This cake. Oh my it’s sinful. When my sister and I had to go gluten-free, my mom picked up The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam. She also blogs over at Elana’s Pantry. If you don’t read her blog, you should. It’s full of yummy recipes that can be easily modified to fit dietary regulations. I’ve made and modified many recipes from this book and they’ve all been fabulous.

I decided to take the plunge and make the cake on the cover. Now, I say “plunge” for many reasons.

First and foremost, I stink at cakes. Phew. That’s out. I could never master the art of Betty Crocker boxed cake mix but I could make a mean tart cherry pie that my roommates would beg me for. We all have our talents. Cakes. Not mine.

Second, you expect me, who stinks at cakes, to make a cake out of almond flour?! Are you crazy? But the quest for chocolate (I’m pretty sure I’m low on magnesium) was worth it. This cake turned out moist (I really hate that word) and decadent and didn’t have any chocolate in it at all. Or oil. Or sugar. Or flour.

Just a little note on the almond flour - it needs to be a fine blanched almond flour. Bob’s Red Mill, while I love their products, produces too coarse a product. I really like Honeyville and use that a lot when I’m cooking. Bob’s does, however, make a great almond pancake - but that’s a post for another time.

Another note: The recipe is for one cake layer. You’ll need to double and/or triple the recipe if you want a taller cake.

So here’s the recipe, in all it’s glory. Enjoy. And eat as much as you want, it’s relatively healthy!

Enjoy!

Not-So-Chocolate Chocolate Cake

• 2 cups blanched almond flour
• 1/4 cup sifted carob powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup honey
• 2 large organic eggs, beaten
• 1 tbsp gluten-free vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil a 9-inch cake pan with grapeseed oil and dust with almond flour or use a silicone cake pan (does not need to be prepped).
2. Using a fine mesh sieve, sift the carob powder over a bowl and press through or break up any large clumps of carob powder that might have formed. Measure out the 1/4 cup needed for the cake.
3. Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl - the almond flour, carob powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients - the honey, eggs, and vanilla extract.
4. Fold the wet in with the dry and stir until thoroughly combined.
5. Spoon mixture into the prepared cake pans or the silicone cake pan.
6. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Let the cake rest for an hour in the pan before inverting it. Then decorate and serve!

Marshmallow Frosting