This whole wheat chocolate cake recipe is the perfect solution for anyone who wants to make a cake from scratch without spending days in the kitchen or 
having the end result look like it was decorated by a 4-year-old. Earlier this year my daughter asked me if I could “write” Happy Birthday on top of her homemade cake, and I practically laughed out loud at the thought of what that would look like. So cake-decorating skills or not…absolutely anyone can make this “tie dye” cake turn out beautifully. And don’t be afraid to switch up the colors. I used peaches and raspberries in the pictured version, but if you want it to be more “boyish” blueberries would add some great color as well.
Before we switched to “real food” I used to make birthday cakes out of a box topped with frosting from a tub mixed with food coloring from little squeeze bottles. I’ve always loved to bake, but I never used to make cakes from scratch because I didn’t have a good “go-to” recipe and I also didn’t know any better! Now that we’ve cut all highly processed food from our diets I prefer a cake made from scratch with only a few simple ingredients when it comes time for those special celebrations. No matter how much we say junk food is okay in moderation I almost never want the highly processed, factory-made, artificial version anymore. So as I mentioned in my previous whole-wheat chocolate chip cookie recipe, this cake “breaks the real food rules” a little, but I would much rather you make this for your next celebration instead of relying on Betty Crocker (or worse – your grocery store bakery)! Feel free to check out the ingredient list for those options if you don’t believe me that this is a much better choice. :)
Whole-Wheat Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour, organic pastry or white winter wheat recommended
- 1 cup all purpose flour, (or cake flour) organic recommended, or can sub whole-wheat flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, I recommend Hershey's Special Dark
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ¼ cups sugar, organic recommended
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups water
- 2 eggs, organic recommended
- 2/3 cup coconut oil, or melted butter (1:1)
- 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
- butter, for greasing pans
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Generously grease two 9-inch round cake pans or other sized baking dish.
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In a large bowl whisk together dry ingredients including flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, sugar and salt.
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Make a well (hole) in the middle of the dry ingredients and drop in the water, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Mix by hand with whisk until well blended.
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Distribute batter evenly into the two cake 9-inch pans and bake for 18 – 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes clean. Let cool before adding frosting.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Facts
Whipped Cream Frosting and Berry Sauce
Whipped Cream Frosting and Berry Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 cups heavy whipping cream, organic recommended
- 3 tablespoons sugar, organic recommended, to taste
- 1 ½ recipe berry sauce, with water, reduced in half (subbing either frozen or fresh organic fruit for desired topping color for e.g. raspberries = bright red, peach or mango = orange, blueberries = blue, cherries = dark red). See link below.
Instructions
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In a large bowl, whip cream and sugar together using an electric mixer.
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Meanwhile prepare berry sauce(s) with desired fruit for topping. Let sauce(s) cool.
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Turn out one of the cooled cake rounds onto serving platter. Cover the top (that used to be the bottom) with whipped cream frosting. Lay second round cake layer directly on top of first frosted cake layer. Now cover the entire exposed cake with frosting including sides.
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Put berry sauce into a squeeze bottle or alternatively you can try to drizzle sauce onto cake with a spoon. I used a “ketchup-style” squeeze bottle with the tip cut off to make the opening at the top a little wider.
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Make colored circles on top of cake using berry sauce (pictured).
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Using toothpicks start in the center of the cake and drag through the sauce to the edge. Repeat until desired look is achieved.
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For best results serve within a few hours. Keep leftovers refrigerated.
Recipe Notes
Tools needed: squeeze bottle or spoon, and toothpicks.
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Nutrition Facts
Related Posts: Whole-Wheat Chocolate Cookies
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I think I can use these colors to make my son an Elmo cake for his 2nd birthday! So thankful for you!!
The oven temperature is wrong on this cake! What should it be??
This cake is delicious. There is no way to tell that it is mostly whole grain! We ate it without the whipped cream on top and it was fantastic. Obviously, the whipped cream would be amazing, but we couldn’t wait that long! :) It was a lovely texture and is nice and moist throughout. We baked it in one 9×11 rectangle pan for 22 minutes.
Made it.. loved it!
Used olive oil and even added 2 heaped tablespoons of ground flaxseed. Kids loved it and no complaints on the flaxseed.
Thank you!
What could I use as a sugar substitute? 1.25 cups seems like a lot. I am wanting to make my son’s first birthday cake. Could I use sweet potato or? Any other ideas?
I am going to attempt to make it with coconut sugar – which is lower on the glycemic scale – and I am going to drop it to 3/4 cups. I always use half the amount of sugar suggested.
I will let you know how it turns out.
Hi. We’ve not tried adapting this recipe.
So wonderful ! Used brown sugar instead, my 14 year old daughter made the cake, the whipped cream frosting and a cherry berry sauce. All 12 kids and 4 adults loved it for Daddy’s birthday !
Yup – it’s a keeper!!! It even worked great in our bunny shaped cake pan! Thanks for a great recipe!! :-D
We absolutely love this cake! I would love to use this recipe for cupcakes – can you give me an idea on baking time? Thanks!
I made cupcakes and I cooked them for 20 minutes.
How many cupcakes came out of one batch of cake?
How can i make the frosting into chocolate frosting? Just add some cocoa powder?
Hi Sarah. We’ve not tried that. Let us know if you give it a go.
Does the cake recipe really call for 2 tablespoons of vanilla? Just wondering if it should be teaspoons?? I hope you can answer this question fast…am making it right now! : )
Hi. Sorry, we can rarely answer in real time. The 2 T is correct.
Do you know if this recipe would need to have any high altitude adjustments?
Hi Cara. Not sure but this might help: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html.
Great recipe, thanks!
Right now I’m on whole wheat, no sugar diet. This is the only recipe for chocolate cake that I was able to find that used any whole wheat flour! Do you have any idea how this would taste fully whole wheat and with a sugar substitute?
Hi Anna. Sorry, we have not tried any substitutes for sugar in this recipe.
Can I cut this recipie in half for a smaller cake?
Hi Meghan. We have not tried but some cake recipes might need a bit of adjustment when cut in half. There are numerous threads on various baking/cooking forums. This might help: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/440559.
I’m not a baker but want to use this recipe for cup cakes for my daughter’s 2nd birthday next week. Can I frost the cup cakes the day before, will the frosting he up?
Hi Cara. I would wait until the day of to frost them.
Can I use 1 c of white whole wheat instead of 1 c whole wheat flour?
Hi Jenny,
What I do when I don’t want to use white instead of wholemeal flour is add 20% ground oats or 10% ground flax. That way I’m replacing the good I’m losing from the wholemeal with something as good or better.
Oats do change the texture though, and generally make something denser. Flax generally keeps things light.
Hi Jenny. Sure. :)
Any recommendations for a good egg substitute for this recipe? Flax is our go-to usually. Will that work?
Hi Neal. Other readers have used flax in this recipe.
Made this this weekend for my son’s 2nd birthday. Loved it! I did use 1 cup white whole wheat and 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour. It came out kind of dense so next time I will use all pastry flour. This is my go to recipe for chocolate cake now!
This sounds so good! I want to make it for a small birthday celebration. Could I half recipe and just use one 9″ cake pan? Thanks!!
Hi Kat. While that is not something we have tried, I think that should work fine. And since there is an even number of eggs, you will not have to worry about splitting an egg. :)
My family loves this cake. Can this cake recipe be used to make cupcakes too?
Hi there. It can. Bake at the same temp and regular size cupcakes are usually cooked within 15-20 minutes.
Is there really 2 Tablespoons of Vanilla in this cake recipe? Just asking because it seems like a lot. Thank you & I love your book!!!
Hi Elizabeth. Yep, the recipe is correct. :)
Thank you for the recipe
http://food-online8.webnode.com/
This has become our go to recipe for birthday cakes. My kids both love it, and several months ago my daughter asked for this cake with strawberries we picked. We put some in the freezer and I defrosted and drained them. I mashed them and put them in the middle, and used the extra strawberry juice to color the frosting (I actually use frosting from the cupcake recipe on this blog, but only half because it’s so sweet for us). The extra strawberry flavor was really delicious and it made my birthday girl very happy! One note for those trying this recipe for the first time, make sure you really grease those cake pans, and then allow them to cool about 30 minutes to get them out easily.
You might want to edit the recipe to say (for the newbies like me that don’t know…) that you have to whip the cream and sugar on HIGH to get anywhere. I tried every speed on my mixer for about 10 minutes, except super, blown-out, all the way, high and all I had was a soupy mess. I finally thought I’d give high a try before I threw it out and it finally started to firm up. (And then it was perfect!) Might seem common place to people who bake, but I had no idea and I saw several comments from others that didn’t either.
The cake was good! I tried to make the frosting, but as I
was mixing it separated and became clumpy and not good.
Is it because I used cane sugar instead of the refined stuff?
I have a similar recipe that I use quite often but this decorating idea will spice it up for a change.
@Paulette: only mix until the cream is “stiff”. If you mix too long it’ll turn into butter chunks swimming in butter milk.
I made this with strong coffee instead of water and 1/4 coco and used a mascarpone frosting, perfect ‘tiramisu’ cake!
Hi,I am wondering if I could replace the sugar with honey. My diet does not allow me to have sugar. Thanks.
Hi Maggie. We’ve not converted this recipe but this might help: http://peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com/pdf/recipes/2010/prfm_sugartohoneyconversion.pdf or http://www.cooks.com/recipe/4516i4d5/substituting-honey-for-sugar.html. ~Amy
Hi, can this be made into a 9 X 13 size cake? How long would you cook it for?
Hi there. This should help:http://allrecipes.com/howto/cake-pan-size-conversions/. ~Amy
I have made these into cupcakes in the past and again today for my daughter’s birthday. They turned out great! I didn’t alter the recipe at all. I just kept an eye on them as far as cook time. I think today they took about 15 minutes. I had many compliments. Thank you for the great recipe!
Have you ever used this recipe to make cupcakes? Just curious how they turned out. I wouldn’t think much would need to change but hey, what do I know! Appreciate your feedback
Hi Kate. You can certainly make cupcakes! This might help: http://www.thekitchn.com/-good-questions-184-138670. Ignore the bright pink icing. I’m sure it was made from beet juice. :)
Can you use this recipe to make cupcakes? Any changes in baking temperature and/or time?
Hi Rana. This might help: http://www.thekitchn.com/-good-questions-184-138670. ~Amy
I made brownies using coconut oil and it had quite a strong coconut taste. Can this be lessened by liquifying the oil? I don’t like the flavor of coconut.
Hi Kerry. Liquifying will not effect the oil’s flavor. You might try a different brand or you could use butter. ~Amy
Could you make this but eliminate the cocoa to make yellow cake? This recipe doesn’t have as many steps as the yellow cake recipe on this site…..
Hi Lauren. That is not something we’ve tried to do with this recipe. If you experiment, let us know. ~Amy
I tried making it without cocoa. The batter was too moist so I added 1/2 cup white flour & then it seemed right. This made 24 cupcakes. They are really moist & light. Without frosting they taste like sweet plain muffins but with frosting they taste more like cup cakes.
Made this for my son’s second birthday. It was really good and all the guests loved it! The frosting, as others here seem to think too, made way too much, so next time I’d probably halve it. Instead of decorating with the berry sauce we just had it in a bowl for guests to pour on top. It was so delicious.
great recipe! the cake was delicious :) thanks!
We tried this today for my husband’s birthday cake. It is a very moist cake, and the best chocolate cake I have ever eaten. No need for box mix when this can be your treat. Yum!
Does the better cream icig work on this cake? The one from ur cupcake recipe? I want to make ahead…
Hello Melissa. Sure, you could switch out the icing. ~Amy
This recipe looks great…. I want to make my son’s 2nd birthday cake in the shape of a 2. Do you think the texture of this cake would cut well? Also, can I make it ahead of time (minus the frosting) and freeze it?
(oh and you “decorating” has completely inspired me for my 4 year old’s birthday, which is next on my list– change the colors a bit and that looks close enough to a Spiderman cake ;) )
Thanks!
Hi Heather. Cutting it into a shape is not something we have tried but I don’t see why you couldn’t. I think it will freeze fine, too. ~Amy
I made this cake (with your vanilla icing recipe and topped with Unreal peanut butter cups) for my husband’s birthday and it was a hit! We all (we have two sons ages 2 and 6) agreed that this was the best cake we have ever eaten! My 6 yr old is already asking when we can make it again. I will never buy a box cake mix ever again and I will make this cake as often as I can so others can enjoy it too! Thank you so much for sharing all of these wonderful recipes and tips. This is by far one of my favorite blogs!
YUMMMY!!! My husband and 3.5 yr old just made this for my b-day, it is sooo good! We used 1/2 the whip cream frosting recipe and did one raspberry sauce and one blueberry sauce. We both agreed this was one of the best cakes we’ve ever had. Super moist and not too sweet or overpowering. The frosting was perfect too! Thanks for a delicious recipe, I couldn’t have found it on a better day! Happy Birthday to me!
I would really like a processed sugar free cake recipe for my daughter’s birthday. Would honey or maple syrup work instead of the sugar?
Hi Carla. If honey or maple syrup worked well in this recipe, it is what Lisa would have used. :) You could experiment, though. ~Amy
The recipe calls for coconut oil. Is it measured in the solid form?
Hi Renee. You will want to melt it. Here is more information: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/02/07/how-to-cook-with-coconut-oil/. ~Amy
Thank you Amy :)
This was the first from scratch cake I made and it was a huge hit! Thank you so much. I didn’t use the whipped frosting, but I doubled this for my son’s first birthday and did cupcakes as well. No one could believe it was my first from scratch cake. Now making cupcakes again for Christmas. Use WW pastry floor and white ww flour with coconut oil and it’s delicious.
I want to make a cake for my diabetic brother so he has a dessert to eat this Christmas. Can Coconut Palm sugar be used instead of cane sugar? I know the frosting will come out brown, but that is ok.
Hi Candi. We’ve not tried. If you do, let us know your results. ~Amy
Hi! I am about to make this cake but want to clarify the flours to be used. I was going to just use whole wheatnpadtry flour. Would that work or should I do 1 cup wwpf and 1 cup reg whole wheat flour???? Tia!!! ;-)
Hello Cassie. We’ve not tried that combo. How did it turn out? ~Amy
Awesome recipe!!! I also made this for my husband’s birthday dinner!! I substituted the sugar for maple sugar and added agave to the frosting with a touch of vanilla. I also put fresh strawberries in the middle and on the top with sprinkles. This was my first two layer cake and it was easier than I thought!!
great….
Hi,
This was a great recipe, really easy to follow, and my kitchen smelled heavenly when the cakes came out of the over. The only problem was when I went to make the frosting – I used two cups (not three) of heavy cream, and three tablespoons of sugar, but what I got after brisk hand whisking was not frosting but a very liquidy material – not really sure what to call it. I “poured” it over the cake, covering all sides and the layer in between and have now put it in the fridge hoping it will “solidify” in the cold.
Can anyone tell me what I did wrong? I used “heavy cream” not “whipping cream” but from looking at other posts, it seems both are the same, so that wasn’t the problem.
It’s a great cake so now I just need to perfect the frosting…Thanks!
Hi Dina. Try it with an electric mixer. It should set up pretty quick. ~Amy
I made this cake for my Hubby’s birthday and it was a HUGE hit! Thank you.
Never made a cake before…..well…..not successfully anyway! This was so
Easy and the results were great! Thanks so much
I made this cake for my husband’s birthday and it was delicious. The recipe made a lot of whipped cream so I think next time I would only use two cups of the cream.
Just mixed this up and popped it in the Oven. My Husbands Birthday is next weekend and he loves chocolate cake with Peanut butter icing. So i am doing a trial run with the cake. It smells amazing! Thanks for the recipe!
So yummy! I made this into cupcakes for my daughter’s first birthday and they were amazing! (I tried 4 or 5 others in the process and this was definitely the best).
on liz’s comment from May 2nd, I also used honey and apple sauce because we are trying to eat much healthier. we also added 1Tbsp ground cinnamon and omg it was incredible. I never thought a whole wheat cake would taste so good and rewarding. we just added some melted dark chocolate lightly drizzled over the top of the cake since we are not big frosting eaters. amazing! 2 thumbs up!!
Would it work to substitute butter for the oil in this recipe? And would it be a 1 to 1 substitution?
Hi Heather. I think that should be fine. Coconut oil and butter exchange 1:1. Just like with coconut oil, you will need to bring it to a liquid form before adding. ~Amy
I made this cake today as a run through for my daughters birthday in two weeks. While I haven’t tasted it yet, I’m wondering if anyone else found that it didn’t rise much… I used two 9″ cake pans and both vakes came out quite thinner than the traditional ‘toxic’ cakes I used to bake. I followed the recipe exactly but did choose non-aluminum baking powder and Dutch processed organic cacao. Did I do something wrong or does the photo accompanying the recipe just appear like a bigger cake? Thanks!
Can you eat this cake during the 10 day pledge? Thanks.
No Shannon, sorry. This is one of the few recipes we have that contains some refined sugar so it is off limits during the pledge. ~Amy
Just made a trial run of this cake, (minus the frosting) for a birthday party. It turned out with a pleasant flavor & very moist. The one thing that seemed to be missing was the “fluff” (as my husband described it.) Is this just because of the whole wheat factor, and can I tweak anything to maybe make it rise or “fluff” more?
Thanks for all the great recipes!
Hi Alicia. The whole wheat does tend to make a cake that is more dense. It may just take a bit of adjusting to a slightly different cake texture. :) ~Amy
Thanks for the great recipe. Do you think sunflower oil instead of coconut oil would work as well?
Hi Selma. We avoid refined oils and do not use them in recipes. ~Amy
Love your blog but have to give this recipe two thumbs down. :(
Cake sort of tasted like bad whole wheat bread with a hint of chocolate. On the plus side, though, it’s a great calorie saver since I didn’t actually want to eat any of it…except the yummy whipped cream frosting!
Made this tonight– the cook time was almost double though, which I thought was odd. Anyway, can’t wait to try it! The berry sauce is amazing, as is the “frosting”. (Had to taste a tiny bit along the way.) Can’t wait to see how the actual cake part turned out!
Thank you so much for this recipe! Made it last night… this cake is ridiculously good and tastes fresh and light… I substituted applesauce and raw honey for oil and sugar (used about 3/4c or a little less of honey and a little more than a cup of applesauce) and I pureed the mango but then decorated with strawberry slices instead of pureeing berries. SO GOOD! This will be a repeat for special occasions.
Hi,
I’m trying to make the frosting and I obviously did something wrong (I’m not a baker). I bought heavy whipping cream & added the sugar. Problem is its all runny. Did I buy the wrong kind of whipping cream? I bought the liquid you find by milk. I tried heating it to thicken & just all liquid.
Luckily this is a trial run before party. Please help! :)
Thanks!
Do not add the sugar until after you have whipped the cream. Fold in the sugar once the cream has reached your desired consistency.
Hi Krista,
I’m not affiliated with this site, but thought I might help with your question, as I’ve done a lot of baking in my time. When you make your own whipped cream (or whipped cream frosting), you do start with heavy cream, but then you need to use an electric or hand mixer to actually whip it until you get soft peaks. It can take a little while (anywhere from 3-4 minutes to closer to 10) so you kind of just have to keep going until you get the right consistency. Hope that helps! Amanda
If making this cake a day or so before the party would you recommend freezing or just refrigerating? Wondering if you have tried this yourself? Thanks, love your blog!!
Hello Kim. The cake should be fine covered in the fridge over night. We do recommend that you make and apply the frosting just before serving. ~Amy
How long does the whipped cream frosting look nice for once it’s on the cake? I was thinking of doing this as cupcakes for an Easter party, but worried that the frosting might lose it’s consistency, and slide off, if they are sitting out at a party.
Hi Heather. If they are prepared right before the party, they should be okay. ~Amy
When you use coconut oil to substitute for oil in a recipe, do you measure it in solid state or liquid? or is that the same thing?
Hi Mohita. Measure it out in a liquid state. ~Amy
I just made this cake and it looks perfect and yummy. I used strawberries and blueberry berry sauce. But, I did it a day early, our party is tomorrow and I just needed to get something done today. Do you think I should cover it when I put it in the fridge overnight?
Hi Karema. It can take us over a week to respond to comments as our volume is pretty high. Hope the party went well! ~Amy
Hi Melissa. So happy you are enjoying the blog! The cake batter was whisked by hand but an electric mixer was used for the whipped cream. You certainly could make the cake the day before but prepare the whipped cream and the berry sauce right before the event. Happy celebrating! ~Amy
Thanks for clarifying…I have make whipped cream by hand before its not easy but it is possible…I will make just before serving…can the fruit sauce be made ahead and refrigerated?
Hi. It should be fine if you make it ahead and keep in refrigerated. ~Amy
Hi, i’m looking for cake ideas for my son’s 2nd birthday… we made a ‘fruit cake’ for his 1st birthday-literally a watermelon cut into the shape of a cake and decorated with berries, kiwi etc- anyhow, this year i wanted to make a more traditional cake but without all the processed crap and this looks perfect. I’m wondering if you mixed the batter by hand or with a beater (i don’t have a beater) also, given the whipped cream icing, i’m wondering if this is a make ahead cake or if it would be better to make the cake part a day ahead and then ice just before? I’ve started meal planning thanks to your site- got me off on the right foot and gave me some inspiration, saves so much time and money! Thanks~melissa
Curious what fruit was used for the red sauce in the picture. I am guessing rasberry? I want to make a sauce for “elmo red” for cupcakes. Maybe strawberries would work? Any suggestions would be great. I made this into cupcakes for my moms bday and I’m making them again they were soooo good!
Hi Kris. Lisa used peaches and rasberry for the colorful toppings in this recipe. Strawberry would work, though the color would likely be less vivid. Enjoy. ~Amy
Hi Allison. Absolutely. Enjoy. ~Amy
Can these be made into cupcakes?
I’ve gotten rid of all my refined sugar and do not want to buy any, as I fear that will start the junk-food cycle again. So, I was wondering if honey or maple syrup or some sort of fruit juice could be substituted in this recipe without it turning out strange?
Hi Laura. I so respect that perspective…the whole slippery slope thing. I think Lisa mentioned that this was a cake that breaks the rules a bit but it is far superior to reverting to a boxed mix. I imagine she chose sugar because that is what worked. You, however, can experiment with the recipe in any way you choose. Good luck and let us know how it turns out. ~Amy
Have you considered Xylitol? It is natural, plant-derived, and low on the glycemic index. It can be powdered and substituted for sugar.
Hi Melissa. We’ve not experimented with xylitol because we do not consider it a real food. We are aware, however, that many find it a good and sometimes necessary alternative to using sugar. ~Amy
I just slightly adapted this amazing recipe to make it vegan (which I’m doing for lent) by replacing the eggs with chia seed gel and whipping up some coconut cream for the whipped cream. It tastes REALLY great! Oh, and I made cupcakes instead of a whole cake and used beet juice to color the whipped cream. So much fun! Thank you for so much inspiration!
Made this for my twins 8th birthday today…minus the berry sauce. I put fresh raspberries on in the shape of their initials. They said it was the best cake ever and to make it every year for their birthday. This is coming from kids who previously have had store bought cakes. Thank you for the recipe!
Made the cake today and overall it is delicious and pretty – a few things to note, it took about 25 minutes to bake and I only needed 2 cups of whipping cream to decorate. If I had used the 3 cups called for (I didn’t read that until after my trip to the store) then I would have added more to the middle layer. I followed a few other posts and used 1/2c applesauce and 1/4c coconut oil and decorated with shaved chocolate.
Has anyone tried a mostly-whole-wheat “yellow” cake? We haven’t introduced chocolate to my will-be-turning-2-year-old, and from how wired chocolate cake makes her older sister, I don’t want to start just yet.
Alternatively, has anyone tried this recipe with all whole wheat pastry flour? My plan was to try a yellow cake recipe switching out the flour to ww pastry, and the sugar to sucanat/rapadura. I’d welcome advice if any one has any!
Hi was wondering if this cake could be made and then frozen? I used to freese my other non whole wheat from scratch cakes just to keep them fresh and moist until I needed them. Usually only a week or so. Also anyone have a good time estimate on cupcakes? Thanks!!
Hi Anna. Yes, I think it could be. I would just wait to frost it until you have thawed it out. As for cupcakes, I would start with maybe 18 minutes, maybe even a little less and then check continuously. Jill
I have a question on this recipe or any other baking recommendations you have. My 8-year old wants me to make cupcakes for his school birthday celebration, and I want to try to make them as healthy as possible. Can this recipe be made 1) without chocolate, ie, a white cake option and 2) can it be made into cupcakes? Or do you have another suggestion for that? We LOVE this site and are so grateful for some healthy ideas!
Hi Tricia – wondering if you tried this without the chocolate and how it turned out? Wanting to make this for my son’s 1st birthday but we’re not big chocolate cake fans.
Hi Tricia. I have not tried it without the chocolate, but, give it a try if you like…I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. And, yes, you can make this recipe into cupcakes, you’ll just need to adjust the baking time. Jill
Just used this recipe to make my daughter and son’s birthday cake today. Took me a while to figure out that I had to use the hand mixer for about 8-10 minutes for it to reach the whipped cream consistency. Wish that was in the directions. Anyway, instead of doing the “tie dye” look, I mixed the berry sauce with some extra whipped cream and used that to decorate the cake (write happy birthday and make flowers around the edges). It turned out really pretty! Definitely going to use this recipe again for my 10 year old’s birthday in March. Now that I know how to do it, it should take me a lot less time!
I would love to make this cake for a special event coming up but was wondering if there are any dairy-free alternatives to the frosting? Is my only choice to make traditional frosting with massive amounts of powdered sugar?
Hi Anna. You can actually make whipped cream from coconut milk (which is non-dairy). Check out this post that our friend Carrie did over at Deliciously Organic that walks you through how to do it…http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-whipped-cream-from-152490. Jill
We just made this tonight for my baby’s 1st birthday tomorrow. My husband thought we should do a practice run just in case whole wheat cake is gross. It is wonderful. I only used whole wheat flour and honey instead of sugar. My husband, children and I love it. Thanks for sharing! I was worried about what we were going to do about birthday cake. :)
Cake was amazing, guests didn’t realize it was whole-wheat. :)
I am using this recipe for my daughter’s birthday this weekend, but she really wants cupcakes instead of a cake. Has anyone tried this as a cupcake recipe before? How should I adjust the cook time?
Thanks!
Katy, did you try this? My son wants the same thing for school birthday party. Let me know! He also wants them white so not sure if I can just leave out the cocoa or what.
This cake was awesome and the whole family loved it! I used all organic ingredients and substituted applesauce for oil. I was short a tablespoon of vanilla but it still tasted great. I followed the whipped cream recipe (took approx 10-11 min w/hand mixer for a good consistency)Instead of berry sauce, I shredded 65% organic dark chocolate on top for decoration.
I love this chocolate cake, it is delicate in taste and is not overwhelmingly chocolaty. Instead of making the frosting I topped my cake with Nutella hazelnut spread and some chopped walnuts. My mother loved it, the consistency of the cake isn’t moist but it is delicious! I am certain this recipe is enjoyable by fans of dry cake and moist cake alike. Second time I have made it this week and it is delicious.
PS: It looks great as a bundt cake!!
Making this tonight for my son’s sixth bday tomorrow. Has anyone tried it with coconut sugar?
I made this and its good! Any tips on how to make it more moist?
Hi TKD. You might try adding a little unsweetened applesauce. Jill
I was wanting to make cake balls for my daughters birthday using this recipe. Has anyone tried this? I’m wondering if there is an organic dipping chocolate (store bought or homemade) you could use to cover the cake balls.
Hi Jamie. Here is a chocolate sauce recipe from Delicously Organic http://deliciouslyorganic.net/chocolate-sauce-syrup-hersheys-recipe/#s.abxgpx6yibaaa. Not sure if you could somehow thicken it up to use it as more of a dipping chocolate. Just a thought. Jill
Thanks Lisa for the wonderful recipe. I made a smaller cake by halving most of the ingredients except for the eggs, and added few chocolate chips. I also substituted oil with 1/2 cup apple sauce + 1/4 cup oil (for half the quantity mentioned in the original recipe). The outcome was awesome. Thanks once again for posting such a healthier version of choc cake.
Made these today as cupcakes for my hubby’s birthday with dark chocolate whipped icing sooooo yummy :)
Making this now for my sons first birthday. :) Is it really 2 TABLEspoons of vanilla? That’s not a typo right? Just wanted to double check! :)
Hi Catherine. No, that’s correct. Jill
If you wanted to make this with honey instead of sugar, you could try these recipe adjustments I found in How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. It says that you can replace sugar with honey in any recipe by reducing the amount by 1/4 (because honey is sweeter), adding 1/2 teaspoon baking soda for every cup of honey ( to balance the acidity of honey), and in quick breads, cookies and cakes, reducing the heat by 25 degrees to prevent over browning. Also, cookies spread more with honey, so leave extra room.
I saw a blog post on chocolate cupcakes on this site. Could this recipe be used to make cupcake or was that a different recipe? Thanks!
Hi Jennifer. I don’t see why you couldn’t make cupcakes with this, you would just need to adjust the baking time. Let us know how it turns out. Jill
I just made this today for my 3 yr old’s birthday party cake! We are thrilled. The cake is really light and I didn’t get the layers on evenly but just made up for it with extra whipping cream. So great! Thanks for the recipe – I never bake cakes from scratch.
what about subbing apple sauce I know that you can sub apple sauce in for sugar in for a lot of recipes?
Hi Ericka. I have not tried substituting the applesauce in this recipe, but, give it a try if you like! Good luck. Jill
Hello,
I need to make a cake for my daughter’s 7th birthday next week. I’d like to use your whole-what chocolate cake recipe but I have two questions. First, can I substitute honey for the sugar? We have tried in the past three weeks to completely eliminate sugar from our diet. Secondly, if not, is there a ‘healthier’ sugar you recommend to buy? I’m thinking the kind I’ve bought in the past at the grocery store can’t possibly be the best choice and is highly processed. Thanks for your help. -Kathie
Hi Kathie. I have not tried substituting the honey. As for the sugar, you could try Sucanat, a whole cane sugar. Unlike refined and processed white cane sugar and brown cane sugar, Sucanat retains its molasses content. It is essentially pure dried sugar cane juice. Good luck. Jill
I am making this cake, this weekend for my son’s 3rd birthday. You say to use whole-wheat flour, organic pastry or white winter wheat recommended. I currently use the King Arthur white whole wheat that you normally use. Is that what you used in this recipe? Thanks very much! I love your blog!
Hi Brittany. There is one cup of whole-wheat flour which should either be whole-wheat pastry flour or white winter wheat (I used the pastry flour) and then 1 cup of all purpose flour which I think is what you are referring to below. Hope that helps. Jill
I am making this as a sheet cake for a home school open house tonight. I’m not into the whole foods movement, mostly, I was trying to find a cake recipe for things I already had on hand…the batter sure tastes good:)
I am fairly new to real food. I am an avid baker and am yearning for a resource with lots of baking recipes. Does anyway have a resource for BAKING? My daughter’s first birthday is next month, and I’d love to pick from some recipes to see what to make.
Thanks!
Hi Samantha. In addition to the recipes on our blog, you should check out the cookbooks on the kitchen essentials page which you can find here: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/my-kitchen-essentials/#books. I know the Deliciously Organic cookbook has some great dessert recipes. Good luck. Jill
Oh my!! Made this tonight and it is better than any boxed cake ever! My husband, who doesn’t have a big sweet tooth, commented on how good it was. This is so birthday/special event worth! We didn’t even use any frosting or topping. I have made cakes from scratch and they are usually on the dry side but not this cake, a keeper for sure!
I haven’t tried this cake, but I recently made homemade whipped cream with organic heavy whipping cream, maybe 1 tablespoon of local honey and a dash of cinnamon. It was SOOOO good, and no sugar!
Made this with homemade strawberry preserves mixed into the whipped cream. Yummy!
Wow, my son’s birthday party is in 3 days and I want to try this. Can I make the cake the day before? If yes, how do I store it?
I made this today and it was a big hit. I used coconut oil and would personally skip it next time because I could taste it in the cake and I’n not a huge fan of coconut. I made strawberry and blueberry sauces and everyone was very impressed with the design. This was my first attempt at making a birthday cake and I was pretty happy with myself. Thanks for sharing!
I just read this article to my 7 year old daughter who will be celebrating her 8th birthday in less than 2 weeks. I was able to “talk her into” a homemade party. The menu is a taco bar with grass fed ground beef with homemade taco seasoning, corn shells, WW tortillas, cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, and lettuce. I will also make refried beans and red beans. She wants a giant chocolate chip cookie so I have to research that. LOL Thank you for the inspirational article.
Sounds like the party planning if off to a great start!
I put all my pictures on facebook…
Happy Birthday MOM!…Instead of doing the tie-dye design I whipped a medly of frozen berries into the whipped icing. My son, who is the world’s pickiest eater had a big smile on his face when he sampled it..so far so good! I hope you enjoy mummy!
made this tonight to celebrate my daughter’s baptism. everyone LOVED it! thank you for sharing!
I just made this cake. My 5 year old loved helping. We haven’t even put the frosting on and he says it’s very “tasty”. I love your website. I am trying new stuff everyday. Love it!,,,, thank you so much!!!!!!
Pam
When you use coconut oil, do you have to liquefy it first (how?) or do you put it in as a solid?
Yes, it should be a liquid…check out this post for more info: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/02/07/how-to-cook-with-coconut-oil/
I love chocolate cake, but I love vanilla even more! Do you have a recipe for vanilla cake instead of chocolate?
Not at this time…but I will take note!
2 TABLEspoons of vanilla for the cake?!?!
Yep!
If mixing the berry sauce with the whip cream isn’t recommended, do you have any other ideas for making the whip cream red or pink? I am LOVING your site…very inspiring!
I bought these natural food dyes from Whole Foods (also available on amazon) that made my whipped cream pink: http://www.amazon.com/India-Tree-Natural-Decorating-Packages/dp/B001EQ5BXA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328669649&sr=8-1
You could also try pomegranate or beet juice.
Just made this and the recipe is definitely getting saved in my cook book! Tastes very yummy and fluffy. Didn’t have time to make frosting but whipped up some of your chocolate sauce and drizzled it on the top and it was a hit!
I made this cake today for my birthday. I’ve been wanting to try the recipe so this seemed like the perfect occasion. I really loved it. I didn’t use the berry sauce (just didn’t have the time for that final step) but look forward to trying it sometime. Instead I just decorated it with fresh blueberries on top of the whipped cream. It’s a delicious recipe for someone looking for a sweet treat that tastes natural and wholesome. It was decadent, but in a way you don’t feel bad about eating. I’m so grateful for your website, Lisa.
My whipped cream frosting didn’t do quiet right. it was very runny and i had a ton leftover. is there a certain way to make the heavy whipping cream thicken up? mine was running everywhere. it still tasted ok just wouldnt stay on the sides and build up between the cake layers.
thanks for your help!!
ok i see the above person had the same problem. i dont guess i whipped it long enough!! i have enough leftover to try again :)
Yes, you just keep whipping till it turns into whipped cream. Don’t stop until you get there (and don’t over whip it either!)
Do you think you could mix the red berry sauce with the whipped icing to make it pink? Not sure if it would affect the cream. My daughter’s 4 year “princess and knight” birthday party is coming up and she LOVES pink. Thanks!
I tried, and the two didn’t mix together nicely. Maybe if you strain the seeds out first you’d have better luck. Let me know how it ends up turning out!
You could try using a few drops of beet juice – we use it in pancakes to make them pink with no taste of beets!
I am confused as why would you call this real food
with all the sugar in this recipe? Sugar is not food.
I agree sugar is not “real food” which is why the post (above the recipe) says this “So as I mentioned in my previous whole-wheat chocolate chip cookie recipe, this cake “breaks the real food rules†a little, but I would much rather you make this for your next celebration instead of relying on Betty Crocker (or worse – your grocery store bakery)!”
I made this cake for my son’s 1st birthday this weekend! I forgot to put in the oil, but it still turned out great! Then I remade it with the oil, and it was still good. I linked you in my blog post about the party: http://staywiththekidsmom.blogspot.com/2011_11_01_archive.html
Spelt is a lighter kind of whole wheat. I find it perfect for cakes,cookies,etc….
We had my son’s first birthday party today. For any of my older daughter’s parties, or my husband’s or any other occasion, I have always used a box mix. I would make a 9×13 pan of cake and maybe a third of it would get eaten. Today, I made your recipe here. There was barely a speck of cake left in the pan when the last guest left!! WOW, was it ever delicious! Thank you so much for sharing :)
The cake just came out of the oven and it looks and smells delicious! My one concern is that I am making the icing and it is so liquidy. Any tips/suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Keep whipping the cream…it might take several minutes, but it will turned into whipped cream! Also, make sure the cake is cool before you frost it.
Success! Thanks for your quick response and your awesome blog! We have been using your recipes for a month now, and LOVE them all! I can’t wait to try the cake!!
This was delicious! Not overly sweet; just perfect. I put the extra syrup out for guests to use too and it was delicious when soaked into the cake!
Great recipe. I can’t wait to try it. One question: I often substitute applesauce for oil when using a cake mix. Will this substitution work in this recipe, or is the fat from the oil necessary to make the cake successful?
I haven’t tried it personally, but I know that trick has worked in some of my other recipes (from comments people have left) so would be worth a shot!
Please let me know as well. Thanks!
It is really important for me to have the whole family be able to eat cake on one of our birthdays-it was really depressing the year that my husband didn’t join in the cake eating after he stopped eating sugar and other sweeteners that are not the whole food including raw honey. It sounds silly,I know, but birthdays are a big deal to me.
I have created a cake recipe that doesn’t use processed sugar (just whole chopped fruit)since my husband doesn’t eat sweeteners that are not whole foods. It reminds me of the cakes in Germany that are dryer than typical US ones, but it is really good and made from whole foods. I’m still working out the details of the recipe to make it better, but I was so excited when my cake fit my bill of no sugar and fairly easy.
We also make cakes out of only fruit by slicing fruit in fun ways and building them up to look like a tiered cake-actually they are some of the tastiest cakes I’ve ever eaten!
I have loved reading about all of these recipes- and am eager to try them! But I am curious… I noticed on several occasions you used coconut oil. Is there a reason you use it instead of other oils? I believe that it has somewhere near 5 or 6 times the saturated fat that canola or olive oil has. So I was wondering if there is some reason it would be preferred over a much more heart-healthy oil?
I’m curious as well. Thanks!
Here is a post for more info on oils: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/05/14/mini-pledge-week-10-no-refined-oils/
And I have not tried applesauce in this recipe, but it might work!
My husband is wheat-sensitive, so I simply substitute brown rice flour for wheat flour in most recipes. It can cause some issues, but it mostly works. As for sugar substitution, the most creatively I’ve ever done this was to blend an equal or slightly greater portion of dark sweet cherries and substitute it for sugar in a recipe (I did this with brownies). I had to lower the liquid requirements, but it mostly came out ok. It is a trial-and-error thing. I especially like the colorful fruit drizzle in this recipe; not only adds color but a tangy taste!
Home made cakes taste so much better, since they are made with LOVE xx
I’m a bit confused about the sugar and flour. I’m on the 10-day pledge…and I think we’re not to use white flour–or any type of sugar. Are there substitutions for these with this cake?
keep the good job!
What a great idea to use whole wheat flour in a cake recipe..sounds so nice and rich. And LOVE the frosting and coloful additions on the top. Thank you for the idea with the toothpicks..makes it so pretty!
I made a tie dye cake from scratch for my daughters’ BDays (I have 2 daughters that are born a week apart). I used your icing recipe. It was amazing! There was no cake left that night. That was a first! I have tried several of your recipes and I have to say they are all amazing and very simple to make! Thank you!!!!!
I’m am loving your blog! Any suggestions for school lunches that are real food and don’t contain dairy or nuts? We have several kids at my child’s school with dairy/nut allergies. I don’t want to send my kid to school with something that could send another child to the ER.
Hi there…check out this link for school lunch ideas! https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/category/children-adapting/school-lunches/
Recipe review: The cake came out delicious! Very comforting and delicate! You will not be disapointed.
It did come out VERY sweet, so perhaps reduce the sugar content. Or perhaps since I’ve laid off sugar for so long anything tastes extra sweet to me, or, the brand of cocunut oil I use (Spectrum) is known to be too sweet tasting. Anyway, for those that don’t like your desserts too sweet, perhaps reduce the sugar content just a tad.
Great job Lisa!
A half batch makes 9 cupcakes. They are in the oven right now….wish me luck!!
That looks great. My son has a birthday coming, so I’m going to try this recipe. All food rules are usually off for birthdays, but after 4 years of a birthday boy who gets super hyper in the beginning of the day and then crashes hard at the end, I think I owe it to him to change traditions and keep our food rules (mostly) intact on B-Day.
Looks really yum! Definately going to give this recipe a try :)
This is great! My hubby’s birthday is Wednesday, and my younger son’s birthday is at the end of the month. We LOVE making birthday cakes, and have gotten pretty elaborate over the years (think Cake Boss-style). The kids absolutely love making things out of fondant and modeling chocolate, but I was cringing at the thought as I’m trying to reduce (and eventually eliminate) the white sugar in the house. I’m super excited about the recipe, and especially the whipped cream frosting…this will definitely help reduce the sugar count!!
I make the recipe on the back of the hershey cocoa can. However, I substitute 3 egg whites for the eggs, applesauce for the oil and agave for the sugar and white whole wheat flour for the all purpose flour. Oh and I use unsweetened almond milk. Very moist!
I’m looking for a whole wheat cake with no sugar. I would prefer agave, applesauce and egg whites. It sounds fabulous. How much applesauce and agave?
Thanks for the tip about the Hershey’s cocoa can, Anne! I’m baking it as we speak, and it smells divine!
Also, any other ideas on frosting?
Awesome! I don’t like to use the boxed mixes, but I’ve never found a from-scratch recipe that I liked. I’ll definitely try this one out.
Okay, all things in moderation right? I’m generally staying away from gluten, but this looks so delicious I can’t resist!!!!!
Sub the flour for “Jules Gluten free flour” it has one for one sub for wheat flour…julesglutenfree.com
do you think theis recipe would do well as cupcakes like the box mixes do? just less baking time maybe?
Yes it would definitely work!
It should work perfectly for cupcakes. I’d check them after 12 mins.
This really looks beautiful!! My boys are turning 2 and 4 next week. I think I will print out the recipe and do a test run this weekend. I told my hubs that I am cooking for 15 kids and 20 adults!
No pressure!!!
Perfect timing! My oldest’s birthday is next week. Thank you!
I’ve never been huge on frosting. It’s not something we’re all that familiar with where I grew up.
In fact here is a funny story. I made a chocolate cake for my husband’s birthday the first year I was here.
“Oh you made a brownie for my birthday, thanks”.
“It’s not a brownie, it’s a chocolate cake.”
“But it doesn’t have frosting!”.
…
A little decorating tip I learned from my mom. Works with or without frosting: cut letter or shapes on paper. Put the paper over the cake (you can use it for a negative or positive effect).
Put the finely powdered sugar (confectionar?) in a mesh strainer and shake it over the cake. Then carefully remove the paper shapes to see the result.
I did this with a heart shape for a carrot cake. I had made a cardamom frosting so I mixed a little sugar with cinnamon to do the design.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/282662_10150244372039492_743974491_7770542_5486363_n.jpg
Love that idea for cake decorating!
I am so trying this! It is lovely and although my kids love for me to make their birthday cakes, I cringe at the food coloring! I’ll happily make my own icing and cake, but always struggled with how to make them colorful. Plus, my daughter is into tye dye right now, so perfect!!!