Flourless Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake with Pistachios and a Potato Chip Crust
This cake is a bit of a study in opposites, if you will. It’s what happens when I get my heart set on two concepts and decide they must be merged into one.
When Matt and I made plans for them to come over for dessert on my mom’s birthday, I went to my cake Pinterest board and looked for something chocolate. When I came across a healthy but decadent flourless chocolate cake, sweetened with date paste, made creamy with avocado and topped with a dense all-natural fudge frosting, I knew I’d found just the thing.
That is until I stumbled upon a pistachio-dark chocolate tart with a potato chip crust. Mom loves the sweet-savory combination of chocolate and potato chips. I had to make it. But I already had the dates and three very ripe avocados. I couldn’t let those go to waste. Could I somehow combine the two?
I’ll be honest, when I first started I thought I’d made a mistake. Why had I been so silly to try to combine such polar opposite recipes?! But the end result was a rich, fudgy chocolate cake made with all natural ingredients… with a side (and bottom) of potato chips. It’s kind of like ordering french fries and a diet coke, but having the diet coke taste just as good as the french fries.
*Please read through the entire recipe before making! There are several steps that must be done a day or so in advance and I know there’s nothing worse than starting a recipe and discovering you didn’t prepare!
Flourless Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake with Pistachios and a Potato Chip Crust
Adapted from The Healthy Foodie, Inspired by 10th Kitchen
Ingredients:
For the Crust:
- 4-5 cups potato chips (I used Kettle Brand Sea Salt chips)
- 5 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (can substitute oat or coconut flour to make gluten-free!)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line the bottom of a 9″ spring-form pan with parchment paper. Pulse the potato chips in a food processor until you have 1 cup of fine crumbs. Do not over-pulse. This will results in a paste that you won’t be able to use! In a medium bowl combine chip crumbs, flour and melted butter. Press into bottom of pan and bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown. Remove and allow to cool completely.
For the cake:
- 1 1/2 cup raw cacao powder (can use dark cocoa powder in a pinch)
- 3 ripe avocados
- 1 cup date paste
- 3/4 cup light coconut milk (canned)
- 6 whole eggs
- 6 egg whites
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup water
Increase oven to 375F. In your food processor, add avocados and date paste and blend until well combined and super smooth and creamy. Add eggs and process until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until well incorporated. Transfer your cake batter into the pan on top of the potato chip crust and bake in the oven for 28-30 minutes, until top appears darker pretty much all over. Be careful not to overcook. Turn the oven off, crack the door open and leave your cake in to cool for an hour or two, then transfer to the refrigerator and cool completely, at least 8 hours.
For the icing:
- 1 cup raw cacao powder (can use dark cocoa powder in a pinch)
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup date paste (depending on how sweet you want it)
- 1/2 cup light coconut milk (canned)
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- Warm water, as needed to thin
In your food processor, add all ingredients except cocoa powder and process until well incorporated. Add cocoa powder, about ¼ cup at a a time, and process until smooth and creamy with each addition. At this point, your icing should have the consistency of chocolate pudding. If it looks too thick, you can add a bit of warm water. Remove cake from the spring-form pan. Pour a good amount of icing right in the middle of the cake and spread it gently all the way to the edge. Then gently ice the sides. You will like have extra icing… this is a good thing! If you put it in the fridge, it will harden into a delicious fudge!
To Garnish:
- Additional potato chips
- Unsalted pistachios, chopped
Gently press whole potato chips to the side of your cake. Sprinkle the top of the cake with additional chips and chopped pistachios. You will want to do this right before serving, as the chips will get soggy!
