Minimalistic Biohacking Recipes - Two Ingredient Chocolate Cake

In this article we will look at a delicious, simple and even healthy cake recipe. It takes no real baking skills and can be done very quickly. If you have a sweet tooth and are craving some dessert, this is an option you can indulge in without feeling guilty. Being gluten free, it's a great option for a birthday at the office or just for your pleasure at home. Biohacking at its most delicious. 

You can decide how healthy your cake should be. The darker the chocolate, the more health benefits you get. Just mind that the darker the chocolate, the dryer the cake will become. You might have to add some fat (e.g. coconut fat) or, like I did, mix in some milk chocolate which I had left from Easter. Less healthy but even more fluffy and delicious. But let's get straight to work.

• 4 large eggs
• 340g chocolate (healthy means >85% cacao but I recommend a mix)

That's it., only two ingredients, chocolate and eggs. 

1. Melt the chocolate in your microwave or in a water bath. I used the microwave, 3x 1min 900W with stirring in between, meaning 3 minutes total on the highest setting. Pre-heat your oven to 180°C already. 

2. Separate the eggs into yolk and egg white. Meanwhile your chocolate should have cooled down a bit.

3. Mix the egg yolks into the chocolate, one by one, gently stirring until they are completely integrated. 

4. Mix the egg whites with a hand mixer until you have a fluffy and stable consistency. Gently fold them into the chocolate mix, 1/3 at a time. Be careful not to destroy the air bubbles. 

5. Grease a cake pan (I used coconut oil) and pour the mix into it. Place it in the pre-heated oven for 30 minutes

Careful: The darker and less fatty the chocolate, the flatter and more dense the cake might be and the less time you need in the oven. This is the only tricky bit where you might want to check after 15 minutes already if only using >85% cacao chocolate. 

6. Let the cake cool down for at least 10-15 minutes. It will settle down a bit. Afterwards you can decorate it as you wish.

This is a simple yet delicious chocolate cake and we can even say, it's sort of healthy. When I tried the recipe for the first time I got it from the "Buff Dudes" and I'm forever grateful for this easy goodness. You can jump to their original recipe here. 

Below we'll dive into why this cake is actually healthy and beneficial for your performance.

The health benefits of chocolate, or rather cacao, start by releasing "feel good" neurotransmitters in your brain like serotonin, dopamine and endorphins and go further by providing antioxidants, improving your blood flow, cognition and even supporting your gut bacteria. The important difference lies in the cacao content of the chocolate. Aim for more than 85% cacao content, to reap the following health benefits:

1. Improved mood
2. Improved cardiovascular health
3. Lowered inflammation
4. Healthier gut bacteria

These positive effects most likely come down to the same ingredient in cacao: Flavanols, a group of flavonoids. More specifically catechins. The described effects highly correlate with one another.

Resources for further reading: [1], [2]

Eggs are an amazing food for optimized performance. They are a great source of protein and contain micro nutrients like Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B2, Vitamin A, Vitamin B5, selenium and small amounts of calcium, iron, potassium, zinc, manganese, Vitamin E, folate and more of basically everything the human body needs. 

Eggs have received a reputation for raising LDL cholesterol, thereby causing cardiovascular problems. However the study seems to be flawed and in the end it seems like it is not the level of cholesterol in the body which is harmful, but rather the quality. What does that mean? It means that it matters what you eat WITH your eggs or how you prepare them. The real damage lies in buying cheap and low quality eggs as well as other lifestyle factors, like using vegetable oil to prepare them. 

To get the most from your eggs:

• Buy organic eggs from hens that had enough space to walk, preferably pastured (meaning they fed on insects etc.)
• Prepare the eggs properly and leave the yolk as soft as possible (to keep nutrients intact)

Resources for further reading: [1], [2]

I love to put some blueberries on top, as they are low in sugar but high in polyphenols, which help to increase blood flow and create new neuronal pathways by increasing BDFN (Brain-derived neurotrophic factor). But any dark berries will provide some benefits and make your cake again a bit more healthier. 

With your topping you can add the final touch in terms of look, taste and health impact. But now, please enjoy your cake!