Coconut Cake for The 4th of July

I have been thinking of a way to make this cake ever since Easter. This is my healthier rendition of the cake my mom made for me at Easter time. Of course, this one is going to be red, white, and blue, not a bunny :)

I'm currently in the process of changing over all of my aluminum or coated baking pans to ceramic or glass ones. Therefore, what could have been a flag-shaped cake decorated like the Stars and Stripes became a round cake with a Fourth theme. Decorate it any way you like with blueberries and strawberries!

This is my submission for:This cake is grain free (if you don't use corn starch as a sub), dairy free, and refined sugar-free. Actually,the cake itself is only fruit sweetened, but there are some added sweeteners in the glaze and frosting. Also, be sure to check back at The Spunky Coconut for a roundup of many Fourth of July dish ideas!

Coconut Cake

Makes 1 8" or 9" round or 8" square cakeIngredients
Dry for the Cake:

• 1 cup sprouted quinoa flour (available in whole sprouted form at Whole Foods, or you can sprout your own) more info on sprouted flours, click here
• 1 cup coconut flour
• 2 1/2 Tbsp arrowroot powder (can sub tapioca or corn starch)
• 1 tsp baking soda - aluminum free
• 1/4 tsp baking powder - aluminum free

Wet for the Cake:

• 1 1/2 cups [11 oz] applesauce, unsweetened
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup [6 oz] coconut milk
• 1/4 cup [2 oz] coconut oil, melted but not too hot so it doesn't curdle the eggs

Glaze:

• 1/2 can [6-7 oz] of coconut milk, that has been blended together
  
• 1 Tbsp sweetener (I used coconut nectar, but you can use palm sugar, honey, maple syrup, etc.)

Frosting and Toppings**:

• 1 cup [6 oz] hard coconut cream from a can of coconut milk (the part that rises to the top after the can has been refrigerated)- you will need 1 1/2 cans of coconut milk total for the whole recipe, and for best results getting a good cream at the top, use Thai Kitchen or Chaokoh brand
  
• 1/4 cup powdered coconut sugar**
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 Tbsp melted coconut oil
• unsweetened, unsulfured shredded coconut
  
• strawberries
• blueberries

**Don't you just love the internet. I use it for inspiration almost daily. Normally, when my mom made it, this recipe was made with Coolwhip, and I wanted a similar texture. And very conveniently, Gluten Free Gigi just posted this recipe for a dairy-free whipped topping! I wanted to do it without regular powdered sugar so I got the idea for powdered coconut sugar from this recipe by Amy Green @ Simply Sugar and Gluten Free. I just adapted some things and voila: a dairy-free Coolwhipesque topping for my cake :)
For the powdered sugar: place 1 cup of coconut/ palm sugar (also works with date sugar- made with finely ground dehydrated dates- both can be found at Whole Foods) in a high powered blender or coffee grinder with 1 Tbsp of corn starch (or, Tapioca starch to be grain free). Store the rest in a sealed container in refrigerator.

Method
For the Cake:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and prepare an 8" or 9" round pan or 8" square pan with parchment paper and grease with coconut oil.
• For the sprouted quinoa flour, grind sprouted quinoa seeds in a coffee grinder or high powered blender. Then measure after you make it into flour.
• Sift the sprouted quinoa flour together with the rest of the dry ingredients.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients.
• Add the wet mixture to the dry, and blend with spatula until combined.
• Pour batter into cake pan and bake at 325 until toothpick comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes.

For the Glaze:

• When the cake comes out of the oven, let it cool for about 10 minutes. Then poke holes about 1" apart all over the cake with a straw.
• Blend the canned coconut milk together and measure out about 1 cup. Stir in the sweetener.
• Pour that mixture over the holes (you may only use 1/2 cup at first) and let the cake sit. Then repeat with the rest of the mixture.
• Let the cake cool for a good 30 minutes until no longer warm to the touch.
  
• Now you are ready to ice the cake and decorate.

Frosting and Toppings:

• Blend the hard coconut cream (from top of can of coconut milk after it has been refrigerated), vanilla, palm or date powdered sugar**, and melted coconut oil together with a hand mixer or in a blender or food processor.
• Refrigerate 15-30 minutes to let it firm up. Then top the cake with it.
• Sprinkle unsweetened coconut flakes on top and then decorate with blueberries and strawberries.
• For a flag you can place blueberries (cut in half, round side up) in the top left corner and the spaces between them look sort of like diamond "stars". Then make the red stripes by closely putting strawberry slices together, leaving a good space for the white stripes.
• This cake is very moist, so store in refrigerator until ready to eat.

This recipe has also been linked up to:









Happy Independence Day!
Eryn