I have to brag a bit on this particular cake. The quality of this picture does not do justice for the AMAZING taste this cake had, but first let me tell you the story. A few weeks back my husband and I were invited to a party, a one year anniversary of the opening of the gym he goes to, CrossFit-Indian Trail. Everyone was asked to bring either a sweet treat or an appetizer. We of course brought the sweets! But this was no original Cakes by Angela cake - this was a Gluten Free, Grain Free, AMAZING Coconut Cream Cake.
(Sorry for the grainy picture, it was taken with my phone)
Now to understand the back story, for those who don't know, over the past year and a half my husband has made an amazing transformation. It all started back in May of 2010, when he decided he wanted to get in shape before his 30th birthday. Starting about 3 months prior he began each morning with a workout, first starting in our den, then the garage, lifting weights, doing pull ups, pushups, situps and working out with Tony Horton and P90X. After 3 months of this, he lost about 30 lbs. He looked great and felt great!
Then after that he decided to try something different. He decided to try a Paleo lifestyle - for those who are not familiar with it, you can read more here - Robb Wolf OR here - FitBomb
Both of these are blogs my husband LOVES and follows!
Basically Paleo is sticking to whole, unprocessed foods: meat, eggs, seafood, non-starchy vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds. He avoids eating things with sugar, grains (yes even whole grains) legumes and polyunsaturated fats. In short, eating anything that can be hunted or gathered and avoiding stuff that is processed. You might say, that leaves nothing, and yes from an Italian, pasta loving, cake decorator's point of view, it might seem that way. But it makes a lot of sense and I have to say, I've seen the results!
Now, don't get me wrong, I love a good bowl of pasta and a slice of pizza, but in having him try this change in his diet he discovered he has a sensitivity to gluten. So when we were invited to the party, he asked me to try to make a gluten free cake. Well off to the Internet I went, and I found several recipes, that I plan to try but I wanted something better than good for the party and that is when I discovered this amazing recipe.
Now this cake does have a mix of coconut flour, almond flour, coconut rum, heavy cream and 10 eggs. So it's not for the faint of heart, but for someone with a gluten allergy (and not a nut allergy) this is to die for!! I even had a professional cake decorator/friend of mine try it, and believe me she is one picky cake taster and she LOVED it! So I'm here to say, I have (at least one!) gluten free cake to offer!! Hooray!!
And even if you don't have a gluten allergy and want a delicious coconut cake, I would highly recomment this! And for those who might be thinking, this is definitely NOT a Paleo friendly cake, the cream and powdered sugar does not quite fit that category! But is one good tasting cake!!
Thanks!