Dark Chocolate Coconut Yogurt Cake Bites (GF/Vegan)

This post is sponsored by Dream® Non-Dairy Yogurts.

Are you looking for a healthy treat for upcoming parties? How about one you can truly indulge in and not regret you did later.   Wouldn’t you love to be able to tell your guests that, about your dessert?   Let me tell you about an irresistible dreamy dessert I made that contains live plant based probiotics and is low in sugar. I call them dark chocolate coconut yogurt cake bites. They’re a healthy, vegan, gluten-free, and absolutely gorgeous dessert/treat.

You can imagine the torture I endured, not being able to eat one of these morsels, when they were right in front of my face. This is what I suffered through when I was behind the camera. It was so tempting. Right after the photographs were done, I did pick one up and quickly take a big bite before the chocolate started melting between my fingers. Because these cake bites are naturally sweetened and soaked with coconut yogurt containing live beneficial bacteria, you don’t have to feel guilty about having more than one piece. Your calm stomach will thank you as well.

Today, I’m going to introduce you to a group of new friends: Dream® Non-Dairy yogurts. There are two types of vegan yogurts you can choose: coconut yogurts and almond yogurts. For each type, there are various flavors: plain, vanilla, strawberry, mixed berry, et al. How exciting! The part I love best about these non-dairy yogurts is that they are all made from real coconuts or almonds. Although they don’t have that strong tangy taste typical of most dairy yogurts, they do have just the right amount of sweetness and a very smooth texture that is unforgettable.

In this recipe, I decided to use the vanilla flavored coconut yogurt. Do you see the little dark specks in the yogurt? They are from the REAL vanilla beans! Unlike most yogurt cake recipes, I did not mix the yogurt with the cake batter and then bake it in the oven. As most of you know, heat kills live cultures. I want to maintain the best and most valuable part of yogurt. So after I baked the cake and let it totally cool to room temperature, I broke up the cake and poured the yogurt into the cake crumbs. After mixing them together, I divided the dough and made them into individual cake balls. The extra sweetness and vanilla flavor from the yogurt made these cake balls stand out among the rest.

For the dark chocolate hard shell, I’m using a similar idea that was used in my homemade vegan chocolate chips and vegan peanut butter cups. I melted some unsweetened baking chocolate bars and mixed it with some coconut oil, special dark cocoa powder, agave nectar and stevia. Each of the chocolate yogurt cake balls is rich in chocolate flavor, sweet, and has a hint of coconut and vanilla flavor.

Although it takes a little rewarding effort to make these cake bites, you can make them ahead of time and store them in the refrigerator or freezer. I bet no one can resist these incredible delicious and healthy chocolate coconut yogurt cake bites. Enjoy!

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Dark Chocolate Coconut Yogurt Cake Bites

Prep Time

2 hrs

Cook Time

35 mins

Total Time

2 hrs 35 mins

 

Tools: Measuring spoons and cups, mixing bowls, spatula, 8-inch square non-stick metal baking pan, food processor, kitchen gloves, forks, 9 × 13 baking pan or baking sheet, parchment paper

Course: Dessert/Snack

Cuisine: Vegan/Gluten-Free

Servings: 18 balls

Author: Joyce@Light Orange Bean

Ingredients

Dry

• 1-1/2 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour see note
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon pure stevia extract powder “Now” brand

Wet

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/3 cup non-dairy milk
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

For Yogurt Cake Bites minus the shell

• 1 cake see ingredients above
• ¼ cup organic coconut flour
• 1 6 oz container Dream coconut yogurt (vanilla flavored or your favorite choice)

For Dark Chocolate Shell

• 4 oz Baker’s unsweetened baking chocolate
• ½ cup coconut oil
• ½ teaspoon pure stevia extract powder “Now” brand
• 2 teaspoons agave nectar

Instructions

1. To make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 °F. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients, set aside. In another mixing bowl, mix all wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients mixture into the dry ingredients and then use a spatula to mix until just combined. Transfer the cake batter into a cake pan and bake for 30 minutes until a cake tester (such as tooth pick) inserted into the center comes out clean. Place the pan onto a cooling rack. Let it cool completely. Approximate1-1/2 hours.
2. Briefly break the cake by hand. Crush the chunks and blend with coconut flour in a food processor until fine crumbs forms. Pour yogurt into the processor and pulse again.
3. Wear disposable kitchen gloves, divide the cake-yogurt dough into 18 pieces, and roll each ball between palms to form smooth balls. Place the cake balls onto a parchment paper lined baking dish and freeze the cake balls for 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, cut the baking chocolate into small chunks and then place the chunks into a microwave-proof bowl. Heat in microwave for 50 seconds and stir every 10 seconds. When the chocolate is melted, add the remaining chocolate shell ingredients and stir until smooth. It should be thick and somewhat runny.
5. Use two forks to roll each cake ball in the chocolate until completely covered. Scoop the ball out with the fork and let the ball rest on the fork for a few seconds in order to drip off the extra chocolate. Carefully nudge the chocolate coated cake ball onto the parchment paper or wax paper lined dish. Refrigerate until the chocolate shell is hardened. Store in refrigerator and serve cold. These cake bites can be stored in freezer for up to 1 month.

Recipe Notes

For homemade gluten-free all-purpose gluten free flour (yield 40 oz all-purpose gluten-free flour)
8 oz brown rice flour
8 oz millet flour
8 oz sweet rice flour
8 oz white rice flour
3 oz cornstarch
3 oz tapioca starch
2 oz potato starch
Mix all flour well in a container or a gallon zip-lock bag. Store in freezer.

The store-bought all-purpose gluten-free flour will work for this recipe as well.