My children have been stuck with me and my veggie creations for the past month; these final days of summer, they are not drawn into the kitchen so quickly. Sure, they eat the vegetable dishes I make, however they are not particularly excited by my recent culinary explorations.
Imagine their interest the other day then, at the very end of their summer vacation, when I offered to bake cake with them (and the four friends they had over). They were immediately game for the project.
Since there were six children in all, of course we had to make six cakes –one for each. Following is the recipe we used for our messy adventure.
Six Layer White Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut flour, sifted
- 1 teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 12 large eggs
- 1 cup grapeseed oil or palm shortening
- 1 cup agave nectar or honey
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine coconut flour, salt and baking soda
- In a medium bowl, blend together eggs, grapeseed oil, agave and vanilla
- Mix wet ingredients into dry and blend with a mixer or hand blender until smooth
- Pour batter into a bunch of well greased and floured pie, tart or cake pans
- Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes
- Cool completely
- Decorate and serve
Don’t be scared off by the dozen eggs, this recipe makes enough cake for a large crowd, so they are divvied up in numerous servings.
I had initially envisioned this project as resulting in a towering mass of cake, however, the children each wanted to frost their own. My younger son and Josh whipped up a batch of whip cream and heaped their creations with sprinkles. For the dairy free children, we used this vegan chocolate frosting.
Have a great time and be sure the children help you clean up –if you let them join in the fun.
Free exclusive eBook, plus recipes and health tips, delivered to your inbox.
At the end of the project each child dug into their own unique gluten free cake with fork and knife.
jennifer wood says
Dear Elana
Just wanted to share my SCD legal, 3-layer Coconut Flour wedding cake with Honey Buttercream Frosting and Raspberry Filling with you.
Here is a public link to a photo album on my Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=44149&id=1325738607&l=d20dca7248
I found your website from nomorechrohns.com. I got inspired by all the coconut flour recipes and lot of them really work with just subsituting the honey for the agave nectar. I also have worked out of Bruce Fife’s book.
Anyway, I think my cake turned out really well and everyone thought it was delicious. I made about 10 layers before finding the recipe that worked. I did try adapting your oil based cakes but wasn’t able to reliably get one to work with the honey.
For the three layer cake, I made two recipes of the 2 layer cake, using half of the batter from the second batch to make cupcakes.
Here are the recipes if your contact form can take this much info:
SCD Coconut Flour Butter Cake – Adapted from Cooking with Coconut Flour by Bruce Fife and Joy of Cooking
Makes two 8 or 9 inch cake pans or 12-24 cupcakes
½ c butter
½ c SCD compliant coconut milk*
12 eggs
½ -3/4 c honey
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 c coconut flour
Have everything at room temperature. If honey is very stiff or hardened, warm in microwave for 20 seconds at a time or in hot water. Then pour into a lightly greased measuring cup – use a light flavored oil to grease your cup.
Sift the flour, salt and soda into small bowl.
Separate eggs into two mixing bowls. Measure coconut milk and set aside.
Beat egg yolks and vanilla on medium speed until thick and pale yellow. Then beat in butter, and then pour in honey – total beating time 3-5 minutes.
On low speed, alternate additions of dry ingredients in 3 parts and coconut milk in 2 parts to the egg, butter, honey mixture. Start and end with dry ingredients.
Whip egg whites to soft peaks – stiff but not dry.
Fold in whites in 4 parts.
Line 8 or 9 inch cake pans with parchment paper, cutting out circle for the bottom and separate strips for the sides. You can also try buttering and flouring the pans, though I have not tried this.
Pour batter into pans.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes until springy to the touch and toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs. Do not overbake.
Let cool and then turn out.
Frost and fill with frosting and filling of choice. See Honey Buttercream recipe below. For my wedding I filled with a raspberry puree – cooked raspberries with lemon juice, sieved, and stabilized with gelatin. Could also just add puree to the frosting for the filling. Lemon or orange curd could be a great filling as well and I am sure there are many other SCD possibilities out there.
* I use Natural Value non-organic coconut milk. I trust this brand because it is never emulsified when I open it up – the cream has risen to the top which I believe indicates that there are no stabilizers in there. I warm it gently in a pot of water to make it liquid and smooth again. Other people trust the Trader Joes light coconut milk. Homemade is always the best, but is time consuming. I think homemade almond milk could work as well. Don’t know about other alternatives – leaving it out, using water, using watered down yogurt….
Honey Buttercream Frosting
Frosting for a 2-layer cake, filled and frosted
This is an adaptation of an adaptation on Rose Levy Berenbaum’s Honey Buttercream. For the adaptation I found on the web, go to http://www.grouprecipes.com/52767/honey-buttercream.html. This author says “It’s probably my favorite frosting ever, and when you pair it with a fresh fruit filling? Oh, MAN – it’s the taste of spring.”. I think it is fabulous too, though without the optional flavoring, some find it too much like a pure butter taste. I have also included directions for sterilizing the eggs if you so choose – steps 1a and 2a, which I took from the osted.classic buttercream frosting directions in Joy of Cooking.
Ingredients
* 6 large egg yolks ROOM TEMPERATURE (this is important)
* 1/3 cup of honey+ 1/3 cup of honey or more (to taste)
* 2 cups unsalted butter (softened)
* 1 tsp vanilla and grated rind from one orange (optional) or other flavoring of choice. Raspberry puree is also divine and lemon or orange curd is a suggestion
Special Equipment
* heatproof glass measuring cup
* heatproof mixing bowl
* candy or instant read meat thermometer
* electric mixer (thought could do this by hand)
Directions
1. Have a greased heatproof glass measure near the range.
1a. Set a skillet of water to simmer on the stove.
2. In bowl, beat the yolks w/ an electric mixer until pale in color. Meanwhile, heat 1/3 cup of honey to a roiling boil (I go ahead and do this with a whole cup of honey because it makes it to pour the later additions as well). Immediately transfer the honey to the glass measuring cup.
3. Beat 1/3 cup honey into the yolks into a steady stream. Make sure you don’t allow the honey to fall on the beaters or they will spin it into the sides of the bowl. If using a stand mixer, pour a small amount of honey over the yolks w/ the mixer turned off. Immediately beat on high speed for 5 seconds. Stop the mixer and add a larger amount of honey. Beat at high speed for 5 seconds. Continue with the remaining honey.
2a. Set the bowl in the skillet of simmering water and whisk until the temperature is 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Take off the heat, wash and dry beaters, then beat again until mixture is room temperature.
4. Gradually beat in the butter*. When it reaches the correct consistency, beat in the remaining honey. Use immediately, or place in an airtight bowl & refrigerate up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before using & rebeat to get it to the right texture. This can also be frozen.
*ok, this is where it can go horribly, horribly awry. If you start getting a horrific, chunky blend of butter and egg, run the bottom of the bowl under some hot water, or stick it on a double boiler for a couple of seconds just to warm it up! The butter will melt, you keep beating it, and then you get a light, shiny, delicately flavored frosting. According to the original adapter, “I also add way more honey after I beat it to the right consistency because I love honey. I love honey a lot
audrey says
Thank you so much for this! I’m making it for my younger sisters birthday right now and everything is turning out amazingly!
Aimee says
Elana,
I stumbled across your website last night and I must say I am extremely delighted! My soon-to-be 3 yr old son (in a week!) is on a trial gluten/casein/soy free diet and I’ve been terrified at what I am going to do for his birthday cake. Not only that but I have recently converted vegan family members who I want to cater to as well.
I want to try this cake recipe although I only have rice and tapioca flour on hand. How do you think this recipe will fare using either of these ingredients? I also plan to use Ener-G egg replacer instead of the eggs.
Any help would be well appreciated. Thanks!
elana says
phos -Well, first of all treats made with coconut flour can be very springy, they aren’t usually spongy though. I would love to help you have success with this recipe. Can you tell me if you changed any of the ingredients? Thanks.
phos says
i tried this cake recipe for my sons 1st birthday. it came out very sponge-like. it had the same texture as a rum cake. what did i do wrong? i would like to make it again.
elana says
Heather,
You are welcome! Glad it was enjoyed by all and good luck in the salad department, I know how that is.
Elana
Heather says
Thankyou for this recipe. I have been making it ever since you posted it. It is great! My kids are pretty much on the SCD and its nice to be able to give them a cake that looks and tastes like a normal wheaten cake.
Hubby tasted it and asked if it was for us or the boys, he couldn’t tell which is saying something.
Thanks for all your recipes, I read your blog all the time, you inspire me. Now just to get the kids to eat all your yummy salads!
elana says
Rich Ann,
What a great story; thanks for sharing it with us!
Yes, I have a 10 year old, so I can understand the adjustment you are going through in getting used to the 11 year old thing.
Thanks Again,
Elana
Rich Ann says
Hi, Elana. I am looking forward to trying the pumpkin recipes posted recently. I wanted to write though and tell about the success my 10 year old daughter had with making this cake recipe. She made a double recipe and filled 24 ramekins so that each child in her class plus the teacher could have their own cake for her birthday celebration. I contributed to the effort by making some of your chocolate frosting which she took in a bowl to school today so that she could frost on the fly. From the reports coming in all Grade 5 children loved the cakes! Thanks so much for your efforts! Now to me getting used to saying I have an 11 year old…
elana says
Dear Tracy,
Please see my faq’s for the answer to this question.
Thanks,
Elana
Tracy says
hi elana.. just a question about the flour used.. do you think it would come out ok with almond meal? i have allergys to coconut.. thanks in advance.. Tracy