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Greek Yogurt Chocolate Cake

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This Greek Yogurt Chocolate Cake is healthier than your average chocolate cake made with whole grain flour, greek yogurt and topped with a mocha fudge frosting! You must make this!
slice of Greek yogurt chocolate cake with mocha fudge frosting on silver and teal plate with fork this recipe

CAKE. Let’s talk about it.

Anyone else go for cookies over cake? I know, here I am with a cake recipe today and I am telling you how I prefer cookies… Just hear me out.

I like cake… but it has to be the right kind of cake. I don’t really want your average store bakery cake, or a box mix cake… or even your typical wedding cake. If offered cake, in *most* circumstances I will say “No, thank you.”  Call me crazy, but all of those types of cakes tend to be dry and crumbly and that is just not for me. I like my cakes MOIST (sorry not sorry) and with a little density, you know what I am saying?

So if I haven’t lost you yet… then today’s chocolate cake is most certainly for you. It’s *almost* like a brownie-cake, if you will. Not as fudgy as a brownie, but definitely not light and fluffy like a traditional box cake.

I actually made this cake twice already and I will likely be making it a third time here soon, as my dad’s birthday is coming up in a few weeks and he is a chocolate fiend. The first time I made this chocolate cake was for Mother’s Day and I shared it with Drew’s mom and family. My mom and family got carrot cake because it is her favorite. I actually had to tell my family (as I was keeping this chocolate cake at my parents until we ventured over to Drew’s side later) “Don’t tell Dad there is chocolate cake and he can’t have any…” But this chocolate cake will definitely be made a third time and has my dad’s name written all over it!

Greek Yogurt Chocolate Cake with Mocha Fudge Frosting

Slice of Greek Yogurt Chocolate Cake with Mocha Fudge Frosting on silver and teal plate

What you need

  • whole wheat pastry flour
  • unsweetened cocoa powder
  • espresso powder
  • baking powder
  • salt
  • granulated sugar 
  • avocado oil 
  • plain Greek yogurt
  • eggs
  • vanilla extract
  • brewed coffee
  • 3oz dark chocolate, chopped or chips
  • butter
  • espresso powder
  • Greek yogurt 
  • powdered sugar

I love using greek yogurt in baking because you can replace some of the heavy oil and it helps keep the moisture. So you could say this chocolate cake is slightly healthier 😉

Another thing we’re doing is using brewed (cooled) coffee as the liquid. You can’t really taste the coffee in the cake, it just helps intensify the chocolate flavor.

greek yogurt chocolate fudge cake with coffee beans on wooden plank

Oh but the frosting… yes that is where the coffee DOES come into play. Because hello, “Mocha Fudge Frosting”. Duh.

We’re also using Greek yogurt in the frosting in place of cream. It sounds weird but just trust me! The frosting starts in a sauce pan by melting together the butter and chocolate chips, then you gently stir in the Greek yogurt and espresso powder. Then the texture comes together by adding in the powdered sugar, making it thick and fudge-like. And if you’re not a fan of coffee, you could just leave the espresso powder out 🙂 

 

slice of greek yogurt chocolate fudge mocha cake on silver plate with fork

After the cake has cooled completely (I put mine in the fridge to speed up the process) you can start frosting the cake! This cake can be made a day ahead and the flavor gets even better.

 

slice of chocolate fudge mocha cake on silver platter with piece of cake on fork

Let me know if you try it out by leaving a comment and review on the blog! I love seeing what you’ve made!

Xx Ashley

Print

Greek Yogurt Chocolate Cake with Mocha Fudge Frosting

piece of greek yogurt chocolate cake on silver plater with fork
Print Recipe

★★★

3 from 2 reviews
 This Greek Yogurt Chocolate Cake is a bit healthier compared to your average cake, thanks to Greek yogurt and whole grain flour! No one will know though, this cake is still plenty chocolatey! Fudgy and rich topped with a mocha fudge frosting.
  • Author: Ashley
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: 12 1x
  • Category: dessert
  • Method: oven
  • Cuisine: american

Ingredients

Scale

FOR THE CAKE

1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 TBS espresso powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar (coconut, cane, etc.)

1/2 cup avocado oil

1 cup plain Greek yogurt (whole milk suggested but 0% or 2% also works)

2 large eggs

1/2 TBS vanilla extract

1 cup brewed coffee, room temperature

MOCHA FROSTING

3oz dark chocolate, chopped or chips

4 TBS butter

1 TBS espresso powder

1/4 cup whole milk Greek yogurt (can sub half-in-half)

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a bundt pan or deep 10″ round pan with removable bottom. Set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl combine the dry ingredients, flour through salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl using electric mixer (or whisk) beat together sugar and oil until combined. Add in yogurt, eggs, and vanilla beating until combined.
  4. Carefully add ½ of the bowl of dry ingredients to your large bowl of wet ingredients, using spatula to gently combine. Then gently pour in brewed coffee and rest of dry ingredients. Gently stir together with spatula or whisk until no lumps in batter remain.
  5. Transfer batter into greased baking pan. If using bundt pan, cake should take approximately 30-40 minutes. If using 10″ deep round pan, cake should take approximately 45 minutes –cover with foil at 20 minutes to prevent top from browning too much. Check for done-ness with toothpick inserted into center of cake. Cake is done when little to no crumbs come out with toothpick. Allow to cool in pan for 20 minutes before transferring to rack to cool completely.
  6. Make frosting: combine chocolate and butter in medium saucepan over low-medium heat, stirring until melted and combined. Stir in espresso powder and yogurt. Transfer mixture to heat-proof bowl and gently add in powdered sugar, stirring with spatula until combined. Frost cake once cooled and store in fridge until ready to serve.

Notes

*May sub regular yogurt; baking time may need to be adjusted. Check with inserted toothpick for doneness.
Make sure to use a cake pan that is deep enough. I do not suggest using a regular 10″ square or round pan. You can also try dividing the batter into two 8″ round pans, just watch baking time after 20 minutes.

Cake can be made up to 1 day in advance. You can either frost the night before, or frost about an hour prior to serving.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/12th
  • Calories: 373
  • Sugar: 40g
  • Sodium: 188mg
  • Fat: 17g
  • Saturated Fat: 5g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 10g
  • Trans Fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 54g
  • Fiber: 3g
  • Protein: 6g
  • Cholesterol: 45mg

Keywords: healthy chocolate cake, chocolate cake with greek yogurt, cake using whole grain flour

 
 

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About Ashley

"Ashley Walterhouse is the founder of Fit Mitten Kitchen, based in the Greater Lansing Area of Michigan, AKA “the Mitten.” Ashley grew up as a picky eater but later discovered that eating healthy was actually easy and fun. She started FMK in 2015 as a way to share her newfound love of developing healthier recipes for all to enjoy."

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  2. Nina Miller says

    Unfortunately this recipe turned out flat, very dense, chewy and not tasty.

    ★

    Reply

    • Ashley says

      Sorry this recipe didn’t work out for you! Is it possible you over-stirred the batter? Over stirring whole wheat flour can result in a more dense texture. This cake is a little bit more naturally dense – not light and fluffy. Also making sure your baking powder is fresh will ensure you get the correct rise out of the cake.

      Reply