I love shared meals around a long table with new and old friends. In the spirit of this, every year I have friends over for a summer birthday dinner and bake a cake for the occasion. My mother has always thought it odd I bake myself a cake, but each cake represents something of the year that passed and the year to come. For this cake I used a thin layer of maple buttercream (!) but for those that are dairy-free, I recommend whipped coconut cream or a cashew frosting. This cake is also gluten-free, so great for those with allergies / avoiding what. Top with fresh berries or rose petals and serve as is or with a scoop of coconut milk ice cream. This is a birthday cake recipe that will be in our family for decades to come.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup almond flour / meal
½ cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. sea salt
2 organic, free range eggs
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup coconut sugar (or sucanet)
1 ¼ cup goat’s yogurt (organic soy or coconut would work too)
½ cup + 2 tbsp. coconut oil
METHOD
Preheat oven to 350 F and grease 2 round pans with coconut oil.
Blend the eggs, maple syrup, coconut sugar, yogurt and coconut oil together in a blender.
In a separate big bowl, combine the flours, cocoa powder, baking soda and sea salt. Whisk until all ingredients are incorporated and slowly stir in the wet batter. Use the whisk to incorporate some air and lightness to the batter.
Pour batter into the pans and bake for approx. 12 – 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them. You want the middle to have a little bounce, but you want to make sure it is cooked. As with everything gluten-free, allow to cool completely.
MAPLE BUTTER CREAM
1 cup organic and or grass fed butter (or dairy free butter), room temperature
½ cup maple syrup
½ cup finely ground almond flour
Pinch of sea salt
Food process or whip all of the above ingredients. Adjust quantities as needed!
NOTES:
For those that are dairy-free, I have had great results with coconut whipped cream and also a soaked cashew based frosting. I chose a butter cream for this recipe but used an organic grass fed butter cream to ensure the dairy I use is both ethical and organic. I blended the butter with maple syrup as natural sweetener, ground almond flour to thicken and a pinch of sea salt. You may think the almond flour is odd, which it is, but we needed a neutral flour / solid in place of the icing sugar. I find almond flour subtly sweet and with little to no taste. I will add though that if you are looking for a slick smooth cake surface, you might opt for adding in a finer flour such as coconut or arrowroot starch. I wanted to avoiding adding icing sugar so I loved the almond flour as an alternative.
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