I'm not a big fan of cake, but WOW this one was awesome...but then again, you could put this cream cheese frosting on cardboard to make it taste good. I also made mini cupcakes with the extra batter, and they were a perfect addition to my husband's "bento box" lunch.
CAKE:
3/4 cup butter or coconut oil softened
2 3/4 cups blanched almond flour (OR 1 cup coconut flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp Celtic sea salt
1 TBS ground cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 cups Swerve (or erythritol and 1.5 tsp stevia glycerite)
3 large eggs (8 eggs if using coconut flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sour cream or coconut cream
3/4 cup pecans, chopped
FROSTING:
3 (8-oz) pkg cream cheese, or coconut cream softened
3/4 cup butter or coconut oil, softened
2-3 TBS unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup Swerve (or stevia glycerite to taste)
CAKE: Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Grease cake pans. Sift together almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices into a large bowl. In another bowl, beat together butter (1 1/2 sticks) and sweetener with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low, then add flour mixture and sour cream alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and mixing until batter is just smooth. Mix in pecans until just combined.
Spoon batter evenly into pans, smoothing tops, then rap pans once or twice to expel any air bubbles. Bake until pale golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cakes comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pans on racks. Run a thin knife around edge of pans, then invert racks over pans and reinvert cakes onto racks to cool completely.
FROSTING: Beat together cream cheese, butter, and almond milk in a bowl with clean beaters at medium-high speed until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Sift in sweetener and beat at medium-high speed until frosting is smooth.
ASSEMBLE: Halve each cake layer horizontally with a long serrated knife using a gentle sawing motion. Put 1 layer, cut side up, on a cake stand or large plate and spread with about 3/4 cup frosting. Stack remaining cake layers, spreading about 3/4 cup frosting on each layer and ending with top cake layer cut side down. Spread top and side of cake with remaining frosting (about 3 1/2 cups) and coat side of cake with pecans (1 1/3 cups), gently pressing to help them adhere. Serves 18.
NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON: (per slice)
Traditional Cake = 498 calories, 36g fat, 5g protein, 38 carbs, 1g fiber
"Healthified" Cake = 422 calories, 40g fat, 7.7g protein 6.5 carbs, 2.5 fiber
CAKE:
3/4 cup butter or coconut oil softened
2 3/4 cups blanched almond flour (OR 1 cup coconut flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp Celtic sea salt
1 TBS ground cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 cups Swerve (or erythritol and 1.5 tsp stevia glycerite)
3 large eggs (8 eggs if using coconut flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sour cream or coconut cream
3/4 cup pecans, chopped
FROSTING:
3 (8-oz) pkg cream cheese, or coconut cream softened
3/4 cup butter or coconut oil, softened
2-3 TBS unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup Swerve (or stevia glycerite to taste)
CAKE: Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Grease cake pans. Sift together almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices into a large bowl. In another bowl, beat together butter (1 1/2 sticks) and sweetener with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low, then add flour mixture and sour cream alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and mixing until batter is just smooth. Mix in pecans until just combined.
Spoon batter evenly into pans, smoothing tops, then rap pans once or twice to expel any air bubbles. Bake until pale golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cakes comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pans on racks. Run a thin knife around edge of pans, then invert racks over pans and reinvert cakes onto racks to cool completely.
FROSTING: Beat together cream cheese, butter, and almond milk in a bowl with clean beaters at medium-high speed until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Sift in sweetener and beat at medium-high speed until frosting is smooth.
ASSEMBLE: Halve each cake layer horizontally with a long serrated knife using a gentle sawing motion. Put 1 layer, cut side up, on a cake stand or large plate and spread with about 3/4 cup frosting. Stack remaining cake layers, spreading about 3/4 cup frosting on each layer and ending with top cake layer cut side down. Spread top and side of cake with remaining frosting (about 3 1/2 cups) and coat side of cake with pecans (1 1/3 cups), gently pressing to help them adhere. Serves 18.
NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON: (per slice)
Traditional Cake = 498 calories, 36g fat, 5g protein, 38 carbs, 1g fiber
"Healthified" Cake = 422 calories, 40g fat, 7.7g protein 6.5 carbs, 2.5 fiber
I made a version of this as part of my contribution to the family Thanksgiving spread and wanted to let you know that we all loved it. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks Susan! I'm so happy they liked it!
ReplyDeleteWhat did I do wrong? I tried this in a reg. muffin pan and all the muffins collasped...hmmm??? We are going to sprinkle the "crumbles" over ice cream. So all is not a loss :) I would love to be able to get these to work in a reg. muffin tin or mini's for lunches. Any ideas? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteBummer, I have also made it like this and it didn't fall at all:
ReplyDeleteCAKE:
1 c. coconut flour
2 tsp aluminum free
baking powder
1 tsp Celtic sea salt
1 TBS ground cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3/4 c. coconut oil or
butter, softened
1 1/2 c. erythritol
1 1/2 tsp stevia glycerite
8 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. sour cream
If using coconut cream instead of sour cream/cream cheese would I just use the thick cream off the top of a can of coconut milk? What form if coconut cream do you use? Looks delicious, thanks!
ReplyDeleteThe cream off the top of a can will work. Otherwise you can buy it like this. ;) http://astore.amazon.com/marisnutran05-20/detail/B000VW7VGS
DeleteCan I use raw sugar instead of stevia glycerite? Would the amount be the same? Or would honey work?
ReplyDeletePlease listen to this about sweeteners. It is very informative. :) http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/atlcx-episode-18-the-truth-about-sweeteners-dr-david-getoff/14520
DeleteMaria - could I add some vanilla protein powder to the frosting? I know that is a strange question, but I have to make a "Captain America" cake for my son, and I have no idea how to make the shield on top if the icing is not thick. There seems to be no recipe for a sugar free gluten free fondant. I do have the natural dyes, though. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, you could try that. Let me know how it works. :)
DeleteI love Spice Cake and am so happy to have a grain free version. The only thing I did differently was to bake cake in three pans instead of two (no need to slice cake afterward) and baked for 28 minutes. My house smells fantastic! Perfect for a snowy winter afternoon in Vermont! Thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you! :)
DeleteMaria, can I use straight erythritol instead of Swerve? I have a lot of it and would rather use it up than buy something new.
ReplyDeleteThat will work. The reason I also add stevia with erythritol is erythritol is 70% as sweet as sugar or Swerve. :)
DeleteThanks! After reading your reply, I checked the recipe again and noticed that you add liquid stevia to the erythritol. (I was just looking at the frosting recipe). I have liquid stevia, so I will try that. Thanks so much!
Delete