Apologies for the underwhelming photo. I think I need to read up on food styling... 

When a few last minute things popped up and I couldn't make it to CBN's Oscar party at Nellcote, to say that I was disappointed would be an understatement. So I did what any rational girl would do with a night alone, a mile-long list of things to take care of, and plans to be out of town the whole week: I baked a cake.

And not just any cake, a flourless chocolate cake that I topped with almond butter frosting. I think I could start an entire cookbook of recipes entitled, "Recipe Alterations That Don't Require Me To Leave My Apartment", because I made some interesting substitutions in the name of laziness that somehow resulted in a really good end product. It was fudgy, dense, and not too sweet (until I covered the whole thing with a sugary almond butter frosting.)

This was very loosely adapted from Nigella Lawson's chocolate olive oil cake.

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Coconut Oil

• 1 3/4 C + 2 Tb cocoa powder


• 1/2 tsp baking soda


• 1/2 tsp salt


• 1 C coffee, cooled


• 3 eggs


• 2/3 cup coconut oil, melted


• 1 C white sugar


• 1 1/2 Tb vanilla

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and prepare an 8x8" pan by lining it with parchment paper. If you don't usually use parchment paper, tear a piece big enough so that it hangs over the edges of the pan a bit so that you'll be able to lift the cake out by pulling up the edges of the paper later. Parchment paper makes baking infinitely easier both in terms of cleanup and in the dreaded step of removing baked goods from the pan!


2. Sift together your salt, baking soda and cocoa powder, then set it aside.


3. In a new bowl, whisk together the eggs, coconut oil and vanilla, then add your sugar and mix until its smooth, creamy and custardy.


4. Now pour the coffee into the egg and sugar mixture, and stir until its completely combined.


5. Next, slowly add the cocoa powder into the wet ingredients, stirring it in bit by bit. Take your time or it'll get clumpy and harder smooth out!


6. Once it's all mixed together and very smooth (it'll be really liquid-y!), pour the batter into your pan. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, or until you can stick a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean.


7. Lift the cake out of the pan by the parchment paper and set it aside to cool. Once it's cooled for about 20 minutes (be patient!), you're ready to frost! You could eat it plain, but what's the fun in that?

For my frosting, I combined 1/2 cup of almond butter with 1/4 cup of melted coconut oil, 1 cup of sugar and 1 tsp of salt. Powdered sugar would have resulted in a smoother frosting, similar to a buttercream, but I didn't have it and didn't mind the grainier texture... it reminded me a bit of Reeses filling!

Off to put my sugar high to good use and finish up my work.