Beauty Detox: Chocolate Love Cake

Looking for the perfect dessert to whip up this Valentine's Day? Celebrity nutritionist Kimberly Snyder's recipe for raw ginger chocolate cake won't just impress your date, it can help turn up the heat! The delicious treat is filled with ingredients that will work to spice up your love life, such as cacao powder. Cacao beans are the base of all chocolate, a well-known natural aphrodisiac that contains phenylethylamine (PEA), which stimulates the same hormone your body releases during sex! Cacao also provides plenty of flavor so you don’t need to add any sugar to this tasty cake. Trust us, you’ll feel sexier when you devour a dessert without worrying about your waistline.

To dial up the love quotient, this recipe also uses avocados, ginger, and coconuts to help set the mood. "Avocados are aphrodisiacs that date back to ancient Aztec times," says Kim. The creamy fruit is what gives this frosting its fudge-like texture, and will help to plump up your skin. "Ginger and coconut both work to improve your circulation and get your blood flowing," Kim adds. “In fact, legend says that the famous French courtesan Madame du Barry gave ginger to all of her lovers to increase their desire and improve their pleasure.” So if you want to raise the temperature in the bedroom, make sure to include this cake in your Valentine’s Day menu!

Raw Chocolate Ginger Cake with Cacao Frosting- Serves Six

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup almonds
2. ¾ cup walnuts
3. ¼ cup raw cacao
4. ¼ tsp high quality sea salt
5. 1 tsp grated ginger
6. 3 Tbsp coconut nectar*
7. 5 Medjool dates, pitted
8. 1 tsp vanilla

Frosting:

1. ¾ cup avocado flesh
2. 3 dates
3. 2 Tbsp cacao
4. ¼ cup coconut nectar*

*Use maple syrup if you can’t find coconut nectar. Don’t use agave, which is high in fructose and highly processed.

Directions:
Grind the almonds, walnuts, and cacao in a food processor until it resembles bread crumbs. Add the sea salt, ginger, coconut nectar, dates and vanilla and mix again until you achieve a smooth texture. Press the mixture into a 9 x 5 inch rectangular glass baking dish. The coconut nectar will hold the moist ingredients together, so baking isn’t necessary.

Cut the cake in half and separate with a spatula, as you will be stacking one half of the cake on top of the other to create a two-layer cake. Frost one of the halves, then stack the other half of the cake on top. Finally, frost the top of the double-layered cake with the remainder of the frosting. Slice into six pieces lengthwise and across. Garnish with a little mint on the side to add a pop of color and enjoy!

 Kimberly Snyder is a Los Angeles-based celebrity nutritionist and author of The Beauty Detox Solution. She began her work after journeying through 50 countries and six continents, learning about health and beauty from many different cultures. With a philosophy rooted in the belief that outer beauty is a reflection of inner health, Kim now works with clients such as Hilary Duff, Olivia Wilde, and Drew Barrymore. Get lots of health and beauty tips by following her on Twitter at @kimsbeautydetox.