Looking for a decadent holiday treat? These mini low FODMAP black forest cakes will be the talk of your dessert table!

It’s my birthday this week! Last year I celebrated with this epic low FODMAP confetti cake. This year I’m feeling a little glamorous, so we’re celebrating with these epic mini black forest cakes!

These mini black forest cakes were my father-in-law’s suggestion. He’s a die-hard cherry fan and was wondering if we could try them for Christmas this year.

I wasn’t sold on the idea at first since I’m not a huge fan of the cherry filling in traditional black forest cakes. Plus, fresh cherries are high FODMAP in the serving we would need (um, no thanks!).

I told him straight up cherry filling was a hard no in my books, so he might be out of luck. Without missing a beat, he sighed and said: “other fruits grow in the forest too, Amy.” Five minutes later, the idea for these fantastic mini raspberry black forest cakes were born!

I decided to test them out for Christmas (and my birthday, obviously!), and when my FIL tried them, he kept repeating the word “wow” after every bite. So, if you’re looking for a breathtaking recipe this holiday, I highly recommend these tasty treats!

Keep it FODMAP friendly

These low FODMAP mini black forest cakes are the only dessert you’ll ever need! Check out the notes below for tips on keeping this recipe FODMAP friendly.

First up, dairy products. If you’re in the elimination phase of the program, you need to use lactose-free milk, cream, and sour cream. For my North American peeps, both Natrel and Lactantia have lactose-free lines that go up to 35%.

This recipe also calls for a ton of sugar! Sugar gets a bad wrap on the low FODMAP diet because it has the “f” word – fructose. But, you don’t need to panic!

Because table sugar has an equal amount of fructose and glucose molecules, the fructose is absorbed differently than when it’s digested on its own. The result is that sugars like table sugar, brown sugar, and icing sugar, etc. are low FODMAP. If you want more information on sugar and the low FODMAP diet, check out my full article on why sugar is low FODMAP.

Next up, lemon juice. We’ll be using our lemon juice in two ways. First, to make our delicious raspberry compote. Second, to Macgyver a low FODMAP buttermilk alternative.

According to Monash University, lemon juice is low FODMAP in servings of 1/2 a cup (125 g) per sitting. Servings of 3/4 cup (187 g) or more are high in the FODMAP fructan.

Our recipe calls for 1/4 cup of lemon juice total, which works out to 5.2 g per sitting. This is well within Monash’s recommended range.

We’ll also be using low FODMAP flour. Most of the things we call “flour” are actually a blend of low FODMAP grains and starches. If you’re in the elimination or re-challenge phase of the program, you’ll need to find a flour made with low FODMAP ingredients.

The easiest option is to start in the gluten-free section, as that automatically cuts out wheat. Remember, you’re avoiding the FODMAP fructan in wheat, not gluten itself.

We’ll also be using natural cocoa powder. Make sure to check the label of your cocoa powder. For this recipe, you’ll need “raw” or “natural” cocoa powder, not Dutch-processed powder.

According to the Monash University app, cocoa powder is low FODMAP in servings of 2 heaping tsp (8 g) per sitting. Servings of 5 heaping tsp (20 g) or more are high in the FODMAPs fructan and GOS.

Our recipe uses 1.5 cups of cocoa powder for 12 mini black forest cakes. This works out to 8 g of cocoa powder per cake, which is within the recommended range.

Next up, raspberries! According to Monash, raspberries are low FODMAP in servings of 30 berries (60 g) per sitting. Servings of 35 berries (65 g) are high in the FODMAP fructan.

We’ll be using two cups of raspberries, total. This works out to 22 g of berries per serving, which is well within Monash’s recommended range.

Last but not least, dark chocolate! According to Monash, dark chocolate is low FODMAP in servings of about five squares (30 g) per sitting. Servings of 14 squares (80 g) or more are high in the FODMAP lactose, while servings of 20 squares (125 g) are high in the FODMAPs lactose and fructan.

We’ll be using 170 grams of dark chocolate, total. This works out to 14 g per serving, which is well within the recommended range!

FODMAP math

You are what you eat! Check out the notes below to find out how many servings of each FODMAP group are in one of these mini Black Forest cakes. You can read more about FODMAP stacking and how to avoid it here.

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