Happy Healthy Birthday Cake

By Sari Huhtala

Kids and adults alike will devour this moist and delicious cake. This fool-proof chocolate cake recipe is made with a natural sweetener and is low in gluten, with a dose of healthy fats. The vegan version turns this cake into a crazy rich brownie-like cake.

Moist chocolate cake

• 1 3/4 cups coconut sugar
• 3/4 cups cocoa powder
• 1 3/4 cups spelt flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp sea salt or Himalayan salt
• 2 eggs (for vegan version use 2 flax gel eggs*)
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Instructions: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together coconut sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs *(create 2 flax gel eggs by combining 1 tbsp of ground flax with 3 tbsp of water. Let sit for 20 seconds then add to batter), almond milk, vanilla and coconut oil and beat with mixer for two minutes.

Bring one cup of water to a boil in a saucepan. Pour boiling water into cake batter. The batter will be thin. Prepare two 8-inch round cake pans greasing them and flouring them. Pour batter evenly into pans. Bake approximately 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Use a smooth knife along the sides to loosen cake and cool completely before inverting out of pan.

Icing: Mix two cups of organic icing sugar, three tablespoons of cocoa, with approximately two tablespoons of almond milk and one tablespoon of melted butter. Blend well. Add more icing sugar if consistency is too thin.

Sugar-free icing option: Mix one cup of Swerve erythritol-based confectioners sugar with two to three tablespoons of cocoa and about three tablespoons of hot water. Add more Swerve if icing is too thin. (Swerve can be found at a health food store).