Buckwheat Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Sauce

I like me a heavy cake.  A dense cake.  A heavy, dense chocolate cake.

A bitterly chocolatey heavily dense chocolate cake.

How's it going, you guys?  You might be asking yourselves, what am I eating these days?

I know I was wondering it about you.

I've been off sugar, wheat and dairy for more than a month now (health reasons grumble grumble).  It's been a bit of a sparse time for food-blogging, I have to say.

I'm still off most of those things, but I am eating fruit now.

Fruit!

Bananas in my granola and oranges with my plain almond yogurt.

It's becoming a better day.

I'm giving up fish this month (I dumped chicken in March, yo).  We are on our way, vegans by June!  And then back again.

Also, running!  I'm doing that too, sometimes.  Like, four days a week now?  Or at least that's the goal.

And crunches.

Anyway, shut up about exercise.  Let's eat some cake!

Buckwheat Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Sauce (adapted from David Lebovitz, genius that he is)

I adapted this recipe to be sugar- and dairy-free, although it was gluten-free to begin with.  If you are a hardcore chocohoover, you will love it.  It's like huffing a cocoa bean.  I also made this raspberry sauce, in case you have to share it with someone and they want some sugar, or something.  Also feel free to sprinkle (or spread) with powdered sugar.  Sweeten to taste, is what I'm saying.  In the original recipe he adds in a half cup of sugar with the wet ingredients.  You can do that too.  Also, if you want to go whole hog, swap butter for the coconut oil and whole milk plain yogurt for the almond milk.  If your health isn't holding you hostage, why not?

6 ounces (170g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped 
1/2 cup (115g) coconut oil
4 large eggs, separated
1/3 cup (80ml) almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (75g) almond or hazelnut flour
1/4 cup (35g) buckwheat flour

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC.) Butter an 8-inch (20cm) cake pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.

In a large, heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and coconut oil until smooth, then remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, almond milk, vanilla, and salt, the whisk them into the melted chocolate. Stir in the almond or hazelnut flour, and the buckwheat flour.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or by hand, whip the egg whites until they form firm peaks. Fold one-third of the whipped egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then fold in the remaining chocolate mixture just until it’s completely combined.

Scrape the batter into the pan, level the top, then bake for 25 to 30 minutes; the cake will feel relatively set, but the center of the cake should still be soft. Let cool for 10 minutes, then remove.

For raspberry syrup:
Combine 1 cup raspberry jam with 1/4 cup water and simmer over low heat until reduced and syrupy.  Strain out the seeds.