Coconut Chocolate Coffee Cake – Paleo Friendly

Before I give you the recipe for my Paleo Coconut Chocolate Coffee Cake (yeah – you read that right. It’s Paleo coffee cake) I need to tell you something. And before I tell you something, I need to preface what’s coming, per usual, with a movie reference that nobody will understand:

Remember the scene in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape where Juliette Lewis (Becky) tells Johnny Depp (Gilbert) all about the mating habits of the praying mantis? And after a somewhat graphic description, she quickly switches gears and asks him…

“…so do you wanna eat?”

I’m about to do that to you. I’m sorry. “Write what you know,” and all that, right?

Ready? Ok.

My dog has been eating grass, not wanting to sit down, and making this face for two days:

Why, you might ask? Well, this morning, we found out. The answer…was all over the carpet.

So you can see why I needed coffee, stat. Inside a cake. That also had chocolate and coconut in it. And no gluten.

I needed a Paleo Coconut Chocolate Coffee Cake.

I don’t bake, unless it’s for special occasions – like Christmas, Thanksgiving, or the 20th anniversary of The O.C. (Yes, I’m old.) I’m not going to lie, though: this was a full-on feeling-sorry-for-myself cake.

I’m not a good cook, and I’m an even worse baker. But this recipe is super easy. Two bowls, maximum, and no tricky things that remind you of laundry, like tossing or folding.

The end-product is moist, slightly gooey, cake-like, and just lightly sweet.

Make it!

 

Paleo-friendly Coconut Chocolate Coffee Cake

Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4-6

What you’ll need: (all ingredients are available at Whole Foods or Natural Grocers/health sections; my ordering recommendations listed.)

  • two medium-sized glass bowls for mixing & one square glass baking dish (8″x8″)
  • coconut oil for greasing baking dish
  • 4 eggs
  • ½ cup full-fat coconut milk
  • ¼ cup coconut butter (I use this brand)
  • ½ cup brewed coffee or espresso, as strong as you like
  • ¼ cup grade B maple syrup (I use this brand)
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract (I use this brand)
  • ½ cup almond flour (I use this brand)
  • ½ cup + 1 Tbs coconut flour (I use this brand)
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • pinch of sea salt (I use this brand)
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips
  • ½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes (I got mine here)
What to do:
  1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
  2. Combine the first 6 ingredients (eggs, coconut milk, coconut butter, coffee, maple syrup, and vanilla) in a bowl. Mix them together. I always use my favorite kitchen tool, my stick blender, to do the mixing.
  3. In a separate bowl, combine the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir.
  4. Add the liquid, a little at a time, to the dry ingredients, mashing and stirring the mixture until smooth. Then, add half the chocolate chips to the mixture and stir them in.
  5. Pour/push the mixture into the greased baking dish, smoothing it out with a spatula.
  6. Top with coconut flakes, then chocolate chips.
  7. Bake for 35 minutes, then allow it to cool. Or eat it right away and burn your tongue. Whatever.

 

Thanks for reading!

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41 Responses

  1. This looks great and I’m going to have to try it but I’m curious about something. You know that coffee cake isn’t called coffee cake because it is made with coffe right?

    1. Haha, yes of course I know 🙂 I was waiting for someone to say something. But this cake has coffee in it, and I wanted to be sure that was in the recipe title! I went in order of how much of each was in the recipe – mostly coconut, then chocolate, then coffee. I would have called them “Bars,” but they’re too cakelike in texture. And they’re not brownies, so I had to stick with cake! And I ate them with coffee, so I thought it all fit fine.

      1. Hi Liz!
        Despite the fact that it is dead week and I should be slaving over the mass amounts of material I need to study, I somehow ended up reading through every single one of your blog posts instead…Just wanted to let you know that I SO appreciate everything you do! Your posts, podcasts, and Instagram uploads are always hilarious, inspiring, and uplifting.
        Thank you for all your incredible wisdom. Especially your messages to women on body image–You’ve honestly changed my life!

  2. My wife and I aren’t allergic to raw dairy. Can we substitute raw milk butter which we made ourselves for coconut butter in the recipe. All the other ingredients we do have.
    We have enjoyed Skintervention and are in the process of switching over to less chemical ingredients. My wife has switched over to no poo shampoo.
    Good luck on your farming.
    Tom and Kay Rodgers

    1. Update! Made this wonderful creation and it was fabulous! The cake was moist and delicious! Thank you so much for sharing it with us!

  3. Can the coconut butter be substituted with raw butter? If that is not possible, can I convert coconut flour into coconut butter by the same method I convert almond flour into almond butter?
    Tom

    1. I honestly don’t know. Sorry! I don’t often do recipes, and it seems folks want more details than I know. It’s a miracle this worked out as well as it did! If you try it, let me know how it goes! The batter should be pretty viscous and scoopable, so if it seems watery with the raw butter, maybe add another Tbs. of coconut flour.
      You can’t convert coconut flour into coconut butter, unfortunately. But you can probably convert coconut flakes into coconut butter. Thanks for reading Tom!

  4. Liz!, Avid follower:) Just wanted to let you know you literally make me laugh out loud…. on a daily basis. Much love

  5. I am making this right now!! Can’t wait to pull this bad boy outta the oven! 😉 Thanks Liz! I hope your pup feels better too!
    xo C

      1. I LOVED it! So did my hubby!
        We killed it in about a day – probably won’t make it too often as we apparently can’t control ourselves when it comes to sugar – hehe 🙂
        Great, easy recipe! This one’s a keeper.

    1. Well, it depends on how big a serving would be. 8 big servings? (I don’t do recipes very often – I’m learning that people want more details! I usually don’t think about things that way!) It’s in an 8×8 dish, so however you think the servings would work 🙂
      I’m sure it COULD be frozen, but I’m not sure! I think that’s part of being a bad cook 😉 If you try freezing it, let me know how it goes! It refrigerates well for a few days (if it lasts that long)! I hope you enjoy – report back if you try it!

  6. New to the Paleo lifestyle, I have tried so many delicious recipes… some great, some hohum. This confection is absolutely the tastiest dessert I have made (…and I’ve thrown out many concoctions). Thank you for the indulgence!

  7. Hi Liz,
    I’m allergic to almonds… ugh. Do you think the almond flour can be replaced with coconut flour?
    Thanks! 🙂

  8. It’s in the oven as I write this. Here are some changes I made…I used xylitol maple syrup (so it had less sugar) and I used 1 tsp coffee extract and 1/2c water in place of coffee.

  9. This looks yum! Can’t wait to try !
    For all those asking re substitutes, for coconut butter you could use peanut butter or other nut butters not actual butter as the textures and consistency aren’t the same! Substituting almond flour with coconut flour won’t work as they are completely different. Chances are the coconut flour alone will produce a denser sweet not to mention you’d have to up the egg content. Try hazelnut or walnut meal instead of the almond flour if you’re not allergic… Regarding sweetness in the dish, use honey if you’re afraid of maple syrup and you can always omit chock chips and use cacao nibs.
    I can’t wait to make this! I’ve been meaning to make up a coffee cake recipe but you e just solved problem 🙂 thank you!

    1. Hmm…I honestly don’t know! I’m not so sure…it would definitely change the flavor and would need some kind of acceptable liquid to replace it. The espresso/coffee gives it a lot of its flavor. Maybe a spiced tea? If you try it and make any interesting discoveries, let me know!

    1. I’m not sure! If it’s relatively thick with a good amount of coconut meat in it, I’d think it would be fine. Coconut butter seems to go under a few different names, including coconut manna and coconut cream, depending on what you buy. I’m thinking creamed coconut is another name for the same thing?

      1. That’s what I was thinking. It’s a little confusing with all the names they have, and I wonder what the actual difference is. I’ll try it with the “creamed coconut” and see how it turns out. Thanks!

  10. Hi Liz! This is such an amazing recipe and I really really want to try it but i don’t have an oven, just a microwave oven. Would that work? If so how much time do you think is necessary for the cake to be “baked” with it? Thank you so much! ❤

    1. Oh man, I just don’t know, Summer! I’m so sorry. No clue how the microwave works with regards to “baking” stuff, and I don’t have the ingredients to experiment to find out for you right now! If space is an issue, a toaster oven is awesome and I know those work just like full-sized ovens! Just in case you ever feel the need for a new piece of kitchen equipment!
      Again, so sorry, Summer!

  11. I just made this cake and it’s ridiculously good!! It has a great texture and is beautifully moist. The flavours all work really well together (coffee and coconut, who knew?). I made my own coconut butter to use in this recipe (super easy, dried coconut in the food processor for about 5 minutes until it transforms into a viscous liquid) and I used strong coffee made in a French press. Next time I’ll make it even stronger, I just love that coffee flavour. I’m putting this on regular rotation! Thanks so much!

    1. Woo hoo! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this cake Glyn! I just will never NOT get a kick out of people’s positive feedback. Have an awesome day – you sure made mine!

  12. These were YUMMY! Probably a little too much chocolate for me to consider it a snack and not a treat, but we loved it! I put all of the “wet” ingredients in the blender for a second (easier to measure) then poured it into the dry. I probably could have used an extra tablespoon coconut flour because of that. I also used chocolate chunks in the batter and mini chips on top.
    I just wanted to say how much I love reading your blog posts. You are so much fun!

  13. Just popped this bad boy in the oven and am beyond excited for this tasty treat! I’ve not made a dessert like this combing almond and coconut flours so I am excited to see the end result! Thanks for sharing all your goodness! XO

  14. It’s been one of those weeks for me too. Even my morning coffee was screwed up today.. I’m going to have to make this and mentally start over. And amazingly, I have all the ingredients which is a first.. even the coconut butter. I haven’t opened it yet and have never used it but I’m excited to get to try it! Thanks for adding a glimmer of light to my week. haha!

  15. This cake is to die for. I made it for my wife’s Christmas birthday (technically tomorrow), to share with family. I made two cakes, as the serving size says 4-6 but after trying it, we both realized that it is so rich the serving size should actually be more like 12-16 per recipe! It has a light cake texture. I used 70% Chocolove, and found it was better to slice while slightly warm than wait until it was completely cooled because the cooled chocolate on top has a tendency to crack and pull away from the cake underneath. Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful recipe.

    1. Well this comment just made my day! I’m thrilled you love it – and even more thrilled you took the time to say so! Happy birthday to your wife!

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