Real Deal Paleo Chocolate Cake

It’s been a while since I wanted to make my own Paleo chocolate cake and I thought that there was no better occasion then to try it for my Birthday. I found this recipe online and made some slight modifications hoping to create an easier version. There is only one thing that I did not like about this cake, and that is that it finished too quickly. I wanted it to last forever because the taste, smell and texture were just perfect. There is no doubt that I will re-do this cake over and over again. I will also try to double the portions next time in the hope it would last longer.
I had the intention of sharing this cake with all my friends, but looking at it twice made me realise that an 8 inch cake would not be enough for twenty people. Thus I decided to offer homemade snickers cake for my friends and shared this cake with my family instead.
My birthday started with a nice sunset picnic with my friends. This is my birthday cake with the scenery of Qrendi whereabouts in Malta (below).
I also had a lovely surprise by my boyfriend who custom made a diving tank with Rody’s Hearty Corner logo. It was a true surprise and following up the warm weekend we had in Malta, I took the opportunity to do the first dive for the year that weekend. I was also lucky to celebrate my birthday during a fireworks festival. This added to the magic. Credits for this picture go to my friend Stephanie Ghio.

- ¼ cup coconut flour (replace with shredded coconut if you don't have coconut flour)
- 3 cups ground almonds (intrita pura)
- ¾ cup raw cacao powder
- ½ cup raw coconut palm sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- dash of salt
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract / seeds of 1 vanilla pod
- 2 tablespoons raw honey
- 1 can full fat coconut milk, refrigerated (solid part only)
- 2 tablespoons raw honey
- 4 tablespoons raw cacao powder
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoons coconut milk, full fat
- ¾ cup dark chocolate chips
- Preheat oven at 180°C.
- Cover the base of an 8 inch loose base cake tin with parchment paper.
- In a food processor, blend the shredded coconut until powdered. If using coconut flour, there is no need for a food processor.
- Add coconut flour, ground almonds, raw cacao powder, raw coconut palm sugar, baking soda and salt and process until well incorporated.
- Add in the remaining cake ingredients in the food processor and blend at slow speed just until well incorporated.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan, cover with foil and bake for approximately 45-50 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the centre should come out clean.
- Remove the water from the coconut milk solids and set aside.
- Simmer the remaining solid part of the milk with honey for around 15mins. Do not cover.
- The mixture will reduce and become ticker. Switch off from heat and mix in the raw cacao powder and vanilla extract and stir until all is combined and smooth.
- Let cake cool completely and then cut in half horizontally.
- Spread the chocolate ganache over the bottom half of the cake and then top it with the other half of the cake.
- Prepare the chocolate frosting by mixing in the frosting ingredients on a double boiler (banju marija). When mixture is smooth, pour over the cake making sure to cover the top and sides completely.
- Store the cake at room temperature for up to a week. Cake will dry out if stored in fridge.