This healthier version of the classic Death by Chocolate doesn’t skimp on the flavor or decadence! It’s gluten free, dairy free, and paleo as well as the perfect make ahead dessert for any special occasion. It’s a family tradition kind of dessert in my husbands family that I eagerly picked up and I know you’re going to love it too. It all starts with a flourless chocolate cake that’s layered together with chocolate pudding and coconut whipped cream to create the most luscious trifle you’ve ever eaten!
My recipe for Death by Chocolate comes from my husband’s family, and it truly lives up to it’s name. I’ve taken the liberty to change the recipe around to make for a healthier chocolate indulgence.
Strangely enough, my healthier version turned out even more rich and decadent than the original. This is mostly because my chocolate cake recipe is a lot more fudgy than cakey in texture.
This could be the only chocolate dessert you’ll ever need in your life – it’s really that good! It elicits ‘mmms’ and small moans from everyone who’s tried it.
If you want a surefire people – pleaser, this is your dessert. Creamy, chocolatey goodness with bits of fudgy cake – that’s all the ingredients of happiness right there!
Let’s get started making this healthier Death by Chocolate step by step!
Bake a recipe of Chocolate Skillet Cake using the version with 2/3 cup of maple syrup. When it’s cool, cut it into cubes right in the pan. Then use a metal spatula to scoop the cubes out.
Make the chocolate pudding according to the recipe and let that cool as well. Both the cake and the pudding can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 1 day before you assemble your dessert.
For the coconut whipped cream, I made my version with the entire can of coconut milk (refer to my coconut whipped cream post for detailed instructions) which makes a soft and fluffy whipped cream.
You can also use the solid cream from two cans of coconut milk to make a stiffer whipped cream. I personally prefer a softer cream in this dessert.
For this dessert, it’s nice to use a glass serving dish so that you can see the layers melding together. Place half of the cake cubes in the bottom of your serving dish.
Pour half of the chocolate pudding over the top and layer with half of the whipped cream. Repeat the layers one more time leaving a couple of cake cubes to crumble over the top for decoration.
Here’s a close-up of the final look. As you can see, the whipped cream is soft, and the layers almost melt together. This original recipe also had a layer of crunched up toffee, but I haven’t found an organic substitute for that one yet!
This will keep in the fridge for at least 3 days, although we haven’t had any around long enough to see past that.
This dessert is dense, fudgy chocolate cake with rich, creamy chocolate pudding interrupted with layers of billowy coconut whipped cream – every bite is absolute bliss!
I really hope you enjoy this gluten free and dairy free Death by Chocolate! And if you do get a chance to make it, I hope you’ll leave me a comment/rating below. I always love hearing from you here! Also for more healthy chocolate desserts, head on over to the recipe index.
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Death by Chocolate
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This healthier version of the classic Death by Chocolate doesn’t skimp on the flavor or decadence! It’s gluten free, dairy free, and paleo as well as the perfect make ahead dessert for any special occasion. It’s a family tradition kind of dessert in my husbands family that I eagerly picked up and I know you’re going to love it too. It all starts with a flourless chocolate cake that’s layered together with chocolate pudding and coconut whipped cream to create the most luscious trifle you’ve ever eaten!
Ingredients
1 recipe Chocolate Fudge Skillet Cake, made with 2/3 cup Grade A maple syrup
1 recipe Coconut Whipped Cream, made with the entire can for a soft cream, or the hardened coconut cream from 2 cans for a firmer whipped cream
Chocolate Pudding:
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons tapioca starch, or organic cornstarch (which is not grain free)
1/2 cup Grade A maple syrup
pinch of sea salt
1 can (15.33 oz) coconut milk
2 Teaspoons vanilla
1 ounce dark chocolate of choice, broken into pieces
Instructions
Make a recipe of chocolate skillet cake and while it’s baking, start the chocolate pudding.
Whisk together the cocoa powder, tapioca/cornstarch, maple syrup, and pinch of sea salt until it’s smooth. Add the coconut milk and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the pudding comes to a boil, and thickens.
Remove the pudding from the heat and add the vanilla and chocolate, and stir until completely smooth. Place the pudding in an airtight container, and place it in the refrigerator to cool.
Both the cake and pudding can be made 1 day before you’re ready to assemble your dessert.
When you’re ready to assemble the dessert, make a recipe of coconut whipped cream.
Cut the chocolate cake into 1/2 inch cubes and place half of them in the bottom of a clear glass serving dish. Layer with 1/2 the chocolate pudding and 1/2 the coconut whipped cream.
Repeat the layers and serve immediately or refrigerate up to 4 hours until serving. You can also layer this dessert into individual containers.
This dessert can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. If you choose to go with the firmer whipped cream, it will become more solid as the dessert is refrigerated.
Notes
For a completely dairy free version, be sure to use coconut oil in the chocolate skillet cake and a dairy free chocolate bar in the pudding.
The 6-8 serving sizes may seem small, but this dessert has a really rich chocolate flavor and it’s really satisfying! It serve as many as 12 in small individual dessert bowls, but 6-8 is more comfortable.
The pudding is thick enough to hold it’s shape, so sometimes I whisk in 2 Tablespoons of water after it’s cooked if I want a softer dessert.
- Prep Time: 25 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Healthy Death By Chocolate, Death by Chocolate dairy free, Gluten Free Death by Chocolate
I have made your decadent, delicious Death by Chocolate recipe twice and everyone loved it…never guessing it was lactose free so I could enjoy it! Am wondering however if it’s possible to make a chocolate pudding pie using your chocolate pudding recipe, but spooning it into a homemade or ready-made pie crust? Would you make any adjustments to the pudding recipe?
Am not sure if it would “gel” enough to be able to cut with a knife? In my lactose free efforts I tried just substituting almond milk for regular milk with packaged pudding mix, but it never really set. Not that there is ANY dessert better than the Death by Chocolate, but hoping for another dessert option I can eat that’s just a bit lighter! Would appreciate your advice!
★★★★★
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I think you could make a chocolate pudding pie by increasing the tapioca starch from 2 Tablespoons to 3, or if you’re using cornstarch you might need as much as a 1/4 cup since it doesn’t set up quite as thick as tapioca, (although it does have better texture in a pudding pie). Also I have a Truffle Chocolate Pudding Pie coming out in the 2nd or 3rd week of February, it’s a cross between a pudding and truffle texture being just a little firmer than a regular pudding pie. I’ll also include a link to my chocolate category where you can go through to see if there’s another dairy free dessert you might like. I hope this helps, and be sure to let me know if you have anymore questions! 🙂
https://getinspiredeveryday.com/recipes/chocolate/
These are just gorgeous and sound so delicious!!!
Thanks so much!
These look absolutely fantastic !! Need a dozen of these please !
★★★★★
I did have a dozen and I had to give some away so I wouldn’t eat them all!