Chocolate Strawberry Chia Cake

This recipe is based off of my Zucchini Olive Oil Muffins.  I was originally going to make these into muffins but when I got to the end, I got a bit lazy and just wanted to pour the entire batter in one fell swoop.  With no dairy, no refined sugar, and the fact that you can sub for gluten free flour makes this definitely on the healthier end of the cake spectrum.  Plus, it has chia seeds in in, which are an automatic way to call it healthy, right? I actually ate this for breakfast:).  If I would have made them into muffins, I would not have hesitated at all to consume it for breakfast.  It's just because the word cake is there that caused my hesitation.  I can guarantee I won't be hesitating to consume another piece for breakfast tomorrow though.  If you would like to make these into muffins, the batter should make around 20 and bake them for 20-25 minutes. 

The Ingredients:
3 Cups Flour (Sub for Gluten Free!)
4 Tablespoons Cacao Powder (Not to be confused with Cocoa Powder)
1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Tablespoon Allspice
2 Tablespoons Chia Seeds
1 Cup Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Honey
1/3 Cup Applesauce
2 Tablespoons Pure Vanilla Extract
3 Large Eggs
1/2 Cup Coconut Sugar
1 LB Strawberries, stems removed
Optional: 1 Cup Chocolate Chips (non-dairy or dairy, depending on your needs)

The Steps:
Pre-heat oven to 350 

1) Whisk together the first 6 ingredients...flour, cacao powder, salt, baking soda + powder, and allspice in a large mixing bowl.

2) In medium mixing bowl, add the chia seeds, olive oil, honey, applesauce, vanilla, eggs and coconut sugar and whisk together.

3) Add the strawberries to a mini chopper or food processor and pulse several times.  You still want it slightly chunky, so don't puree it.

4) Add the wet ingredients to the dry and incorporate well.  Then fold in the strawberries and the optional chocolate chips.

5) Pour batter into a lightly oiled 9x13 pan and smooth batter with the spatula.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.