Start Your Morning with a Delicious Chocolate Cake

The sacred Gemara says in the tractate Pesachim: "Rise early and eat, in the summer because of the heat and in the winter because of the cold." In the tractate Gittin: "Breakfast is beneficial for the entire body." And in the tractate Bava Metzia: "Our sages taught: Thirteen benefits are said about breakfast:
It protects from the heat,
from the cold,
from dangers,
from harmful spirits,
it makes the simple wise,
it ensures success in judgment,
enables studying and teaching Torah,
his words are heard,
his learning is sustained,
his flesh does not emit an odor,
he frequently engages with his wife,
and does not desire another woman,
it eliminates intestinal lice.
Some say: it even removes jealousy and brings in love."

During the long fast of the night, the body exhausts its glycogen (carbohydrate) reserves. As discussed in a previous article - carbohydrate is energy. How important breakfast is, a quality carbohydrate portion. Sweet and enjoyable, yet one that absorbs gradually into the bloodstream without extreme sugar spikes.

What a wonderful way to start the day, what joy for a boy or girl who begins their morning this way, the body and mind free and focused to absorb learning. All the more so for us adults.

The following recipe originally comes from the amazing Karin Goren. Her dessert recipes are excellent, and I draw much inspiration from them. I had the opportunity to meet her once personally; Hashem grants me the privilege to volunteer in a project by the "Rechashay Lev" association, which sends cakes weekly to the children's oncology department in Tel HaShomer (If the project organizers approve, I will dedicate a moving and special post to this amazing initiative).
At the first meeting of all the volunteer bakers in the project, Karin Goren also volunteered her time to give us a lecture, offering excellent baking tips, and each of us received a gift of her recipe book with a personal dedication.
Her name is Karin - just like her name suggests, she radiates. She won us all over with her smile and charisma.

So here is the recipe based on her cake, called "Insanely Moist Chocolate Cake" (available on Karin's website) - with a few health-related tweaks/improvements.

First, I will elaborate on the changes, so each of you can apply these changes to different recipes you love.

Flour

I've previously detailed which types of flour I recommend: whole wheat/spelt/rye.
Be sure to purchase flour with strict kosher certification that does not require sifting.
For bundt cakes, I recommend rye flour (though whole wheat is definitely an option). The advantage of rye flour is that it's low in gluten, making it suitable for those who find gluten causes digestive discomfort (excluding celiac patients, for whom rye flour is not suitable).
Rye is high in protein, essential minerals such as calcium and iron, and vitamin B. Since it is low in gluten, rye flour is less suitable for yeast pastries, bread, and challahs.

Oats:

My lecturer, Noa Uliel, is not too fond of using the term "superfood." In her opinion, the word has become too trendy and common, not always justifiably so. There are many foods she refers to as having high nutritional density, meaning they are rich in nutrients - and one of them is oats.
Oats are rich in nutritional values, so rich that if we discussed them all, we'd need a separate full article, which I may do in the future. But for now, I'll mention the two main ones for me:

• Oats are rich in a type of dietary fiber that slows sugar absorption in the blood (helps create a low glycemic load). Since cakes contain sugar, flour, and other carbohydrates, it is important to add oats so that the carbohydrates in the cake are absorbed into our bodies more gradually.
• Another value is that oats contain the amino acid tryptophan. Tryptophan is the precursor to serotonin. Serotonin is a type of neurotransmitter that is very important to the brain and our nervous system, especially for focus and calmness.
  (Photo: shutterstock)

Carob Powder

What chocolate cake doesn't contain cocoa or chocolate?
Our cake contains cocoa, but we will replace some of the quantity with carob powder.
Carob powder is sweet as it naturally contains about 50% sugar, but it also contains protein, fiber, and a high concentration of essential vitamins and minerals, primarily calcium.
We all know how important calcium absorption is for bone structure and proper bones, but not just that. Calcium is also important for the cardiovascular system, muscle function, and many other vital processes in our body.
For those of you wondering about the oxalic acid in cocoa, which hinders calcium absorption, let me reassure you, carobs are so rich in calcium that a large portion manages to find its way and absorb into our body's target sites.
The taste... there's no difference. No one will notice that we replaced half the cocoa with carob powder.

Eggs

I warmly recommend switching to organic free-range eggs enriched with omega-3:

• Free-range eggs – because regular laying hens live in miserable conditions, locked in wire cages stacked on top of each other. Although I support everything related to preventing animal cruelty, this is neither the time nor place - for those interested in more details on the difference between regular and free-range eggs from a humane perspective, there is a sea of information online. I mention this because happy, free-ranging chickens lay healthier eggs.
• Organic - because the food the hen receives affects egg quality, which ultimately enters our bodies.
• Enriched with omega-3 – because omega-3 is a highly essential fatty acid, for many reasons, including for attention and concentration/.

And most importantly - whether we're using organic eggs or regular eggs - it's important first to break the egg into a clean glass cup and thoroughly check that the egg is entirely clean of any blood residues, and only after passing the test can we add it to the batter.
The egg is rich in protein. In fact, when recording how much protein is in various foods, the egg receives a score of 100.
When you think about it, an egg has the potential to become a chicken. In fact, all nutritional values found in chicken meat are in the egg: complete protein, vitamin B12, folic acid, and other excellent vitamins and minerals needed by the human body, especially for children in growth stages.
Until a few years ago, eggs suffered from a bad reputation regarding cholesterol. With Hashem's help, in a future article, I will dedicate a whole post to cholesterol - what is good cholesterol, what is bad cholesterol, and why coconut oil and innocent eggs are blamed.

Sugar

I'm in favor of improvements, not drastic changes. Sugar is part of our kitchen. It adds so much to taste - and as they say - sometimes you need something just for the soul.
So an excellent tip from dear Noa Uliel, which I've also adopted - reduce the sugar quantity in the recipe by half, and add a pinch of salt. The salt will emphasize and enhance the sugar's taste.
In the original recipe below, two cups of sugar are listed. I only added one cup of sugar and a pinch of salt.
The cake came out great and sweet.

(Photo: shutterstock)

The Pan

What... is the pan also important?
Yes! The pan in which the cake is baked is very important, especially if baking in a disposable pan. Studies have shown that baking or cooking food placed in an aluminum pan (or wrapped in aluminum foil), especially acidic or spiced food, can leach aluminum into our food.
Solution: bake in Pyrex or a disposable cardboard pan.
Honestly.... the cardboard pans are so pretty and decorated that the cake looks as if it was purchased at a pastry shop.
And from an environmental perspective – cardboard decomposes more quickly than aluminum.

Measuring Tools

In home goods stores, discount stores, and even disposable goods chains – they sell universal measuring tool sets. To ensure the recipe comes out precisely and not approximately, it's advisable to purchase such a set. This way, my third cup will equal your third cup, my teaspoon matches yours, and so forth.

That's it, dear sisters,
Now, any winning cake recipe you have can be upgraded to a fantastic breakfast.

Here is the recipe for an insanely moist chocolate cake:

a. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius.

b. Mix in a bowl:

• 2 cups of healthy flour (250 grams)
• 1/2 cup of oats (40 grams)
• 1/2 cup of cocoa
• 1/2 cup of carob powder
• 1 cup of sugar
• A pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

c. In a separate bowl, whip together:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup of oil
• A little vanilla extract
• 2 cups of water

d. Pour the wet mixture into the dry bowl and mix until a uniform mixture is achieved (the result is a rich, chocolaty batter, a hint of the wonderful cake to come).

e. Grease three loaf pans (cardboard) with oil spray, and pour the batter inside.

f. Bake for 45 minutes.

g. Prepare the chocolate coating:
Place in a bain-marie (a bowl over a pot of boiling water):

• 4 tablespoons of cocoa
• 4 tablespoons of boiling water
• 5 tablespoons of sugar
• 30 grams of coconut butter

Or an easier coating option:
The Achouva company released a great chocolate-flavored sesame butter spread. Mix 3 heaping tablespoons of this spread with a little boiling water, and continue mixing to achieve a thick sauce texture.

h. Coat the cake.

That's it.

Oh, wait, one last thing:

i. Update in the comments section on how it turned out.

In the next post, with Hashem's help, I'll bring an exceptional basic sponge cake recipe that lets you run wild with your imagination.

Until then, stay healthy,

Chen Tobi