eat your cake and get nutrients too (Recipe below)!

Last year I held a healthy holiday cooking workshop. In preparation for this workshop, I developed a new cake based on an idea to twist one of my favorite cakes (pineapple upside-down cake) into a chocolate version. I was trying to figure out what fruit would work with the upside-down pan method and landed on cherries. And, wow, was this a hit! I made 3 versions to test and my family loved eating each one!

I’m excited to share this recipe with you, in time for Valentine’s Day. It is rich, flavorful, and also nutritious. So, if you want some cake, with no guilt, you must make this one!

What makes it healthy? We used raw cacao powder instead of the traditional cocoa powder. Cacao powder is rich in antioxidants and minerals that are retained because it is less processed. These nutrients can help reduce the impact of stress on our body, decrease inflammation, and even improve depression symptoms. The cake is also healthier because we use coconut sugar instead of traditional white cane sugar. Again, this is less processed and gets absorbed more slowly in the body, slowing the sugar spike we get with traditional sugar. It also has more health benefits due to the additional minerals such as potassium, calcium, iron, and zinc contained in coconut sugar.

We can’t forget the cherries! Cherries are a great source of vitamin C and potassium, in addition to being rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. So, in all, this is a great recipe to get a bunch of nutrients in a super delicious form. Oh, and it’s gluten and dairy-free for those who are sensitive.

So, enjoy this recipe, and let me know what you think!