At the BlogHer Food Conference in Miami, multiple brands sponsored the event and set up booths in the wide hallway between the grand breakfast hall and smaller breakout rooms. The friendly PR people smiled at us as we walked by, offering tote bags with samples of their various products and encouraging us to take as many as we could fit in our suitcases.
While walking up and down the aisle, I sipped on chocolate milk, nibbled on mozzarella cheese, crunched on crisp brownie bites, tore off bits of sweet rolls, munched on gourmet baked chips, tasted my first kale smoothie, and downed more servings of Averie’s cakes than I care to admit. (I was seriously SO excited to try her recipes in person — I felt like a little kid on Christmas morning!)
When I wandered by the Hamilton Beach booth on the first day, a blonde lady behind the table offered me a small plastic condiment cup with a two-bite serving of chocolate cake, freshly scooped from the inside of one of their slow cookers.
She asked if I’d like whipped cream too, and I could only nod, still completely shocked that it was possible to bake a cake inside of a slow cooker. The woman explained that the lid trapped in lots of moisture that often gets lost in a conventional oven, lending the cake a denser and fudgier texture. As I swallowed, my mind went blank — except for two words.
Pure bliss.
Although I immediately put it on my mental To Do List, I promptly forgot as soon as I returned home, mesmerized by dulce de leche and in desperate need of large caffeinated frappuccinos after getting a mere 12 hours of sleep over the course of 3 days. Besides, there was one other tiny caveat…
I didn’t actually own a slow cooker!
I had borrowed my mom’s tiny two-person one last fall since my tiny kitchen lacked shelf space. (The rice cooker, donut maker, mandoline, and ice cream maker ended up precariously stacked on the office closet’s shelves.)
But when I visited my parents last week and finally remembered my brilliant idea, my mom immediately pulled her regular-sized slow cooker off of the shelf and encouraged me to test recipes. After a little tweaking…
I finally perfected this healthy slow cooker chocolate fudge cake! With its rich flavor and dense texture, it’s truly a chocoholic’s dream. Every slice tastes like an oversized piece of dark chocolate fudge! Topped with fresh sliced strawberries or a bit of raspberry compote — or simply served plain! — this decadent cake is pure dessert perfection.
KEY INGREDIENTS TO MAKE A HEALTHY SLOW COOKER CHOCOLATE CAKE
Almost every recipe I found for “Crock Pot/Slow Cooker Chocolate Cake” started with a boxed chocolate cake mix doctored up with milk and pudding mix. While those probably taste divine, I wanted to create a from-scratch recipe — but one that was still just as easy to make.
So I did! This simple recipe uses typical pantry ingredients — nothing fancy that requires an extra trip to the grocery store. Just whisk the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another; then combine them, almost exactly like a cake mix. That’s right: there’s no chocolate to melt!
Without any melted chocolate, all of the flavor comes from cocoa powder. You’ll actually add more cocoa powder than flour to give the cake its rich dark chocolate flavor. Just like with flour, make sure you measure the cocoa powder correctly using this method. If you scoop either straight from the canister, you’ll end up with 1.5 times as much, which would really dry out your cake, turn it crumbly, and even make it bitter — instead of the rich, dense, and fudgy texture we’re going for!
Note: I HIGHLY recommend buying a kitchen scale for this reason! I adore my inexpensive one. It makes measuring everything a breeze! Many sacks of flour (all-purpose, whole wheat, and gluten-free), sugars, cocoa powder, and other ingredients already include both the cups and metric measurements on the side in the Nutrition Label. Just spoon the ingredients directly into your bowl until you reach the appropriate weight! No measuring cups to dirty — and one less thing to wash is always a plus in my book!
To help keep this slow cooker chocolate cake really moist, you’ll also mix Greek yogurt into the batter. It’s one of my favorite healthy baking ingredients! Here, it provides the same moisture as extra butter or oil (but for a fraction of the calories!). It adds a protein boost too!
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST SLOW COOKER CHOCOLATE CAKE
Let’s talk about how to make the best healthy slow cooker chocolate fudge cake! This recipe is simple and straightforward, but I still have some tips for you.
Just like with many of my cake recipes and cupcake recipes, alternating additions are mandatory. Add the flour mixture, followed by the milk, and continue switching between the two, stirring in each until they’re just incorporated. Alternating additions help prevent over-mixing, which would over-develop the gluten strands and turn your cake tough and chewy. Yet by using alternating additions, your healthy slow cooker chocolate cake turns out really moist and fudge-like instead!
I used a 5-quart slow cooker (this model), but the recipe should work in a 6-quart one as well. The cake may be slightly thinner, and the cook time may be a little shorter. It’s okay to peek early to make sure!
Coat the inside of the porcelain insert with nonstick cooking spray, and wipe off any oil that gets on the rim where the lid rests. Otherwise the lid won’t make a tight enough seal, and you’ll lose some of the moisture that’s created during the cooking process. This cake batter is fairly thick (and that’s intentional!), so spread it evenly across the bottom.
A few hours later, check on the center of the cake. When it has just barely set and doesn’t look liquidy anymore, it’s done! Shut off the slow cooker, remove the lid, and let it cool for 20 minutes before carefully turning it out onto a wire rack to prevent it from over-baking. I know it’s tempting to serve it directly from the slow cooker, but the sides could burn if you left it in any longer!
With the irresistible aroma of dark chocolate wafting throughout the entire house, my parents and I immediately left to run errands… Mainly to avoid the temptation of diving straight into this healthy slow cooker chocolate cake! After our first bites, all words escaped us, and we each snuck back for seconds. I wrapped up the remaining cake in plastic wrap before bed, and it actually turned even fudgier overnight!
Between the three of us, this rich cake disappeared in less than 48 hours, so I’m already planning on baking it again… And again… And again…
And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amys.healthy.baking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy slow cooker chocolate fudge cake!
Healthy Slow Cooker Chocolate Fudge Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (200g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured like this)
- 1 cup (120g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tbsp (15mL) vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (144g) coconut sugar or granulated sugar
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¾ cup (180mL) nonfat milk, divided
Instructions
- Lightly coat the ceramic bowl of a 5-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. If any cooking spray lands on the rim where the lid rests, carefully wipe it off with a paper towel.
- Whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, eggs, and vanilla. Add in the sugar, yogurt, and ¼ cup of milk, mixing thoroughly until no large lumps remain. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and remaining milk, stirring just until incorporated, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts and the milk in 2 equal parts.)
- Spread the batter into the prepared bowl. Cook on low for 2 ¼ to 2 ½ hours, or until the center no longer looks moist and feels barely firm to the touch. Remove the lid, turn off the slow cooker, and cool the cake in the ceramic bowl for 20 minutes before carefully turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Flourless Chocolate Cake
♡ Healthy Chocolate Bundt Cake
♡ Healthy Chocolate Oatmeal Snack Cake
♡ Healthy Chocolate Chip Pound Cake
♡ Healthy Extra Fudgy Brownies
♡ Healthy Triple Chocolate Cookies
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy slow cooker recipes and healthy chocolate recipes!
This looks like it could work! ? my oven needs repair. Did I miss temperature? Do I use cooker on high or low? I read all these comments and no one asked. Jeez I going to go over it again. I feel like ?because no one else asked my question. Maybe my slow cooker is old and only has high and low.
Exactly. All this info and endless reading, so many versions of the same pretty photos that take forever to scroll over to get to the recipe, and no mention of slow cooker setting or even approximate time frame?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Dee! The slow cooker setting and timeframe are both provided in Step 3 of the Instructions. I know it can be easy to miss! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of this cake if you try making it!
Spread the batter into the prepared bowl. Cook on low for 2 ¼ to 2 ½ hours, or until the center no longer looks moist and feels barely firm to the touch. Remove the lid, turn off the slow cooker, and cool the cake in the ceramic bowl for 20 minutes before carefully turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Sorry forgot my manners, just going to fast. Please and thank you
?
Hah! Found the temp in instruction part three
I was looking for it I a preheat which it looks like we don’t pre-heat,like in a pressure cooker.
Talk about Murphys Law my cake pan for my pressure cooker grew legs and took off.
Thank you again for your time and effort of this site. ??
No worries, Christine! I missed your last comment, so… I just responded about Step 3! ? No preheating necessary! I can’t wait to hear what you think of this cake, and I hope your oven is fixed soon too!
Hi, my oven is broken for now and I was going to make this but was wondering if I could use substitutes for what I dont have on hand. I only have whole milk plain yogurt, could I substitute that for the Greek yogurt? Would it be a 1:1 ratio? Also, I don’t have butter so could I substitute pureed avocado? I read you could substitute that for butter, or should I substitute my virgin coconut oil for butter? Thank you!!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Cynthia! Yes, your whole milk plain yogurt will work as a 1-to-1 sub for Greek yogurt! I’d recommend using your coconut oil in place of the butter for the best results. (I’m incredibly allergic to avocado, so I have no experience with that and can’t vouch for its results… But I’m positive that coconut oil will work perfectly!) 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of this cake!
Thank you! I have a 5 qt slow cooker and not enough cocoa powder, do you think i could halve the recipe?
Unfortunately, halving this recipe will not work. I’d recommend waiting until you get enough cocoa powder to make it to ensure it turns out correctly! 🙂
Oh also I only have low fat milk, can I use that? And could I substitute maple syrup or brown sugar for the sugar?
Yes, you can use low fat and and brown sugar in place of the granulated sugar! 🙂
Hello. I’m just wondering if I can reduce the amount of sugar?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Ceicei! I actually don’t recommend reducing the sugar unless you like really dark chocolate (think 85-90% dark chocolate!). However, we could adapt the recipe to replace some of the sugar with your favorite no-calorie sweetener! What’s your favorite no-calorie sweetener? (Exact brand and product name, if you know!) 🙂
How does 1.25 cups = 100g and 1 cup = 120g? I’m a little bit confused at your metric measurements! Might there be a typo somewhere?
I’ve just measured it out using cups and it didn’t come out with those measurements in grams. I think my cocoa powder might be less dense than the one in this recipe. So i’ll just have to tweak it and keep my fingers crossed!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Debs! Yes, both the gram and volume measurements are correct. This is because weight is based off of density, rather than volume. If you measured out 1 cup of cotton balls versus 1 cup of sand, they’d take up the same amount of space (volume)… But the cup cotton balls would definitely weigh less than the cup of sand! Or if you measured out 1 pound of cotton balls versus 1 pound of sand, you’d end up with a small handful of sand… And a pillowcase or two full of cotton balls! Same weight, different volume. Does that make sense?
The same thing applies to different ingredients. 1 cup of flour weighs 120g, whereas 1 cup of cocoa powder weighs 80g (although this can vary with the brand of cocoa powder — I use Hershey’s! — so check the label of your cocoa powder container to see how many grams there are per serving). Does that make sense? 🙂
I can’t wait to hear how your cake turns out!
That actually make a lot of sense! Brilliant, thank you!
And the cake turned out sooo good. It was so indulging- I’m really glad I found this recipe 🙂
You’re welcome, Debs! I’m always happy to help! 🙂 And I’m so excited that you loved the cake!! Thank you for taking the time to let me know — that truly means a lot!
Can I substitute Swerve for the sugar?
I’m honored by your interest in my recipe, Maurice! If you’d like to substitute Swerve, then you’ll need ¾ cup plus an additional 5-6 tablespoons of milk to replace the granulated sugar. Erythritol both absorbs and dissolves differently in liquids compared to granulated sugar, which is why you’ll need additional milk to achieve the same texture. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of this cake if you try making it!
Really good! Inexpensive, quick and hit the spot. Out of yogurt – used applesauce and baked in oven.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this cake, Marie! Thanks for sharing your applesauce modification too. I always love hearing what recipe tweaks work! 🙂