Happy Birthday to Me!

Well, today is my birthday and I thought we would celebrate with a full-blown paleo birthday cake. It does have honey in it and, for lack of a better quick option, I put ONE drop of food coloring in the frosting (not paleo, I know!). This cake is quite easy to make, is nut free, and tastes delicious. It is very moist! My husband isn't a big cake eater and he claims this is one of the best cakes he's ever had. We actually had this with the kids for an after school snack today and all of Dave's work pals came over to sing a very entertaining version of the happy birthday song. (It was painful for them, I could tell!) They are all CrossFitters and mostly paleo, and they all loved the cake! The cake recipe is a slightly altered version of a recipe from The Food Lovers Primal Palate, a site with some excellent recipes. The frosting is modified from one of  Elana Amsterdam's awesome cookbooks. It's amazingly good, considering the interesting creation process. I wanted to mix some chopped walnuts in with the frosting so it was like German chocolate cake, but then my kids wouldn't eat it. Next time! Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Cake recipe adapted from The Food Lovers Primal Palate. Frosting recipe adapted from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook, Elana Amsterdam.


Makes one 9-inch double-layer cake.

Ingredients
Cake
Wet
10 eggs
1 cup raw organic honey
1 cup coconut oil
2 Tbsp vanilla extract
Dry
3/4 cup coconut flour, sifted
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda

Creamy Coconut Frosting (makes 3 cups)
Ingredients
1 cup unsweetened full-fat coconut milk
1/2 cup raw organic honey
pinch sea salt
2 Tbsp arrowroot powder
2 Tbsp water
1 1/4 cups coconut oil, melted over low heat

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Prepare two 9-inch round cake pans by lightly coating with coconut oil. I also added a bit of cocoa powder and gently rotated the pans so that they had a light, even coating of cocoa all around.
3. Add dry ingredients to a small bowl, stirring with a whisk to combine.
4. Add wet ingredients to a large bowl, using a hand mixer to blend thoroughly.
5. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and continue mixing for 2 minutes. It may seem like a long time, but it results in an airier cake.
6. Evenly divide batter between the two prepared pans. The batter will be very thin.
7. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Let cakes cool slightly in the pans, then remove and cool on a wire rack.
   NOTE: I left mine in the pans overnight and it was tricky to get them out. If you aren't going to frost until the following day, remove them from the pans and leave covered overnight on parchment paper or wax paper.
9. To make the frosting, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring coconut milk, honey, and salt to a boil, stirring with a whisk to combine.
10. Decrease the heat to low or medium low and simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently.
11. In a small bowl, combine arrowroot powder in water, stirring to make a paste.
12. Increase the heat to medium high and add the arrowroot paste to the coconut mixture, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens, about 30-60 seconds.
13. Transfer the mixture to a large heat-resistant mixing bowl and very slowly blend in the coconut oil using a hand-held mixture until smooth.
    NOTE: This is where I added the drop of food coloring, but you could use a natural coloring like beet juice, if you plan ahead for it!
14. Place in freezer for 30-35 minutes until the frosting solidifies and turns opaque white.
15. Remove from freezer and whip with a handheld mixture until it becomes thick and somewhat fluffy. 
16. May be stored in a covered glass container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Assembly

1. Place first layer upside-down on a cake plate so the flat side is up. Frost.
2. Place the second layer on top with the rounded side up. Frost the top and sides.
3. Optionally, sprinkle with shaved dark chocolate or chopped nuts.