We had our annual church family camp this past weekend and I was thrilled to bring chocolate cake for those eaters that were paleo/gluten-free (mostly so I wouldn’t miss out on dessert)! I didn’t have time to take a picture of the cake at home…so I took one at camp! I will post the recipe for one 8″ round cake pan, but you can double it for two cakes or triple it for three! The cake pictured is two cakes stacked on top of each other. Enjoy!
Chocolate Cake
Cake Ingredients (for ONE 8″ round cake* about 1 1/2″ thick):
1/3 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup arrowroot
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup cacao powder or cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup honey
3 eggs
1/3 cup coconut oil or melted butter
2/3 cup almond milk
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Cake Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8″ round cake pan* with parchment paper.
2. Combine coconut flour, arrowroot, almond flour, cacao, baking soda, salt and baking powder in a bowl and whisk to combine.
3. Add honey, eggs, coconut oil or melted butter, almond milk, lemon juice and vanilla to the dry ingredients and mix well. (I use an electric hand mixer.)
4. Pour cake batter into parchment paper-lined cake pan*. Bake at 350 degrees for 17-22 minutes. Remove from oven when toothpick inserted comes out clean. Try not to overbake!
5. Cool completely and frost cake with chocolate frosting (below), if desired. You could also skip the frosting and serve with berries or Vanilla Coconut Cream Ice Cream.
Frosting Ingredients (double or triple if you make two or three cakes):
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup softened butter
2-4 Tbsp. honey (depending on how sweet you like it)
2 Tbsp. cacao
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
Frosting Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients and whip together with electric mixer. (If the frosting is too runny due to liquified coconut oil, place in fridge for a short time and re-whip.)
2. Spread on cooled cake and enjoy!
I find this stores best in the fridge. My husband likes to eat it cold when the frosting is hard and I prefer it room temperature when the frosting is soft. So I just let mine sit a bit before devouring!
*You can also make this in an 8×8 square pan. The baking time is slightly less.
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Carol Weber
Nov 22, 2018 -
I wish I saw this recipe earlier when I planned to make my own birthday cake. It’s way easier to understand and best of all, the cake came out perfectly baked — unlike that other food blogger who oversold her fancy best ever Paleo chocolate cake.
The centers of her cakes NEVER GOT COMPLETELY BAKED THROUGH, and I’d been baking it in the oven for an hour like a fool.
I’m making this recipe from now on. Thanks.
Amodeus
Dec 27, 2014 -
I followed your freaking guidelines and ended up with a freaking salty cake. WTF!
Jean
Sep 26, 2015 -
Are you SURE you only used one-half a teaspoonful of salt????
Linda
Jul 30, 2014 -
I made this today, and it is quite yummy! Thanks for sharing a great recipe.
Alma
Mar 1, 2014 -
Hi Jennifer,
we cut the cake in half, as my 10yo and I couldn’t agree on the frosting.
He opted for cocoa in melted coconut oil.
I on the other hand heated up coconut cream added honey and cocoa and got a rich ganache.
Both versions are great but only because the cake is D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S.!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for a simple yet very yummy recipe (and fluffy my son adds) 🙂
Greetings from Vienna, Austria
Jessica
Oct 6, 2013 -
Any idea as to what I could replace the Almond flour with? Can’t do nuts here. 🙁
Jennifer
Oct 11, 2013 -
You could try sunflower seed flour…
amsy
Oct 2, 2014 -
hi jessica. almond isn’t a nut !! Just so you know for future and can indulge
Betsy
Jul 30, 2017 -
If almond isn’t a nut, what is it?
Rachel
Sep 15, 2013 -
Just made this in cupcake form! Baked just as long as the cake. I substituted all of the honey (in the batter and the frosting) for coconut sugar. I don’t like that honey taste all of the time. 🙂 They turned out AMAZING!!! YUM!! I also didn’t have almond milk, and just used whole milk from the fridge. I also didn’t have arrowroot (I’ll need to buy some!) so I used cornstarch. This recipe is awesome. Can’t wait to add it to my recipe book! 🙂
Kerry
Sep 6, 2013 -
We made this for my husband’s birthday and we all LOVED it! I’m trying them as cupcakes this weekend for my son’s birthday. Fingers crossed 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
april
Aug 24, 2013 -
I made this and it was great!! Have you tried freezing these before?
Jennifer
Sep 11, 2013 -
No–but I’d love to hear how it worked it you tried to!
Kathy Himmel
Aug 6, 2013 -
When you share about storing in fridge, are you talking about the entire cake or just the frosting???
Thanks! Can’t wait to try!!
Jennifer
Aug 7, 2013 -
I stored the whole cake in the fridge…not sure how long it would last if not stored in the fridge.
Lisa
Apr 28, 2013 -
Do you use raw honey? Thanks!!
Jennifer
May 7, 2013 -
Yep 🙂
Andrea
Aug 6, 2013 -
As you are going to bake the cake at higher than “raw” temps, no need to spend the extra money on raw honey.
John Kotab
Dec 15, 2018 -
Andrea,
I agree that using raw honey or pasteurized honey (of all the blasted, ignorant government regulations. . . but anyway) will end up with the same result: not-raw cake
However, what happens before the cake reaches 108 degrees (some say a little less, others a little more) is important.
Consider baking sodas with aluminum and those without (not the norm sadly): The aluminum-containing ones act mostly in the oven, producing carbon dioxide (giving you that “rise”). Non-aluminum-containing sodas generally do their work as soon as they become wet, so most of the carbon dioxide begins forming before you put it in the oven.
Raw honey contains enzymes which change the composition of the cake batter. This change occurs from the time its added to perhaps 5 or more minutes once in the oven. I find that the enzymatic action produces a heartier, well-set texture. Pasteurized honey does not provide this benefit. It might also motivate one to consider that the “cleaning” of the honey is allowed to be done with industrial chemicals as well as with heat.
shanti
Apr 20, 2013 -
Do you, by any chance, know the conversion in grams? I could try to look it up but it’s confusing because 1/3 cup of flour is not as many grams as per example with oil…
Shalley
Apr 11, 2013 -
Thank you for this recipe. I could not believe how good it was! It was incredibly moist and I especially love that it wasn’t too sweet (I could actually taste the ingredients without that junky sugar overload / instant toothache of regular cakes, which makes it very easy for me to avoid them.) I made it for my mom’s birthday as an alternative since she has T2 diabetes. The coconut oil seemed to even out the honey, so it really was a welcomed treat for her.
Staci
Apr 3, 2013 -
Looks amazing!! What can be substituted for the starches: arrowroot and baking powder, to make it Paleo? Thanks in advance!
Yvette
Mar 21, 2013 -
This recipe was a huge hit with all my friends. They could not believe it!! I added some coconut flakes on top of the icing and to me it tasted like German Chocolate Cake.
Steph
Mar 20, 2013 -
I was wondering if you have any idea how coconut/palm sugar would sub for the honey?
Thanks!
Jennifer
Mar 20, 2013 -
Hm…I think it would work–you might want to adjust the baking time–just check it earlier in case it is done sooner. Let us know how it works!
Jen
Feb 28, 2013 -
Hi, I’d like to try this recipe using cornstarch instead of arrowroot powder. Do you think it will work and how much should I use. Thank you.
Jen
Feb 28, 2013 -
This looks great!! I was wondering though, can I use cornstarch instead of arrowroot powder? It’s the only ingredient I do not have in my pantry. If so, how much should I use? Can’t wait to make this.
Thank you.
Cheryl
Feb 28, 2013 -
OMG, I want this in my mouth RIGHT.NOW.!
CarraHenderson
Feb 25, 2013 -
Can I replace almond flour with almond meal? Thanks!
Jennifer
Feb 25, 2013 -
I use Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour/Meal. If you are referring to making your own, I do not know if that will work or not.
Carra
Feb 25, 2013 -
Thanks! I bought Trader Joes Almond Meal. I was looking for Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour but they didn’t carry it and I didn’t feel like making the trip to Whole Foods 🙂 Do you know if that will work the same? Thanks again!
Jennifer
Feb 25, 2013 -
I would think that should work great! Good luck!
Carra
Feb 25, 2013 -
Thanks so much!! I’m so excited – it’s my birthday cake 🙂 Have not had refined sugar in almost 2 months and trying to keep it that way!
Sonia
Feb 25, 2013 -
Can I replace the almond milk for raw whole milk? Can’t get good almond milk around here and was hoping I can replace with some other liquid ingredient … Thanks :)!
Jennifer
Feb 25, 2013 -
I think that should work! Haven’t tried it though–let us know!
Carrie
Jan 23, 2013 -
This looks great! Do you have any idea how long I would cook these if I want to do mini cupcakes (mini muffin tin)? I’m thinking of making them for my son to eat with his classmates on his birthday.
Jennifer
Jan 24, 2013 -
Wow–I do not know. You could try 10 minutes and see if they seem done and just keep adding time from there…
Ute
Sep 4, 2012 -
Hey,
this recipe looks amazing, and I’m so making this for my birthday. Which is funny, because I just posted on my blog that I may be making a cake. So, good thing I came by.
But really, I wanted to let you know, that on my challenge I made your pizza crust on Day 4. Reviewed it right here: http://grokettesprimalmusings.blogspot.com/2012/09/day-4-fast-food-for-lunch-pizza-for.html
Nom nom! I love pizza!!
Jennifer
Sep 5, 2012 -
I’m so glad you liked the pizza! Thanks for trying it!
Meagan
Aug 28, 2012 -
This looks so great! I have a grain-free/paleo/primal chocolate cake recipe that I love on my website, but it has lots of eggs and is just coconut flour. This seems to be a great middle of the road in terms of eggs, oil and different flours. I definitely want to try this one! Thanks for sharing 😀