Cake. It pretty much speaks for itself. It comes in countless shapes, sizes, and flavors yet it is almost universal in its symbolism of celebration. I have made of a number of gluten free and grain free cakes over the past few years. First, some gluten free cake from a mix that turned into concrete after the first slice. Next, my first attempt at almond flour baking with carried with in a very strong aftertaste that I have (thankfully) not experienced since then, and a paleo chocolate cake I made last winter than contained an obscene amount of eggs and had the consistency of a quiche… What I am trying to say is that cake is not quite as universally beloved in the grain free world… at least not by bakers.
This past weekend, however, one of my best friends came down for a visit and we were celebrating her birthday. I’ve made her official birthday cake every year for the past few years and I always liked to save one of my best recipes for the occasion. While this was by no means her official cake (its a few weeks late), this year, I decided, was a chocolate kind of year and went all in. I decided to forego the flour entirely and focus instead on making a flourless variety similar to the oh-so popular flourless brownies found in some restaurants.
The recipe was very easy and the result was delicious. I will warn you that the cake does turn out pretty thin so it will have more of the consistency of a cookie cake than a traditional cake. This is a blessing though, because it is so deliciously rich that after one piece you need a bit of a rest before going back for more. I decorated the top with strawberries because we had been given a large case by a friend, however you could ice this just the same way you could ice any cake or get creative and maybe do something like an almond butter drizzle or add a coconut flake topping with chocolate ganache. One final disclaimer: Yes, that is powdered sugar in the picture, no powdered sugar is not paleo, it was less than a teaspoon and I cheated. The rest of the cake however is refined sugar free.
Ingredients:
1 ounce of semisweet chocolate chips (4 squares of baking chocolate bar)
1/2 cup of butter
3/4 cup of coconut crystals
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp of vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a small saucepan set over over water, or in a double boiler, melt chocolate and butter and mix until smooth. Once melted remove from heat and add in sugar, cocoa powder, beaten eggs, and vanilla extract. Pour whole mixture into a greased, 9″ springform pan. Bake for about 40 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes before removing the pan’s ring. Decorate and enjoy 🙂
