The biggest challenge I have had while adopting a Nourishing Traditions lifestyle is making a yummy birthday cake! I used to make all kinds of fancy, fun shaped, white sugar laden birthday cakes. When I committed to making healthy cakes I had no idea what a roller coaster ride I was in for! Since last March I have made so many BAD birthday cakes I had almost given up hope! My dear family has been so patient with me!
I am happy to report that I have finally found a way to make a GREAT birthday cake! I stumbled on the idea when I was making homemade breakfast cereal. (See my last post for that recipe.) The cereal is made by soaking a batter over night and then baking it in a 9x13 inch cake pan the next morning. Then you crumble that cake up, dehydrate it and you have cereal. One morning at breakfast time I had the batter baked, but not crumbled and dehydrated. I didn't have the time to do that so I just cut it up and served it with butter on it. It tasted great! I thought then that I could tweak the recipe a little, frost it and have a great birthday cake!
This week we had another birthday and I made the best chocolate cake! Here's what to do:
THE NIGHT BEFORE THE PARTY
Mix:
3 cups fresh ground whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups milk (raw is best)
1/2 cup water
3 TBLS yogurt (mine is homemade)
Cover the bowl you mixed it in and set it on the counter overnight or until you are ready to cook the cake.
WHEN YOU ARE READY TO BAKE
Preheat oven to 350. Butter two 9 inch round cake pans.
Add to the mix:
1 tspn baking soda
1/2 tspn Real Salt
2 tspn pure vanilla
Melt together (NOT IN THE MICROWAVE!)
1/4 cup butter
3/4 - 1 cup honey
Add this to the mix.
Mix this well. Add 1/4 cup cocoa powder and mix well. Taste the batter and see if it is chocolatey enough for your tastes. Add more cocoa powder 1 TBLS at a time until the batter tastes right to you. Pour the batter evenly between the two pans. Bake until they are springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Mine take about 25 minutes, but every oven is different. Watch them closely and write down how long yours took to cook so you'll know next time.
While your cakes cool, make your frosting. You will need:
3 cups heavy cream (raw is best, don't use ultra-pasteurized)
1/4 cup (or so) sucanat
1/4 cup (or so) cocoa powder
1 tspn pure vanilla
Mix the cream with hand held beaters. When it starts to thicken a little add the vanilla and a few TBLS of the sucanat and cocoa while you keep beating. Taste this and keep adding sucanat and cocoa until it tastes right to you. Beat until it is thick, smooth, and creamy. Don't OVER beat it, it will become lumpy. The end result should be light brown in color.
Assemble the cake by putting one cake layer on your cake plate and spread a layer of frosting on top of it. Put the next cake layer on top of that and then frost the whole thing. We topped it off with organic M&M-like chocolates from the health food store.
I am so thrilled with this recipe! I hope you enjoy it!
p.s.
Please remember that cooking with whole foods takes lots of trial and error. If you are wondering why soaked wheat is best, read my previous posts on that topic.
We really did enjoy it! I'm so glad Ariel ad a birthday so you could make this. This cake really proved to me that healthy desserts can still be delicious. I mean, the Almond Rocha you made was amazing, but this cake was mind blowing. If I didn't know it was healthy I wouldn't have guessed it. I liked it, and the boys liked it, so much I decided to skip the Elmo cake and make this one. I'm so glad you posted this recipe! I hope mine turns out as weell as your did :)
ReplyDeleteYummy!! I am sorry I missed that one! You should start taking pictures of your food to post sometimes so we can see what they look like!
ReplyDeleteHi, I just found your blog by googling homemade cold cereal recipes, and I'm finding your site very interesting. I've read nutritional info recommending the same things that you are, but haven't actively pursued finding out how to implement. It seems overwhelming. But thanks for your recipes. I'll be tuning in and trying some things.
ReplyDeleteJust curious. Have you ever used Sucanat in place of the honey? (I'm just thinking it would be cheaper.) Also, have you experimented with making a vanilla version of this cake?? I ask because I'm hopeful you can spare me the wasted ingredients and time... ;)
ReplyDeleteLori -
ReplyDeleteYou can use sucanat in place of the honey. To make the vanilla version just leave out the cocoa powder and add a little more vanilla. I frost the vanilla cake with whipped cream that has sucanat, vanilla, bananas and coconut flakes mixed in. It's great!
Hooray!!!
ReplyDeleteReal Salt, Raw Cream, No microwave!!!!
LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!! Even the Vitamix Blog says Low Fat Milk.... ugh!!!
i will be a loyal reader!!!!
I'm going to try this for my husband's birthday! and it will motivate me to make the trip to get more raw milk. I've been putting that off ever since my third baby was born 4 months ago! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!!
Jessica
Oh, and I just realized I have a couple questions:
ReplyDeleteI'll have to skim my own raw milk to get the cream. Any suggestions for the easiest way to do this?
And what do you use for vanilla? I make my own with a bottle of vodka and a dozen or so vanilla beans steeped in for several months. But I don't know if I use the same amount of that as I would another vanilla.
And finally, What is Real Salt? I use different brands of sea salt and occasionally kosher salt; is Real Salt a brand? I just wondered since it was capitalized as if it were a proper name.
Thanks for your help!
Milk - I let mine sit in the fridge for a while so the cream rises to the top. Then I just scoop it off carefully.
ReplyDeleteVanilla - I buy the pure stuff from Costco. I'm sure yours is even better! I bet you could use the same amount.
Real Salt is a brand. I buy it in bulk from the health food store. YOu can order it through Azure too.
Good luck!
Thanks SO much for your reply! So helpful!!
ReplyDeleteTara,
ReplyDeleteThis cake is FANTASTIC! I was searching for a cake like this. I made a couple changes: I added 2 eggs and I did not use cocoa powder b/c my husband can't have chocolate. It was SO delicious. I'm a strict mama when it comes to our diets, but we even had this cake for breakfast with eggs.
Thank you!
Erin
Thanks for this yummy looking recipe! Since it has a whipped cream icing, does it need to be refrigerated? Also, where do you find non-ultra-pasteurized cream? I cannot afford to get raw milk so I get the next best thing from the health food store, but even there I have only found ultra-pasteurized cream. Thanks!
ReplyDeletehi, could you make this as one big cake instead of 2? not a proficient baker here!
ReplyDelete