3 Tier Whole Grain Soaked Birthday Cake

This is definitely a family favorite birthday cake that I will be making for our birthdays from now on.  It is very healthy.  So we even have it for breakfast the next day with a kefir shake and, of course, they can have seconds.  Why not, birthdays are once a year.  Well, for us is now six times a year.

This cake turned out to be 3 tier only because I don't have those round cake pans.  If you know me, I am always improvising in the kitchen and substituting ingredients for the ones I have handy.  This time I didn't have 1 1/4 cups of honey, so I mixed it with maple syrup  and who knows, maybe next time I will use sorghum instead.  So feel free to substitute as well and be creative!

You will need:

4 cups freshly ground or sprouted flour.  (I use soft white whole wheat berries for cakes and muffins)
2 cups kefir.  You can substitute for buttermilk.

Mix these two ingredients and leave soaking for 12-24 hours.  The longer it soaks the better in disarming those phytates and it will help with the rising.

the next morning
1 cup butter. I use grass fed butter.
1 1/4 cups honey, maple syrup or sorghum
1/4 cup whole cane sugar.  I use coconut sugar.

2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoons sea salt
4 large eggs, plus 2 large egg yolks, pastured is best
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter pans and prepare them, in this case I used three glass pie pans, by cutting out a round piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of each pan.

• I used my blender to cream butter, honey, and coconut sugar until light and fluffy.


• Mix soaked flour and creamed butter


• Add baking powder, baking soda, and salt, mixing to combine.  Add eggs and yolks, and vanilla, mixing to combine.


• Pour cake batter into the prepared cake pans


• Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown, fragrant, and set in the middle.  Time will depend on using 3 pans, two or one whole cake.


• For filling, here is a deliscious buttercream.  This can also be used to cover the cake.  But since my kids really like chocolate I made some too.  See recipe for the chocolate spread here.

Golden Honey-Vanilla Buttercream

1 1/2 cups butter, softened3/4 cup set raw honey

2 teaspoons vanilla
pinch unrefined salt
natural yellow food coloring (optional)

1. I use my vitamix to beat the butter and honey together until light and fluffy.


2. Add vanilla, salt, and coloring, and beat again until fluffy.


3. Use immediately to frost the cake layers and all around it.


4. Decorate and chill for at least 30 minutes before serving!


5. To serve, take the cake out of the fridge and cut while it is still chilled.  This helps the fluffy honey icing keep it’s shape, as well as the crumbly, buttery cake.

Fun variations is to add cut up fresh strawberries or bananas in between the layers with the butter cream.

It was a very special birthday celebration.  I am so blessed!

 

 

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Soaked Date and Almond Bread with Chocolate Frosting

It is my daughter's birthday and she loves chocolate.  So we made this delicious chocolate frosting.  My two year old went around wanting to eat everybody's frosting.  I didn't mind because I know what's in it.  The bread was filling, nutritious, sweet and everyone can have seconds too.  Although it requires some soaking time (12-24 hours), it is really  very simple.  Allowing a longer period of soaking time will make the bread rise better.  We enjoy it with raw milk or mexican hot chocolate.  The next day, we had left overs for breakfast with a kefir shake.

The day before:

Soak 3 cups of freshly ground flour (spelt, whole wheat or kamut) 12-24 hours with

2 cups of buttermilk, kefir or youghrt

Ingredients:

3 eggs beaten

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 to 1/2  cup maple syrup, sorghum or honey

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 cup melted butter

1 cup dates in pieces

1/2 cup chopped pecans, almonds or walnuts

Instructions:

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.  After the soaking time, blend in remaining ingredients.  Pour into a well-buttered baking pan.  Bake it for 1 hour to 1 1/1 hours or until done.  Mine cooks sometimes for 50 minutes, depending on your oven and outside temperature.

Chocolate Frosting

In a small sauce pan, combine:

1 cup peanut butter

2 ounces of cocoa (powder or bar)

4 Tablespoons of sweetener (coconut palm sugar, rapadura, sucanat, sorghum, maple syrup or honey)

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Under very low heat, combine all ingredients, except for cream.  Stir until all ingredients are melted and well combined.  Add heavy whipping cream and stir it in.  It is done.  Spread it over your baked bread and enjoy!

 

 

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