Our Low FODMAP Chocolate Cake with Mocha Frosting is perfect for Halloween or Easter, with its fancy chocolate nest, but the easy, moist chocolate cake and espresso enhanced chocolate frosting make this a great cake for any celebration, without the moody décor.
Low FODMAP Serving Size Info: Makes 1, 8-inch (20 cm) cake; 24 slices; 1 slice per serving (Note that the chocolate nest and decorations are not taken into consideration for serving recommendations as they are considered optional)
For the Frosting: Whisk the cream, sugar, and instant espresso powder together in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and allow to simmer vigorously for several minutes or until visually thickened and reduced a little bit. It should coat a spoon. Scrape into a bowl and stir in the chocolate and butter. Allow to sit and the residual heat will melt the chocolate and butter. After a few minutes, whisk everything together until smooth and combined and whisk in the vanilla.
Assembling The Cake: Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Trim the cake layers so they are level or, if they already are level, I am going to still ask you to shave a little bit off of each layer. We are going to use this shaved off cake to make the "dirt", which is actually toasted chocolate cake crumbs. Crumble these trimmed cake bits into one of your cake pans (which should be clean and dry). Don’t worry if the cake is very moist; that's the point of this next baking process. We are going to dry them out. Bake for several minutes, tossing them around a couple times, until they are firm and beginning to feel very dry. They will firm up even more upon cooling. Dump them out of the cake pan into a little dish for later, and then wash and dryer pan because you were going to use it for the nest.
For The Nest: Line a half-sheet pan with paper towels and place it on your work surface. Melt the chocolate in the microwave or the top of a double boiler. Pour the frozen vodka into one of your cake pans - the same pans you used to bake the cake – and set right next to paper towels. You will end up using several parchment cones. Scrape some melted chocolate into a parchment cone and snip a small opening. Start piping the chocolate in rings, one on top of the other, right into the vodka. Go round and round and build up a multi-ring shape, then pause. The chocolate will firm up the second it hits the vodka. Pick up the ring carefully with two forks or your fingers and place on paper towels. Repeat with more chocolate and parchment cones and keep going until you have a nest of the dimensions you want. You will be stacking these rings and remember, they do not need to be perfect; a nest is organic in shape. I pipe some of the rings in smaller and smaller diameters to help create a pleasing shape.
Decorate The Cake: Place the nest on the center top of the cake and tuck some of the Jordan almonds here and there. The Raven that I recommend has wires in its feet and you can stick those into the cake so that he looks like he is perched on the side. Sprinkle the cake crumbs to look like dirt around the bottom of the cake. Bring the cake to the table and expect oohs and aahs.
Our recipes are based on Monash University and FODMAP Friendly science.
• Almonds: Both Monash University and FODMAP Friendly have lab tested whole almonds, and their results vary from one another. Monash says that a Green Light low FODMAP portion is 10 whole almonds at 12 g, but a high FODMAP portion is 20 whole almonds at 24 g. FODMAP Friendly gives them a “Pass” at 30 g or ¼ cup.
• Butter: Both Monash University and FODMAP Friendly have lab tested butter. Monash states that a low FODMAP Green Light portion is 1 tablespoon or 19 g and also states that “butter is high in fat and does not contain carbohydrates (FODMAPs)”. FODMAP Friendly gives it a “Pass” at 1 tablespoon or 19 g. Both recommended serving sizes are presented as part of healthy eating guidelines, not as maximum FODMAP serving size. Fat can affect guy motility and trigger IBS symptoms in some people. Eat to your tolerance.
• Chocolate: Monash University has lab tested dark, milk and white chocolate all have low FODMAP amounts: 85% dark at 20 g; dark at 30 g; milk at 20 g; white at 25 g.
• Cocoa: Monash University has lab tested what they call “cocoa” and also “cacao” and they show different FODMAP content. The problem is that from the chocolate manufacturing industry’s perspective, there is no difference between cacao and cocoa powder. The FDA, The Food Standards for Australia and New Zealand, the ICCO (International Cocoa Organization) and the National Confectioners Association do not even recognize the term “cacao” to describe cocoa powder. We have an article, All About Cocoa, that we encourage you to read. It attempts to explain the discrepancies in the Monash lab testing.
• Dairy: The low FODMAP diet is not a dairy-free diet. It is, however, low in lactose. Many dairy ingredients are low in lactose, such as heavy cream and many cheeses.
• Sugar: Monash University and FODMAP Friendly have both lab tested white, granulated sugar. Monash states that a Green Light low FODMAP serving size of white sugar is 1/4 cup (50 g). FODMAP Friendly simply states that they have tested 1 tablespoon and that it is low FODMAP. Regular granulated white sugar is sucrose, which is a disaccharide made up of equal parts glucose and fructose. Sucrose is broken down and absorbed efficiently in the small intestine.
Please always refer to the Monash University & FODMAP Friendly smartphone apps for the most up-to-date lab tested information. As always, your tolerance is what counts; please eat accordingly. The ultimate goal of the low FODMAP diet is to eat as broadly as possible, without triggering symptoms, for the healthiest microbiome.