Nut Free Chocolate Birthday Cake

If you follow me on Instagram you probably saw this Nut Free Chocolate Birthday Cake post coming.

I took a picture of my birthday cake a few days ago and shared it with all of my Instagram followers. I felt compelled to share my treat-driven excitement, because I could not handle the cuteness or the yumminess of what was in front of me!

My caption said I’d be posting the recipe sometime soon, so here I am, ready to share with you the secret of how to make this wonderful dessert!

This rich, smooth, nut-free, dairy-free, gluten-free cake was prepared by yours truly as a treat to enjoy after dinner on the night of my birthday. It turned out delicious and it was not hard to make at all. I made it the night before to avoid having to spend anytime during my birthday baking in the kitchen…and also made it the night before, so that it would stay as fresh as possible. If you’re having a birthday soon, I recommend you do the same. It was the most convenient thing to do, and was also very stress free.

After the cake was done baking and cooled off completely, I cut it in half (horizontally) and added apricot jam in the middle. This way, my cake ended up having a bottom chocolate cake layer, a middle jam layer, and a top chocolate cake layer. I also topped the cake with chocolate ganache, which was perfect, because the ganache hardened overnight in the refrigerator and it gave my cake a very slick, professional look (score)! It was seriously beautiful; I was proud and excited. Nothing better than having a cute cake for your birthday, that you know won’t get you sick or make you feel gross after eating it.

On the day of my birthday, and after dinner was over, we topped the cake with some fun candles; a “2” and an “8” sat neatly on top of the ganache. Yup, I am getting old. However, while I was sitting on the dinner table and had this cake in front of me with all of the candles lit on, I felt like I was 10 all over again…there is something magical about making wishes and being celebrated that makes age irrelevant. Birthdays rock, don’t you agree?

If you have a birthday coming up, or someone in your family has a birthday coming up, give this cake a try! You can always use another type of jam in the middle, if apricot is not your favorite (any type of berry jam or even an orange jam would go really well with the dark chocolate)!

Nut-Free Chocolate Birthday Cake

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

55 mins

 

Author: Mariel Lewis

Serves: 12 slices

Ingredients

For the cake:

• ½ cup coconut flour
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
• ¾ teaspoons baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ cup full fat canned coconut milk
• ½ cup honey
• 3 eggs
• ¼ cup ghee + more for greasing
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Filling:

• 1 cup organic apricot jam

For the Chocolate Glaze:

• 1 cup dairy free chocolate chips
• ⅓ cup honey
• 3 tablespoons filtered water

Instructions

For the Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Line pan with parchment paper circle cut to fit the bottom of the pan, and use a little bit of ghee to grease the sides of your pan. Set pan aside.
3. Add all dry ingredients to mixing bowl (coconut flour, cacao powder, arrowroot powder, baking soda and sea salt); use a spatula to combine them well.
4. Add all wet ingredients to standing mixer’s bowl (honey, eggs, ghee, apple cider vinegar and vanilla extract) and mix until well combined.
5. Stop mixer and add in dry ingredients. Start mixer again, and mix until both wet and dry ingredients have combined well (2-3 minutes).
6. Pour mixture in pan and bake for 40 minutes.
7. Remove from oven, let cool, and turn cake out into your serving dish.

For the Filling:

1. Once cake has completely cooled, use a bread knife to cut the cake in half horizontally, so that the cake is divided into a top and bottom layer.
2. Carefully remove top layer using two large spatulas and set top layer to the side.
3. Pour apricot jelly on top of the bottom layer and spread it out evenly using a small spatula.
4. Use your two large spatulas to place top layer back on top of bottom layer (be careful, as you don’t want the cake to break).

For the Chocolate Glaze:

1. Place chocolate in heatproof bowl.
2. Place small pan under medium heat. Add in honey and water, and bring to a boil.
3. Remove from heat and pour hot mix over chocolate chips. Let chocolate chips melt a bit and stir with small spatula until a smooth chocolate glaze mix is created.
4. Let glaze cool a bit and then use it to cover your cake. Once glaze has cooled over the cake, place cake in refrigerator for an hour. Slice, serve and enjoy!

Notes

Tools You’ll Need:
- 6” round cake mold
- Standing Mixer
- Small mixing bowl
- Heatproof bowl
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Small spatula (to spread jelly on cake)
- 2 Large spatulas (to help you remove top cake layer without breaking)
- Bread knife
- Cake cutting knife
- Cake serving dish

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 slice -- Calories: 326 Fat: 15 g. Carbohydrates: 49 g. Protein: 5 g.

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