Guest Post: Hot Cocoa Mason Jar Cakes

I just died. Could this recipe get any better?? No seriously. It’s insane. Rachel from South Beach Primal is straight up a genius. I’ve been able to host some amazing guest blog posts on my blog and this may be my favorite. This girl has fantastic recipes, gorgeous photography, and a personality to boot. I love personalities. A lot of people lack those. Go check out her website and get to making these jar cakes right away. Everything is better when it’s made in a jar. Because it’s adorable. And Americans love adorable things.

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Hey everybody! I’m Rachel from SouthBeachPrimal and I’m over-the-top EXCITED to be doing a guest post on PaleOMG. I started following Juli when I first began my grain-free journey almost 3 years ago. I used to suffer from severe Rosacea Acne and chronic stomach problems before adopting a Primal/Paleo lifestyle. So now a full year after starting up SBP I’m so grateful to be contributing to the recipe website that started it all.

I posted a pic on my Instagram last week of one of these Hot Cocoa Cakes and people went BANANAS. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that Cavemen wouldn’t even know what to do with this dessert back in the Paleolithic era. One bite, and a Caveman would be weeping aloud, convulsing on the ground in pure ecstasy. Not. Even. Kidding.

Two things that might deter you from trying out this awesome dessert: 1) Not having Tapioca starch in your possession. My answer: Stop being a pansy and go out and buy some Bob’s Red Mill Tapioca Starch now! It gives baked goods the springyness it needs, like gluten in regular bread. I could eat this chocolate cake all day, erryday. Seriously, stop fooling around and start making legit Paleo baked goods! You’ll thank me later. And 2) You might be intimidated by making the honey meringue (or marshmallow cream). Kitchen utensils like “candy thermometers” listed in the directions make my procrastination automatically kick in, but RESIST THE URGE. The whole process takes less than 5 minutes. Scouts honor.

A huge plus to this recipe is that each element can be made ahead of time. Just heat up the cake bits and chocolate sauce before assembling, and bring the marshmallow topping to room temperature. I know you guys will fall in love with these as much as I did. Now go jump in the kitchen!

Check out Rachel of South Beach Primal on:

Her Website – http://www.southbeachprimal.com

Her Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/SouthBeachPrimal

Her Twitter page – https://twitter.com/SoBeachPrimal

Her Instagram page – http://instagram.com/southbeachprimal

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Guest Post: Hot Cocoa Mason Jar Cakes

  • Yield: 4 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • ½ cup tapioca starch
  • ¼ cup coconut flour
  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • ½¾ cup Grade B maple syrup
  • ¼ cup coconut oil (plus extra for greasing pan)
  • 4 pastured eggs
  • ½ tbsp vanilla extract

Marshmallow topping:

  • ¼ cup raw honey
  • 2 egg whites from pastured eggs (at room temp)
  • ½ tsp lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate sauce:

  • 1 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
  • ¾ cup coconut milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. For the cake: Combine all dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Then mix together all the liquid ingredients in a small bowl, and then combine with the dry ingredients. Mix well.
  2. Grease an 8X8” square baking dish with coconut oil and then pour the batter into the pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.
  3. While the cake is baking make the marshmallow topping.
  4. Place the egg whites, lemon juice, and vanilla extract in a medium mixing bowl.
  5. Heat the honey in a small saucepan over medium low heat. The bubbling honey should reach 220 degrees Fahrenheit (use a candy thermometer to determine the temperature, or if you don’t have one just wait 1 minute while it’s bubbling).
  6. At the same time start mixing the egg whites with a hand mixer or stand mixer-I’m not cool enough yet to own a stand mixer but it makes this part much easier I’m sure- and whip the egg whites into stiff peaks.
  7. SLOWLY add the boiling honey in a light drizzle into the egg whites while still whipping. This cooks the egg whites slowly instead of dumping it in too fast and scrambling them. The whole process should take about 30 seconds. Continue to whip the egg whites until they reach room temperature. The mixture should be glossy and dense.
  8. Using the same saucepan that had the honey in it, dump the chocolate chips and coconut milk in. Stir the mixture over medium heat continuously for about 5 minutes or until fully melted and silky. Add in the vanilla extract before removing from the heat.
  9. Assemble the jar cakes: Cut the warm chocolate cake into small squares and layer in mason jars. Drizzle with hot chocolate sauce and top with the marshmallow meringue. If you wanna get fancy use a kitchen torch to kiss the meringue- just don’t burn down your kitchen.
  10. Serve warm while wearing your favorite PJ’s and sitting by the fire. OR pretend like me that it’s 30 degrees outside and you’re sitting by the fire. Whatev.
  11. Notes: Marshmallow cream can be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks in an airtight container. If you don’t have mason jars then just assemble the cakes in cute coffee mugs.

Notes

Serves: 4 pint-sized mason jars (very large portions)

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PaleOMG Guest Post: Hot Cocoa Mason Jar Cakes

hotcocoajarcakes3

Oh, Hi! I’m Juli.

I’m a food hoarder. And a really bad dancer. If you don’t know me well, you will probably not understand my humor. Therefore, I apologize ahead of time. Thanks for listening to my ramblings of my ever-changing life and trusting my kitchen mishaps. Your trust in me is appreciated.

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28 thoughts on “Guest Post: Hot Cocoa Mason Jar Cakes”

  1. Yes! This looks fab. I might sub (paleo) vanilla bean ice cream and make this for my hubby’s b-day next week. And I love Paleo/Primal recipes that don’t call for 1 million eggs and 20 cups of almond flour. 🙂 Do you stick to the same flour mix ratio in most of your baked goods, i.e. 2:1:0.5 ?

      1. so you dont have to put them in a sauce pan at all ( the egg whites) do you just have them in a bowl with an egg beater

  2. these are really cute!! if only i could eat eggs. blahh i have a feeling i could do an egg free chocolate cake with a coconut cream layer.

    are those straws or some cool kind of candy cane?? i figure candy cane since you can’t drink cake haha

    1. I think an egg-free chocolate cake would work fabulously. And these are decorative candycaned-striped “straws”, to resemble sipping hot chocolate (but cake version) made from everyday household items. Seemed like a good creative idea at the time… I hope it translated!

  3. I am a big fan of SBP–LOVE the recipes! So it is really cool to see your guest post here.

    I haven’t made these yet and I would like to know if they are as good as the SBP triple chocolate trifle because that has to be my favorite paleo recipe. My kids love that cake. Can’t wait to try this one.

    1. Yay! I have a fan! HOW COOL! Rebecca this recipe is at least 3 times better than my chocolate trifle, and it takes about the same time to make. When I originally made the trifle I wanted them to be as good as this, but it was missing something (which I found in the marshmallow topping and updated cake recipe). I really think your kids will love this! Thanks for following 🙂

  4. Could you sub honey for the maple syrup called for in the cake? 🙂 Because I need this now. And I have a metric butt-ton of honey, aaand no syrup. And leaving the house to buy some is slightly overrated.

  5. Serious question here, it looks amazing and I’m sure it tastes divine, but, how are maple syrup and honey permitted in Paleo?

  6. I’m new to Paleo and have a terrible sweet tooth … so this recipe really caught eye! Considering I’m not much of a cook or baker or anything that requires assembly and turning on the stove, I procrastinated for almost a month.

    Ok, so now that I finally made it I can’t get enough!! OMG it’s delish!! But I have two questions:
    1 – how do I store the chocolate syrup (maybe a dumb question)? In the fridge or can I leave it out?
    2 – the “marshmellow” topping, after storing in the fridge for one day has liquid on the bottom of the container. Do I whip it again or is that portion a loss?

    Thanks Juli and Rachel and keep those recipies coming!

    1. Ariella, I’m so happy you love the recipe! I know some people have been having issues with the meringue topping so it gives me hope that you can make it while being inexperienced in the kitchen. Awesome!
      1.) Store the chocolate in the fridge and then bring to room temp before slowly reheating. (If it’s not fluid enough just add a dash of coconut/almond milk.
      2.) On the rare occasions I didn’t eat this immediately, I also found some liquid separated on the bottom of the meringue. I just scooped around it, so I don’t know what will happen if you incorporate it again.
      Hope this helped!

  7. I made this today and loved it (probably would have used more vanilla extract and less honey in marshmallow topping). A big thank you to your guest poster! Who knew you could make wonderful cakes without dairy or flour!!

  8. Hi, If someone has a nut allergy would you recommend just doing 1 1/4 c. of coconut flour and the regular amt of tapioca flour?

  9. OMG. These are fricken amazing!!! They are so easy too. Don’t get discouraged by what seems like multiple steps, the whole process takes maybe 30-40 minutes for a novice and is well worth it.

  10. Is the Coconut milk in the recipe meant to be the bottle of cold drinking coconut milk from the store? or is it the canned kind? If canned, do use entire can or just fatty part of milk at the top?

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