Chocolate Cake Roll with Strawberry Cream Filling

I made myself a mixture of avocado, strawberries, and lemon juice together to go with my lunch at work yesterday. It was actually quite tasty, so I thought I would try to incorporate avocado and strawberries together into a dessert somehow. I had a couple of cans of coconut milk chilled already in the fridge, so I wanted to incorporate those into the mix as well. I decided to stick with a chocolate base, since...well...chocolate just makes everything taste better!

While this dessert doesn't really feature the avocado as much as I originally planned, you can still taste a slight hint of it within the cake. The main features are chocolate, strawberries, and creamy coconut flavors. I will warn you though, it's not as sweet as it looks. I did not use any baking soda or baking powder either, so it's not very fluffy. But overall, it still tasted pretty good. Not the best cake in the world, but certainly not the worst. Plus it's gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, contains no leavening agents, and is made with real wholesome ingredients! Now I don't have to feel so guilty when I have a slice. :)

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 1/2 Cup Coconut Flour (+ 1-2 TBSP added last, if needed)
• 1/4 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 1/4 Cup Coconut Sugar
• Pinch of Salt
• 4 Eggs
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 Ripe Banana, mashed
• 1/2 Avocado, mashed
• 1 tsp Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1/4 Cup Melted Coconut Oil
• *Liquid Coconut Milk (drained from one can of refrigerated coconut milk, reserve the solid coconut fat for the filling)

Strawberry Coconut Cream Filling:

• 1 Cup Strawberries, finely diced
• 2 tsp Coconut Sugar
• *1 Can (13.66 oz) Full-Fat Coconut Milk, refrigerated overnight and drained (use the liquid for the cake portion)
• 1 tsp Raw Local Honey

Chocolate Frosting:

• 1 Can (13.66 oz) Full-Fat Coconut Milk, drained (you can save the liquid from this can for another recipe)
• 1/4 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 2 tsp Raw Local Honey
• 1 TBSP Melted Coconut Oil
• Chopped Strawberries, optional for garnish (you could also use coconut shreds, cacao nibs, chocolate shavings, etc.)

Directions:

Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees and line a jelly-roll pan with parchment paper. Next, prepare your strawberries for the cream portion so they have time to get nice and juicy. Mix the diced strawberries with 2 teaspoons of coconut sugar and stick them in the fridge while you make the cake.

Combine all the dry cake ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Blend the eggs and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Mash up the banana, avocado, and lemon juice together and blend in with the eggs. Slowly add the dry ingredients and coconut oil, alternating the two, into the mixing bowl with the egg mixture. Add the drained coconut milk a little at a time until you get a nice batter. If it seems too thin add another tablespoon or two of coconut flour. Spread the batter evenly over the parchment paper to create a thin layer. Bake at 350 Degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until cake is fully cooked through (I took mine out at 13 minutes).

While cake is still hot, gently roll up the parchment paper with the cake to make a log. Allow it to cool completely in this shape before adding the filling.

Strawberry Coconut Cream:
Blend the coconut milk fat, honey, and prepared strawberry mixture until combined. Place in fridge until cake has cooled.

Once cake has cooled completely, slowly unroll it and leave it on top of the parchment paper. Don't worry if there are cracks, mine was pretty beat up actually, but the filling and frosting will cover it up and hold everything together nicely. :)

Now, spread your strawberry cream in an even layer on top of your cake. Then gently roll up the cake, using the parchment paper to help along the way. Slowly pull it out after each roll. Again, don't worry about cracks when you're finished. The chocolate frosting will cover them up. Transfer cake to your serving platter before adding the chocolate frosting.

It should look something like this....Yours may be prettier though lol

Chocolate Frosting:
Mix the second can of coconut milk (drained), with the cocoa powder, honey, and coconut oil and blend until well combined. Spread evenly over the cake roll and garnish with fresh chopped strawberries, cacao nibs, coconut shreds, or whatever else you fancy! Store leftovers in the fridge.