It’s true– My birthday is on November 14th!!! Of course, it is a very special day for me– a day with family and friends celebrating being alive! There are many days in my life where, through the course of events of my day, I forget how privileged I am and how many blessings I have in my life. Being in a perfect state of peace during the hustle and bustle of our lives is near impossible. I read this quote a while ago…
With every endeavor that we take on, as humans, we often strive for perfection, but the reality is that striving for our personal best is the greatest form of perfection. There were many years when I attempted to have a perfect diet that excluded all grains and all sugar and all dairy and so on… It took me some time to realize that the consequence of this type of lifestyle was more stress in my body. As I lessened my grip on the reigns of my life, I found greater happiness and definitely less stress which led to greater health.
There is a balance to be found when searching for the best diet and lifestyle. For myself, I found that maintaining a Paleo lifestyle 85% of the time and being gluten-free for the remainder works well for me. I also know others where that percentage is too high and also too low for some. For me, my non-Paleo time may be a sushi date with my husband or going out for dinner with my kiddos and having a hamburger on a gluten-free roll. It is a personal journey to figure out what is best for you.
When I think of my perfect birthday, I think of sitting around my kitchen table with my darling family and closest friends, chatting and laughing, and eating my fabulous chocolate layer cake with decadent chocolate frosting! The cake is amazing, the company even better!!! Check out the recipe below to learn how to make this delicious cake. No worries, it’s Paleo-friendly, gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, soy-free, nut-free, coconut-free… (not carb free!), but absolutely one of the best cakes you will ever eat!!!
You can order the Simply Paleo Muffin & Cupcake Baking Mix by clicking this link!
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- 1 bag Simply Paleo Muffin & Cupcake Baking Mix
- 1/3 cup raw cocoa powder
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 3/4 cup unsweetened hemp milk or other milk substitute
- 2/3 cup maple syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup apple sauce or 1 small mashed banana
- 1 pound maple cream
- 1 cup organic palm oil shortening
- 1 TBS unsweetened hemp milk or other milk substitute
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1/3 cup raw cocoa powder
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
Frosting Ingredients
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- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 1 cake tin. If you are making a double layer chocolate cake, grease 2 cake tins and repeat the baking instructions twice (you will end up doubling the ingredient amounts but it works best for equal division of cake batter between the two cake tins if you make each cake batter separately).
- In large bowl or electric mixer bowl, add all dry cake ingredients (for 1 cake layer) and mix well.
- In separate bowl, add all liquid cake ingredients (for 1 cake layer) and mix well until well incorporated.
- Pour liquid mixture into dry mixture and mix well until smooth consistency.
- Pour batter into 1 cake tin.
- If you are making a double layer chocolate cake, repeat the above instructions and pour the batter into the second cake tin.
- Bake cake tin(s) in oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35-55 minutes until toothpick test comes out clean.
- Let cake(s) cool completely in cake tin and then on cooling rack until fully cooled. (Do not try to frost cake(s) before fully cooled!)
- Make frosting by adding all frosting ingredients into electric mixer bowl and mix well (begin low and then slowly increase to high-- maintain on high until glossy smooth consistency). If frosting is too thick to frost, then add more milk, 1 TBS at a time. If frosting is too thin to frost, then add more cocoa powder, 1 TBS at a time. (Be sure to mix on high before retesting to achieve that glossy thick smooth texture.)
- Once cake is removed from tin and fully cooled, place it on clean surface where you can begin frosting. If you are making a double layer chocolate cake, place one cake layer down first and frost top. Add second layer and frost top and sides of both layers. Leave out at room temperature covered with cake cover. Cake will be delicious for a couple of days. If you want to hold off on frosting cake, you can wrap each cake layer in saran wrap and leave in fridge.
This cake can be make with a vanilla flavor by omitting the cocoa powder in the cake instructions. For vanilla frosting, also leave out the cocoa powder and substitute with arrowroot powder. You may need to play around a little with the ratios for the frosting but it should still come out delicious! You can also add natural food coloring to the vanilla frosting to give it a festive color.