Looking for a protein-full, gluten-free, grain-free birthday cake? Look no further! I have concocted a super moist and rich mocha cake that is perfect for any occasion. The whipped cream frosting is also incredibly yummy and flavorful, but the cake is great without it. I have made this cake for so many of my family’s birthdays now, and each time it has been a huge hit-it’s impossible to tell it’s grain-free!
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Perfect Mocha Birthday Cake
Description
Grain-Free!
Ingredients
Scale
For the cake batter
- 8 ounces dark chocolate (at least 70% cacao)
- 8 Tbs unsalted butter (I love the brand Kerrygold because it’s grass-fed, super sweet, and lots of stores carry it, such as Trader Joe’s) or 7 Tbs ghee
- 2/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 6 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk (I use the SO Delicious brand that comes in a box) or almond milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups blanched almond flour (make sure you don’t use Bob’s Red Mill-it’s way too grainy and won’t yield good results)
- 1/3 cup arrowroot starch/powder
- 1 Tbs coconut flour
- 1/2 cup cacao powder
- 1 Tbs instant coffee powder (you can omit it if you prefer, but it makes the cake full of depth)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder (if you’re strict paleo, make sure it’s grain-free)
For the Mocha Almond Whipped Cream
- 4 cups heavy whipping cream or coconut cream
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup cacao powder
- 2 Tbs vanilla extract
- 2 tsp instant coffee powder
- 1 tsp almond extract
- Raspberries-optional, for garnish
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat oven to 350 ºF and adjust your rack to its middle position.
- Place the chocolate and butter in the bowl of a double boiler. Melt, stirring occasionally, then set aside to cool (the mixture needs to cool for at least 10 minutes before adding the the egg mixture below).
- Place the maple syrup and eggs in the bowl of a standing mixer with a whisk attachment. Whisk for 5-6 minutes until pale yellow and billowy, then whisk in the coconut milk.
- Slowly whisk in cooled chocolate and vanilla extract.
- Sift almond flour, coconut flour, arrowroot, cocoa powder, coffee powder, baking soda and baking powder over the egg mixture and gently fold to incorporate.
- Divide the batter between two well-buttered 9-inch cake pans and gently smooth out the top with a rubber spatula.
- Bake the cakes for 33-35 minutes.
- Cool the cakes for 20 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and remove the cakes from the pans. Cool completely, then make the whipped cream recipe (below).
For the whipped cream
- Place all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment (or you can use a large bowl and a hand mixer).
- Turn your mixer to its highest setting and keep whipping until a stiff peak forms. Here is a video to show what that looks like (except yours will not have confectioner’s sugar, and it’ll be dark because of the cacao).
- Store the whipped cream in the fridge until you’re ready to frost the cake (below).
To Assemble
- Place one cake layer on a cake stand and top with one third of the whipped cream. Spread the whipped cream evenly on the cake.
- Place the second cake layer on top and use the remaining whipped cream to frost the top and sides of the cake. I use my handy-dandy frosting decorator for this.
- Garnish the cake with berries and serve!
