A beautifully decorated, homemade cake is one of the most fun things to make and share. These culinary gifts are most often had on a day of celebration...a birthday, a family gathering, a wedding or a dinner party, which adds to the excitement. I find creating the perfect cake for special events to be quite enjoyable, especially when the cake is packed with good nutrition that goes unnoticed over the beauty and flavor.
A few weeks ago I hosted a dinner party and a friend brought over a gorgeous raspberry walnut torte that she had made. It was made with traditional cake ingredients – grains, dairy and refined sugar – so I knew at the first glance that I would be dreaming about this cake until I created a version free of grains, dairy and refined sugar.
When hosting a family gathering this past weekend I had my chance to give my healthy version of the cake a shot — and here it is in all of its glory
1½ cups coconut cream
3 eggs
1 cup coconut palm sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1¾ cups blanched almond flour
1 cup Walnuts, toasted and ground into flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water for 10 minutes and drained
1½ cups coconut cream
½ cup raw honey
⅛ teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup coconut oil
½ teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 ounce jar raspberry preserves (fruit only)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9-inch cake pans with coconut oil and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, beat the coconut cream until peaks form. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, coconut sugar and vanilla until thick. Combine the almond flour, walnuts, baking powder and salt; fold into the egg mixture alternately with the whipped coconut cream.
Divide the batter between the two prepared baking pans and bake for 25 minutes, until baked through. Give the pans a shake to see if the batter has set – if the middle of the cake wiggles then give it another few minutes of baking time. Cool completely before removing from the pans.
Soak the cashews in hot water for 10 minutes. Drain off the water and place in a food processor. Add the coconut cream, honey, salt, coconut oil, lemon juice and vanilla extract to the food processor and blend until creamy. This make take up to 5 minutes, so be patient and continue to blend, stopping occasionally to wipe down the sides, until the frosting is creamy. Taste and add salt or additional honey as needed. Place the frosting in the fridge for 10 minutes before using.
Place one of the cake rounds on a cake plate and cover the top with half of the raspberry preserves. On top of the raspberry layer spread a layer of frosting. Top with the remaining cake round. Frost the sides of the cake with a flat knife, then cover the top of the cake with the remaining raspberry preserves.
Fill a piping bag with the remaining frosting and pipe a lattice design on top of the cake, in addition to stars around the top and bottom edges of the cake. Place in the fridge to chill before serving. Enjoy!
Calories: 374
Fat: 30g
Carbohydrates: 20g
Sodium: 92mg
Fiber: 3g
Protein: 8g
Sugar: 13g