and more comments on the recipe on my blog at http://eatlivebewell.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/black-bean-burgers-chocolate-blueberry-cake/. I gave you lots of praise on your blog and cited the recipe source.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
eat well,
Carolyn
I agree that without the blueberries and agave, it’s not that sweet or moist. It’s also not a very cake-like cake, meaning it’s not light or fluffy like my Chocolate-Orange Cake, which is why I think of it as more brownieish. I think if people want a more traditional chocolate cake, they should look at the orange one, but I did like this for a change of pace.
Thanks SusanV. I’ll try out this Chocolate-Orange Cake here soon! It looks delicious!
Thanks for giving it a try, Caroline, and for writing about it on your blog. If you try the chocolate-orange cake, I’d be interested in hearing your results.
This cake looks like a piece of art-work! can”t wait to try it!
Love chocolate and blueberries! Great recipe!
I made this cake and it was delicious! I just have one question for you. Mine was pretty dense. I followed all the directions and just came out really dry and heavy. Is that how yours was? The only difference is that I used whole wheat flour, instead of white whole wheat flour. Is that where my problem lies?
White whole wheat flour will definitely make a difference, but this is a very heavy cake, almost like a brownie. Mine wasn’t that dry, though, so it could be the difference in flours or some other difference (altitude, moisture in the flour, etc.) You could try adding another 1/2 teaspoon of flax or chia seed and 2 tablespoons of water and see if that makes it moister.
I’ve been peeking around your recipes for a while and my intense craving for blueberries and love of brownie-like cake spurred me to try this one last night. I’m in love! I was very impressed by the flavor a texture given how healthy the ingredients are.
I used normal whole wheat flour, so it was a tad on the grainy side, but it was still quite moist. It did finish cooking in less time though, a little under 25 minutes, so I would recommend checking earlier for plain whole wheat users.
I used agave as my sweetener and reduced it a tad to make room for a small handful of vegan chocolate chips (naughty but soooo nice) and was generous with the 1/2 cup of blueberries. Between those two little changes, there was no need for the extra agave on top.
I also had a piece straight out of the oven and it definitely works warm as well, but is better when chilled.
Thanks again! I think I’m making your Blueberry Oat Bars next!
I don’t digest sugar or wheat very well, so I made this tonight with whole spelt flour, reduced the maple syrup to just under 1/3 cup, added a few more blueberries and vanilla extract to the blender and added about a tablespoon of stevia (NuNaturals brand) and a dash of cinnamon to the flour…
OK, I know, I changed a lot but this seriously came out AWESOME! The spelt made the cake so light and it was perfectly moist for my taste. I topped it with a mix of smashed raspberries and a smidge of coconut oil – totally decadent
Thanks for the inspiration!!
Wow, once we get blueberries I am going to pull this out! If I sub quinoa flour for the wheat it will work the same and I even have date syrup. How wonderful…
Thanks Susan!
VEGirl
Hey
i made ur cake. it was reall great. but it was kind of hard and not very moist. any idea what i can do to fix that?? i used agave syrup as sweetener.
i thought about using sparkling water (might that work??) or should i use less starch ( we dont have chia seeds here in germany)
i loved that it wasnt too sweet, but just a little bit hard and firm
greetings
So good it belongs on the header of your site. Not bad.
I’m really loving blueberries this summer and am interested in trying your blueberry vinaigrette. I’ll let you know how that goes.
I am loving all of the blueberries right now! THis cake is beautiful!
Hi Susan!
Thanks for another wonderful recipe!
I have a question. I have read that when freezing a non-fat cake they dry out easily. I was going to make several of your cakes and freeze them. What do you think?
Thanks/Linda
I haven’t tried freezing one, Linda. They get eaten too quickly here! To be on the safe side, why don’t you just freeze one first to see how it does? I’d appreciate it if you could let me know your results.
Love the cake its so tasty looking. Thank you for sharing..
WOW….that cake looks DELICIOUS! B-day is coming up, this may just have to be my cake
Hi Susan. Thanks for all of your recipes they are delicious.
I made the cake today. Should I put it in the refrigerator?
I stored mine in the fridge just to be safe.
Chocolate and blueberries? Oh, my! I am so going to have to try this one.
Wow – those blueberries look wonderful! Can’t wait til summer rolls around here and we can go berry picking again. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Just made it and my Omni husband loves it! He store a taste.
I added a little blackberry syrup to the cake (about 1T) and I made a syrup with 1/2c blueberries and 3T blackberry syrup to go on top. And I plan to serve it with more fresh blueberries and a bluberry polmagranate acia berry sorbet.
Hi, Susan. I want to make this cake for a friend’s birthday. The problem is: I live in Israel, and there are no blueberries in the stores! There are frozen blueberries, though, and I was wandering if they would work in this recipe?
Either way, thank you for sharing this recipe for such an amazing looking cake.
Frozen blueberries will work. Just let them thaw and come to room temperature first. Good luck!
This cake is simply amazing!! Thanks for the recipe!
I made this – but couldn’t get to the store in time so it was made with black berries rather than blueberries. I tried to drain as many seeds as possible first and it turned out amazing. I ended up serving it with the plum cobbler (which was truly spectacular) at a birthday party where no one knew the better (that they are having healthy treats)
Thanks so much for the recipes.
I can’t wait to try this. We went blueberry picking this past weekend and had 9 quarts to contend with afterwards. After McDougal’s Blueberry Cobbler that went like a flash, I was debating between a great Veggie Times recipe for Blueberry Pie or muffins. This sounds heavenly since blueberries and chocolate is 2 loves of mine.
Wowww! I’ve recently started changing my diet (and trying with my Hubby) and exercising lots, and I never thought I would taste anything “delicious” again. Was I ever wrong!! This cake was unbelievable! I found the recipe at another blog, and she suggested adding a mashed banana, which I did.. and omg, the banana with the taste of blueberry, and then blueberries on top… pure bliss! Didn’t even need a sweetener to drizzle on top.
I had the perfect confluence of events that led to me making this tonight – yesterday my mother-in-law brought over 2 pints of blueberries, I had exactly a tablespoon of balsamic left, and (as it turns out) exactly the amount of maple syrup needed, so I figured why not? I used potato starch as suggested instead of the seeds and it worked just fine. I also used regular whole wheat flour instead of white and it was great. This was delicious! Just sweet enough, just chocolatey enough
Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes!
I can’t find agave nectar anywhere around here, but I did find some peach nectar, and I’m going to try it with that. It looks simply amazing!
Hi Susan, I am without any liquid sweetener. Is there anything else I can substitute? Applesauce perhaps?
Applesauce will probably not be sweet enough, but you can use regular sugar and add a tablespoon or two of water.
Hey Susan,
I was put onto your site by my natruopath, and I have to admit, although I love my meat, you have some very tasty recipes. Curious though, as alot of your recipes say ‘fat-free’, is this just the bad fats? And what about the carbs and sugars, as they can be just as bad…..
This was delicious!! This was my first time making a cake from scratch. Thanks for the recipe!
Great recipe, I’m always on the lookout for vegan cake ideas as I hold weekly tea parties for my five friends. Last week I found a fab cup cake recipe in Vegetarian Living Magazine. Not only did they taste great, but looked fab too.
We finally got Organic Blueberries in at our local supermarket so I made this one when we had company (non-vegan) , it disappeared in one day…I’ll make it again, love love loved it.
When I made your chocolate cake with the substitutions you suggested, it turned out marvelously. I used blueberries, but next time think I will use strawberries. There WILL be a next time! Everyone who walked through my door that day ate and enjoyed a piece of it, and my granddaughter ate two slices! Since I don’t make many desserts, this will be the recipe I use when I’m expecting guests who like chocolate (most everyone I know). Thanks….Jaye
Hey,
such an amazing job
seems very yummy
i was wondering is it okay if i didn’t put the chia seeds \flax seeds in the recipe ?!
Thank you
The chocolate and blueberry cake is a definite winner. It is the next inclusion on the dinner party menu. We soooooo love what you do Susan!! We regularly have dinner parties and more often than not, I use your blog as inspiration. If I am honest, I delight in asking carnivores over for dinner – the expression on their face when they accept and then find out that we are vegan, is wonderful (and somewhat amusing). The expressions on their face after consuming meal is simply priceless!!! Thank you for making veganism a pleasure (for us) and a not-so-scary prospect for those who are not.
thank you for this delicious recipe. i tried it for the first time today and i’m delighted. so delighted that i even took a picture of it and uploaded it on my blog. have a look
Another great recipe, Susan. I made this tonight and dh and I both loved it. It came out a little dry so next time I’ll bake a few minutes less.
I used maple syrup and next time I’ll use the agave syrup since dh has diabetes. If I wanted to sub splenda, how would I change the dry/liquid ratio?
Thanks a million for this recipe. My daughter and I had a great time baking this together. I can’t believe how moist, and delicious this brownie/cake is!
I used parchment paper to eliminate all fat, and I also used a fat free brand of cocoa powder.
Again, Thanks a million!
this looks delishhh! do you think you could swap the blueberries for raspberries and it would still work?
My 17-year old son made this chocolate-blueberry cake yesterday using your recipe and I very excited to find out that not only is it good for you, but it’s actually pretty good tasting too. My husband and two younger sons also liked it. Thank you for this great recipe. I did want to ask you, what is the serving size for this cake?
Diana, cut the cake into 8 equal pieces. A serving is one piece. Glad you all enjoyed it!
I’m going to bake this butterless, eggless chocolate cake for my mom. Thanks for the lovely recipe. I add ground flaxseed powder to my meals, but never in a cake. It would be interesting to see how it turns out!
We’ve had a bumper crop of wild blueberries here in Alaska this summer, they’re not sweet generally but tart, as are the low bush cranberries. I’m going to try some commercial (Washington or Oregon) fresh berries with the Alaskan tart for my quilting group on Thurs. I’m sure it will be a delightful hit, as they’re all chocolate lovers.
Re: freezing berries. How we do it here is after cleaning (as you’ve described), we spread them on cookie sheets with sides, or any pan with sides, in a single layer and freeze in the freezer. Then when frozen bag in baggies are store in freezer that way. They don’t solidy into a great block like mine have in the past. I do it for all berries and have even for banana’s whole or sliced (for smoothies). When banana’s are marked down for sale because they’re ripe I started freezing them for smoothies and GFV (gluten-free vegan) baking.
I love your website! You have the best GFV recipes anywhere! Thank you!
Wow! This recipe looks great. I have not yet used date syrup, but am seeing it in other recipes as well.
I wish I had seen this recipe a month ago when I too was trying to beat the southern heat and load up on gallons and gallons of blueberries. I will have to pull some from the freezer and give this cake a try. I love that they are blended and no blueberry bits in the cake, unlike pancakes.
Last year we had so many blue berries I juiced them and froze the juice for blue berry lemonade year round. The berry farm was giving away glasses of this yummy drink after we picked. How very refreshing!
I made this last weekend and topped it with blueberries and raspberries. It was divine!
Hi Susan,
I used this blueberry chocolate cake as a template to create a gluten free carob version with raspberries on top instead of blueberries, since I had a lot of those in my backyard. Plus I borrowed the idea from a raspberry cake recipe in Get Healthy Go Vegan to use some Grand Marnier. So here’s what I did: I used a mix I had made up of sorghum, quinoa and brown rice flour and potato starch. I added a little more quinoa flour to make the amount exact as in your recipe. I added an extra tablespoon of carob powder, and maybe a half teaspoon of Grand Marnier to the batter. Instead of blueberry puree and water, I used raspberries in the puree. I oiled the cake pan with canola oil, but I also used a round of baking parchment on the bottom, since you never know with gluten free stuff if it will come out of a round pan easily. It came out like a charm. I covered the cake with raspberries with their little bottoms up, and then drizzled a whisked mixture of Grand Marnier and Agave on it. I didn’t measure this exactly, just did it until it seemed good but not too gooey. It was fantastic. My son and his girlfriend came to visit last week, so it was an early birthday cake for him, a celebration of his graduating from the internship he was in and also the fact that he got a job.
They loved the cake. One night we had it with “banana ice cream”–my new favorite—a frozen sliced banana, 1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk and about 1/2 tsp vanilla. I swear, this cake feels as decadent as anythhing, and the gluten free texture, while different than your photo was thick, brownie-like, and satisfying. I hope I can do it again! Also, I didn’t have date syrup so used half agave and half maple syrup. After the fact I saw that we do carry it at our co-op. How do you like working with it? Do you keep it refrigerated? I am thinking about splurging on it next time I want to make a dessert. How does it affect texture in your opinion?
Thanks again for another winner!
xo
moonwatcher
This is delicious! I topped it with blueberry preserves and fresh blueberries. I had no idea this combination of flavours would be so good! Thank you for the amazing recipe
I made this cake and it came out a little bitter. The only thing I substituted was Ube Plum vinager instead of balsamic because I didn’t have any on hand. I used agave for sweetener.
I can’t wait to try this with some fresh sour cherries from the garden! It’s really nice to find such recipes that use healthier ingredients. Thank you!
I just made this recipe as cupcakes (it made 12) and sooooo good! Thank you Susan! I can’t wait to try your other recipes : )
I made this last night, albeit a bit hastily, and also ran out of maple syrup so had to improvise.
I think next time I make this I will actually simmer the blueberries on the stove with the water and maple syrup which I think will help the blueberry flavor. I also needed a bit more sweet in the cake, I might add more sugar or use some golden syrup. Oh, and I also added a splash of vanilla. Overall pretty delicious!
I tried the GF version substituting gf flour + 1/2 tsp xantham gum and it was incredibly gummy – any recommendations?
I made this cake 2 days ago and… it’s all gone!
I have to say that I’m very impressed with the texture (It’s pretty much half way between your regular chocolate cake and brownies… oh, mmmmm!) and moistness (I was scared it would be kinda dry after cooling down since there was NO fat in it) of this cake even after its cooled down.
Also, the portions are big for the amount of calories that’s in them. Which is a GREAT thing to me! lol
Thumbs up to a wonderful recipe! Definitely a keeper
do you have any advice for un-healthying this recipe? mostly the issue is that i don’t have ground chia or flax. what would you recommend substituting for these?
thanks!
Try using a teaspoon of cornstarch instead. Good luck!
You actually had me at “brownie-like”! And I have blueberries waiting for me to something different with them – think it is time for this cake… or I may try the cupcake idea. Great Photos!
I made the cake this evening – it turned out perfect. I didn’t have access to fresh blueberries and so I used frozen and it worked just as well… I just thawed them before I used them. Thank you for the recipe!
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