There are blueberries in this chocolate blueberry cake, a dark, delicious, dense, and almost brownie-like dessert.
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
Ingredients
- 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
Instructions
- 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.)
Nutritional info is approximate.
Please pin and share:
freude
December 28, 2010 at 10:31 amBrilliant recipe. I made this for my husband’s birthday and he loved it. Already made the orange-chocolate cake twice. Susan, thank you for sharing your amazing recipes.
For this cake, I messed up, blending the syrup with the wet ingredients, but the cake still turned out great. I made a chocolate glaze-blueberry compote to put on top. Really great recipe.
Emily
February 5, 2011 at 2:51 pmHi Susan! This recipe looks delicious! I was thinking about making this in cupcake form for Valentine’s Day and possibly using raspberries or strawberries instead of blueberries… do you think that would work? And do you have any suggestions for baking time for cupcakes?
SusanV
February 5, 2011 at 2:57 pmI think either raspberries or strawberries would work, though raspberries are more seedy and might need a little extra blending time. I would start checking cupcakes after 15 minutes. And remember, this will be more like a brownie than a cupcake, so don’t expect it to be light and fluffy. Good luck!
Becca
February 6, 2011 at 6:18 pmFollowed the recipe exactly, only I used white kamut flour.
I love its deep dark color. Like you said, its not too sweet, but I didn’t mind.
LT
March 1, 2011 at 11:12 amTomorrow is my dad’s birthday and I’ve secured the honour of baking the cake. My oldest brother LOVES blueberries and I prefer vegan baking, so I wanted to find something to please everyone. I came here, looked at this recipe and then decided to browse the Internet to see if I could find something different.
I couldn’t.
I did find FOUR blogs that were making your cake and raving about it. I think I’ve found the cake that I’m making.
Thank you!
http://rocaille-writes.blogspot.com/2010/08/vegan-blueberry-chocolate-cake.html
http://ohsheglows.com/2010/07/25/healthy-blueberry-chocolate-glaze-cake/
http://simplysjostedt.wordpress.com/2010/09/21/vegan-chocolate-blueberry-cake-the-end-of-my-mixer/
http://veganuchicago.org/vegan/chocolate-blueberry-cake/
LT
March 5, 2011 at 3:25 pmI doubled the recipe so that there would be enough for 10-people and I used frozen blueberries instead of fresh. Instead of making a really pretty display of blueberries on top, I make a blueberry coulis (heated the berries with vanilla, then pureed) to go on top. The cake was devoured.
Thanks again for the recipe!
Allison
April 10, 2011 at 7:43 amMmm this was lovely! I thought the texture was really nice. I used whole wheat flour and it turned out fine. I ate this cake with a ‘frosting’ made of a mixture of agave, water, and cocoa powder, and it was super delicious. My only complaint is that I had to get out the blender, but that’s just because I’m lazy and I don’t like cleaning things, it’s nothing wrong with the recipe. Which is great!
Megan
May 17, 2011 at 9:20 amAnother fantastic dessert recipe. Though it isn’t quite blueberry season, I’d just bought a big bag of frozen wild blueberries from Costco. We were craving dessert last night and whipped this up in a jiffy. So delicious. I just had a sliver as “breakfast dessert” this morning, and I think the blueberry flavor developed even more after sitting over night. Yum yum yuuuum.
Jill
May 30, 2011 at 8:09 pmI made this cake to bring along to a Memorial Day BBQ so that there would be dessert there I could partake in. The good news? It turned out great! The bad news? It turned out so great that even our non-vegan family loved it and there’s hardly any left. Thanks for the recipe!
Stephanie
June 7, 2011 at 12:31 amGotta say I didn’t like this at all…..altho looked gorgeous indeed.
My guy …the human food vaccum….mashed the berries and ate his slice but the texture and flavor just wasn’t there for us. Eating is very subjective of course!
You have the most fabulous food photos btw….bravo!! enjoy your site sooo much!
Steph
Becky R
July 1, 2011 at 12:40 pmI can not wait to make this. We went blueberry picking, but it was $20 a bucket (which was about 1/2 a gallon.) I wish we could get $3 a gallon. But it is fun.
Now we have two of our own blueberry bushes and we eat about 2 bluebrries a day.
Anna
July 25, 2011 at 3:15 pmCould this recipe be baked as cupcakes? would there be any adjustments to the recipe to make cupcakes?
SusanV
July 25, 2011 at 3:23 pmOthers have had no problem making it into cup cakes. Enjoy!
Alyssa
July 28, 2011 at 9:54 amLove this cake. I have made it several times, to rave reviews!! Is there a way for me to post a picture of the last one I made?
SusanV
July 28, 2011 at 10:27 amAlyssa, I’m glad to hear that you’ve had such success with it. If you have the photo on a website, you can post a link to it. If not, send it to me at blog @ fatfreevegan.com and I will upload and post it for you.
Sarah
July 30, 2011 at 5:59 pmPure heaven. And I love that this is sweetened by blueberries, not sugar. Genius!
Tisha
August 9, 2011 at 11:30 amThank You so much for this! 🙂
Kait
September 4, 2011 at 9:21 amThis sounds amazing, I can’t wait to try this recipe. I love Blueberries. I make a delicious Blueberry Zucchini bread, which is absolutley addicting. But I love chocolate mixed with fruit, So i’ll defintley be giving this a try
Cyndie
September 28, 2011 at 1:34 pmI tried the recipe for your Chocolate Blueberry Cake last night. My Mother and I both loved. My daughter, not so much. I don’t think it was sweet enough for her tastes. But, I love it and will make it again and again. Thanks for sharing.
Jules
December 6, 2011 at 5:11 amHi Susan,
I made this cake yesterday for friends to mixed reviews. I found it very very dry when mixing it all together and wonder what I might have done wrong. I checked the ingredients a few times and seemed to have correct quantities.
I’m new to vegan cooking so I also wonder if my ground flax seeds should be finer. The ones I have are quite chunky looking.
I guess I’d like to know if it was supposed to be like a very thick paste before baking or not. It didn’t spread out to the sides of my cake pan at all and just rose a little in the middle. Your picture looks so moist and inviting, but mine was definately more like a heavy dry dough.
Ideas?
Chelsea
December 7, 2011 at 8:05 pmI just made this cake…it was amazing!!!!!!! We are new vegans and LOVE your recipes! Thank you!
Elisabetta
December 22, 2011 at 3:13 amHi Susan, this recipe sounds amazing! Do you think I could sub blueberries with banana? What kind of fruit I can use instead of them? In this time of the year I find just frozen blueberries at the supermarket and they costs a lot… Thanks for seggestion! Tou’re great!
Susan Voisin
December 22, 2011 at 7:29 amI don’t know if bananas would work. You can use any kind of berries instead, even frozen ones. Or you could try my Chocolate-Orange Cake or one of my banana breads. Good luck and good eating!
Elisabetta
December 22, 2011 at 8:52 amThank you, Susan. I’ll try this recipe using bananas during Christmas holidays. I’ve tried your Chocolate-Orange Cake a few days ago and let me say: it’s to die for… Amazing! I love your recipes. Wishing you a beautiful and peaceful Christmas… Greetings from Italy.
karpanilove
January 29, 2012 at 12:17 amHave you tried using a gluten-free flour for this cake? If I tried it with gluten-free flour, how much zantham gum do you think I would add?
Susan Voisin
January 29, 2012 at 7:18 amTake a look at Moonwatcher’s comment above. She used a blend of gf flours and potato starch and no xanthum gum.
karpanilove
January 29, 2012 at 5:45 pmThank you, Susan! I missed her post. I’m new here, vegan, and newly gluten-free, and completely love your blog! Iit’s really serving me because I am seven days into an open-ended fast (probably not past 30+- days) and have been experiencing “hunger,” which is different from other fasts I have done. I have had more fun the past 24 hours gleaning your blog to expand my options for healthier eating when I break the fast. It’s very exciting and I am eating wonderful, healthy food while not eating! How can that be? No hunger pangs! Last night I went to bed on a “full stomach” and had no digestive repercussions. Thank you, thank you! I love what you are doing and have passed your blog info on to several vegan friends, as well as mentioning you on my Facebook page. You are awesome!
Susan Voisin
January 29, 2012 at 5:50 pmThanks! I am amazed that you can read about food while fasting. I think that would drive me crazy! Good for you!
Dorothy Olsen
January 30, 2012 at 7:11 pmI just wanted to leave a comment because I was so excited to see my recipe as inspiration for your recipe. Since my BHG winning I have been more extensively introduce to the health benefits of being vegan, and I’m convinced (in my brain, but not in my practices). I would love to learn the recipes and tricks you share. 🙂
msinfo247
February 7, 2012 at 2:05 pmSusan,
Talk about southern hospitality. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I’d just bought chia seeds and was having a chocolate craving. The only modification I made was to use 1/4 cup of whole wheat pastry flour to lighten mine since I was using standard whole wheat flour. And I added a blueberry chocolate ganache on top using a little light cream and some additional blueberries. My lil one is a blueberry lover so I’ll be making this again.
Veena
February 12, 2012 at 4:34 amHi Susan, I had bookmarked this recipe a while ago and finally got to make something like this. I skipped the ground flaxseed and used self rising wholemeal flour. I also added 1/2 teaspoon baking powder as I was not quite sure whether it would rise well. Maybe I should not have added it. The cake tasted good but it was cracked quite a bit and did not look like yours. Any thoughts on how to improve? I also used white vinegar.
Thanks
Dani
February 18, 2012 at 3:19 pmThis is a great recipe! I made this cake for the second time today, but I made some changes to it (because I’m not a vegan and because I didn’t have all the ingredients the recipe calls for). I posted “my” version in my blog, with a link to the original recipe. I hope that is okay, but please let me know if it isn’t: http://chubilife.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/chemistry-will-make-me-fat/
I really like these recipes! I’ll be trying more of them in the future!
Holly McQuillan
March 4, 2012 at 7:41 pmWould it be ok to substitute 100% fruit jam for the syrup in this recipe? I have a great vegan chocolate cake recipe that does that and its amazing.
Susan Voisin
March 4, 2012 at 8:28 pmSounds good to me.
Allyne
March 5, 2012 at 9:42 pmWell I completely missed out the water…… somehow. Very fudgy and thick…. will have to re-try doing the recipe properly. Still very tasty though, may do a blueberry puree on top.
John
March 30, 2012 at 6:10 pmDid a little research after I noticed my recipes and photos had been ripped off and thought you might be interested to know that your work appears to have been ripped off as well.
http://www.fitandscrumptious.com/recipes.cfm
Susan Voisin
March 30, 2012 at 6:37 pmThat’s horrible! Have you written to the blogger? It’s definitely a first to see my header photo on someon else’s site. The nerve!
Beth Krugh
April 29, 2012 at 4:13 pmIt is a cold rainy day today and I made this cake. I used frozen blueberries and topped it with a raspberry orange sauce and decadent small dark chocolate and cashew sprinkle. It looked beautiful and came out shockingly awesome. I have lived with my gf for 10 years and she remarked that she has never seen me make a cake. I tend to stick to the stove top side of cooking. She was happy about this experiment. I guess I’ve turned over a new leaf. I appreciate your work on FFV and look at contents OFTEN!
lauren
May 15, 2012 at 7:57 amyummy!
Amie
June 9, 2012 at 10:15 amI just made this – using strawberries instead of blueberries- and it was really awesome!
Even my mom, who would rarely try vegan stuff, loved it. 🙂
Sorry for my bad english.. I’m just learning it in school for ~2 years now.
Imelda
June 13, 2012 at 7:55 pmHi Susan,
Just wondering if I can replace whole wheat flour with spelt flour as I have problem finding the whole wheat flour in the supermarket.
Thanks
Imelda
Amber
June 14, 2012 at 2:43 pmHi Susan, Do you think this recipe would work well baked as mini muffins? If so how high should I fill the muffin cups? Thanks 🙂
Lyla Burns
June 15, 2012 at 10:13 amWe have a big family reunion coming up, and I get to be the host. Once we finish up the family room decorating then I will begin to do the cooking. I’m not vegan but my sister and brother-in-law are. I always like to make some dishes that will appeal to them, and I think they’d love this! Thanks for sharing!
Neely
June 17, 2012 at 8:21 pmI made this today for a party I was having. OMG!! So delicious. Thank you, thank you! Seriously one of the best cakes I have ever had.
newvegan55
June 20, 2012 at 3:45 pmHi Susan! I have only just found your blog today, but have already signed up for your newsletter and recipe box. This is great and your site is so much easier to use than a lot of the regular recipe sites. I have been veg for 8 yrs and am making the transition to vegan(really having a hard time giving up cheese:-(. Also just found out that I need to go gluten-free due to tummy troubles. This chocolate blueberry cake sounds great, but do you know if I can sub brown rice flour for the WW? Any help you could give would be much appreciated. Thanks and keep up the good work!