GF Moist Chocolate BIRTHDAY CAKE w/ NO POWDERED SUGAR Frosting-GLUTEN FREE!

Ingredients

• Coconut oil, for greasing the pans
• 1 3/4 cup Namaste flour
• 1-1/2  organic sugar (you could also substitute a liquid sweetener like honey)
• 3/4 cups carob powder or organic cacao
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup ground flax*optional
• 1 cup buttermilk (make your own w/ 1 cup milk + 1 tsp vinegar, let sit 5 min)
• 1/2 cup coconut oil or organic butter
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup freshly brewed organic hot coffee
• a handful of carob chips or chocolate chips(I like Lily's chocolate chips...all stevia, no sugar!)
• Whipped Buttercream, Recipe below

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Oil two 8-inch x 2-inch round cake pans. 

Sift the flour, sugar, cocao, baking soda, baking powder, flax and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined.

 In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla.  Add butter and mix until smooth.


With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Finally, toss in a handful of chocolate chips.  Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 30 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.  (the batter will be thin)

Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.  While waiting, make the frosting.

The one on the left "settled" just a bit after cooling but no worries...it will be covered in frosting soon!

WHIPPED BUTTERCREAM FROSTING  adapted recipe from here


Ingredients:

• 7 tablespoons namaste  flour
• 1 ½ cups milk...I use raw goat milk but you can use any kind, including milk alternative.
• 1 ½ tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups salted butter at cool room temperature*
• 1 ½ cups organic granulated sugar
• Pinch of salt
• *For Chocolate Frosting, just add 1/4 cup or so of cocao 

 Instructions

1. In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk together over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. It will be the consistency of a thick paste. Make sure that you whisk the flour and milk together well before you begin cooking it to avoid lumps. 
2. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. This step is key. If your mixture is warm, it will melt your butter, and you'll end up with runny frosting. 
3. Stir in vanilla.
4. While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter, sugar, and salt together until light and fluffy on medium high-high, about 5 minutes. Make sure that you scrape down the sides and really incorporate the butter and sugar to avoid gritty frosting.  Beat until the grittyness disappears or almost is completley gone.  this can take a while!
5. Then add the completely cooled milk mixture.
6. Beat it for about 5 more minutes on medium-high to high until it looks like whipped cream. It may look separated at first, so keep beating it until it comes together and looks like a whipped cream.  Beat the heck out of it!  Let it really incorporate!

Recipe Notes

*Make sure that your butter isn't too warm! The butter should be at cool room temperature. You want it to dent if you press it, but you don't want it to be so warm that it's near melting.

Also, if you're using a hand mixer, beat it on high. This recipe works best with a stand mixer because it has the power to really whip the frostin.
To get the best flavor, you'll want to use real butter and pure vanilla extract.

When cooking the milk/flour mixture, you don't want it to look wet. It should be like a thick paste. If it's wet and runny, your frosting will be too loose.

Please don't cut the mixing time short! I know it's tempting, but it's important to beat the butter and sugar together for the time the recipe calls for to keep it from being gritty. If you cut the mixing times short, you won't end up with the right texture of frosting.


 ASSEMBLY:

Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.  I LOVE using natural sprinkles from Whole Foods or buy online. 

I recruited some "help". :)