Chocolate Peanut Butter Birthday Cake (THM S)
My daughter's birthday party was yesterday, and it was a blast. Friends and family were there. It was a gorgeous day, and my sweet almost 4-year-old was incredibly happy.
Which brings me to her cake. I originally planned on doing a Neopolitan cake (like the ice cream), because she couldn't decide exactly what she wanted. After a long afternoon at another birthday party, I went straight home to bake. I tried modifying a recipe that actually comes on the package for Bob's Red Mill Blanched Almond Flour. It was for straight up almond cake - I figured, make one layer plain vanilla, another add strawberry puree, and the last add chocolate. Sounds simple, right?
Wrong.
I baked the three layers, and although they had leavening agent in them they refused to rise. They came out of the oven dry, dense, and flat as a damn pancake.
UGH. I hated doing it, but I had to throw it all out and start again.
I cleared the change with the birthday girl - chocolate layers with peanut butter frosting. She was super happy and I got to work.
I did some short research on leavening gluten-free cakes, and decided it was best to go with a triple threat. I used baking soda, baking powder, and used a modified buttermilk to keep the cake moist and help it react with the leavening agents.
In short, this was the BEST chocolate cake. Seriously. My friends and family (with the exception of my mother-in-love) are not THMers at all, and were literally begging me for the recipe as they were eating it. My friend's little boy, who can't do sweets because they make him sick, ate an entire adult-sized piece of cake by himself.
WIN.
TIPS* I had considered doing a chocolate ganache drip on top, but ultimately decided against it. One thing against it was time - I just didn't have time for another element. However, if you have time for it, I recommend refrigerating the cake prior to the drip. The frosting is very soft at room temperature, and I wouldn't want it to break form on you. A ganache drip looks incredibly elegant, and the only labor involved is literally a pour. It also helps hide frosting mishaps ^_~.
lifestyle, or just living a more healthy life, please consider using one or more of the links below. The money made helps me feed my growing family and keeps this blog running with free recipes. Thank you!
