I can’t believe it. My Paleo Baby just turned 2! We have made it a tradition to bake her a Paleo cake every year. Although, I don’t particularly like baking, I do really enjoy making her birthday cake. I guess it is the sentimental mama in me. Last year, we made her this Baby Friendly Coconut Flour Birthday Cake with Maple Buttercream Frosting. It was a hit at our little birthday bash. If you decide to make her cake from last year, make sure to read through the comments, a few people have had trouble with the frosting and there are some additional tips in the comments.
I like to make her cakes with a coconut flour base, opposed to almond flour. The verdict on baking with almond flour seems to be mixed. Everyone agrees that almonds are high in Omega-6. Some argue that when baking with them our perception of quantity is skewed, so we take in much more than we would if we ate them whole, therefore consuming a much higher amount of inflammatory Omega-6 fatty acids. Some also argue that the polyunsaturated fatty acids (Omega 6) in almond flour are not heat stable, while others disagree.
I deeply respect both of the researchers referenced above and I read their articles thoroughly. I am really not certain which view is correct, as I haven’t read any of the research myself. I like to look at the science behind what we eat, but I more importantly like to pay attention to how food makes me feel. Like my friend, Mary, The Paleo Chef likes to say … it’s PaleoYOU. I’ve noticed that I don’t feel great after I have consumed treats made of almond flour. For this reason, I generally avoid baking with almond flour.
Indyanna loves chocolate right now. I occasionally buy her these when we go grocery shopping. I personally love the mint patties, but she doesn’t discriminate – ginger, pomegranate, mint. She’ll take it all! We love these because they only have 3 ingredients – raw organic honey, organic 100% dark chocolate, peppermint oil (for the mint flavor). I digress though, back to the cake!
This Paleo chocolate birthday cake is delicious! It is so moist and decadent. It is rich, so I recommend serving it with this dairy-free vanilla ice cream or my 30 second coconut whipped cream to balance it out. You know, to make it a little lighter 😉 . The cake itself is not very sweet, but the frosting is. This Paleo chocolate birthday cake frosting would also be delicious on some cupcakes!
I use this coconut cream when I work with coconut flour and it produces great results. Coconut flour can be hard to work with and can leave you with a dry baked good, but I have found when I use this cream, my treats always turn out really moist!
Paleo Chocolate Birthday Cake with Paleo Chocolate Frosting
Equipment
- Sifter
- Food Processor
- Double Boiler to melt chocolate or a DIY Double Boiler (which is what I do!)
- 2 cake pans
- Parchment Paper (I like this unbleached brand)
- Hand mixer
- Pastry Spatula or Rubber/silicone spatula
- Frosting Piping Set (optional)
Cake Ingredients
1 cup chocolate chips, melted in a double boiler (I recommend this brand because it is dairy, soy and nut-free)
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 cups coconut cream (I always use this coconut cream)
1/2 cup honey (Find raw honey here)
8 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla (I use this organic, gluten-free brand)
1 cup coconut flour, sifted (my new favorite coconut flour!)
1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted (I use this organic, fairly traded brand)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda (I use this natural baking soda)
- Preheat oven to 350F
- While the oven is preheating, melt the chocolate and the coconut oil in a double boiler
- Prepare the cake pans, by lining the bottom with parchment paper and greasing the sides with coconut oil. Set aside.
- In the food processor combine the eggs, coconut cream, vanilla, melted chocolate and honey.
- Then add the sifted coconut flour, cocoa powder and salt (I sift them all together) to the food processor.
- Once everything is all combined, add the baking soda and give it one last whirl. It is important that you add the baking soda right before the cake goes into the oven. If you add the baking soda to early, your cake may fall flat.
- Evenly distribute the batter between the two cake pans.
- Bake them for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Allow the cakes to cool for 15 minutes
While your Paleo chocolate birthday cake is baking, you can whip up your Paleo chocolate frosting!
Frosting Ingredients
1 cup chocolate chips, melted in a double boiler (I recommend this brand because it is dairy, soy and nut-free)
1 cup palm shortening (I use this kind)
1/2 cup honey (Find raw honey here)
1 teaspoon vanilla (I use this organic, gluten-free brand)
2 tablespoons of coconut cream (I always use this coconut cream)
pinch of sea salt
1 pint organic strawberries, sliced
- Melt the chocolate in a double boiler
- Add the melted chocolate, palm shortening, honey, vanilla, coconut cream and sea salt to a bowl. Use a hand mixer to blend, until it is all well mixed, creamy and smooth.
- Using a spatula, spread a layer of frosting on top of one of your cakes. Line the middle of the cake with strawberries. Place the other cake on top of the strawberries. Now frost the sides of the cake and the top. As you can probably tell, I am no pro-cake decorator. I definitely don’t have the right equipment for it, since I only bake one cake a year! This post has some tips on how to frost a cake properly.
Nova says
Can a Vitamix be used instead of food processor?
Arsy Vartanian says
Hi Nova. I imagine so, but I don’t personally have a Vitamix, so I can’t be certain.
Susan says
Jeez this just seems wrong. Your pics are amazing and I can’t wait to try this recipe. Looks amazing.
Katja says
Lovely cake, Arsy! And the frosting looks bomb. Definitely going to try this.
Tina @ OhSnapLetsEat.com says
OH man, definitely saving this link for when I need to make a bday cake!
Jen says
This cake looks amazing! I made your coconut flour birthday cake for my son’s first birthday in February! It turned out great! He’s been paleo since birth so didn’t touch it (don’t think he recognized it as food!), but we all loved it! I tried commenting on that post a while back but wasn’t able to. My only thought was that it tasted just like a banana cake, and was a little on the moist side. I love bananas, but for some that don’t, they may want to use less bananas and sweeten with something else like maple syrup? Also, I guess the size of banana may affect the texture, but it was pretty difficult to handle due to being so moist.
I am definitely going to refer back to this recipe when his 2nd birthday comes around! I’m thankful you are one step ahead of me and planning on doing a paleo cake every year – I think that is wonderful and plan to do the same.
I would love to see more recipes and tips on navigating a toddler diet with paleo foods – he seems perfectly satisfied but is starting to want the cookies and things that are present when we are over at others’ houses. I try to keep fruit as his dessert and do occasional coconut flour pumpkin muffins for a treat. I also adhere pretty closely to the Westin A Price guidelines for him. He’s had an eczema flare recently (I think partially because of the heat) so have trialed him off dairy now and it seems to be helping. I really don’t want him to have to go without dairy unless he needs to, since we were really only giving him butter and cream. Any and all thoughts you can share on feeding your daughter would be helpful and fun to read.
Oh, I also read and loved your book!
Thanks so much!
Jen