Cake of the Day: Spiced Harvest Cake from ‘Sweet Paleo’

They taste good, they look good, and they’re made by good people — talented bakers from around the world. Today, Lea Hendry Valle shares a paleo-friendly dessert from her cookbook Sweet Paleo: Gluten-Free, Grain-Free Delights.

A Spiced Harvest Cake recipe that’s Paleo and deliciously gluten-free . (Photo: Lea Hendry Valle)

Spiced Harvest Cake
Makes 1 (8-inch) two-layer cake

There’s just something about carrot cake; most adults love it, but most kids … just don’t. Until they taste it, at least. But getting them to taste it is often the biggest obstacle. That’s why we decided to call this “Harvest Cake,” instead. The name sounds less intimidating than “Carrot Cake,” which can make vegetable-phobic individuals — like kids — break out in a cold sweat. Then, just to be devilish, we added apples and zucchini to the batter. The result is a moist, delicious, nut-free cake that will appeal to people of all ages, even kids. “Oh, you don’t want to eat your vegetables, sweetie? That’s okay! Here … have some Harvest Cake, instead!” Frost with Italian Meringue Buttercream or, if you can eat nuts, the Spiced Harvest Cake is also delicious covered in Maple Cashew Glaze (see below). It mimics the richness of a cream cheese frosting without the dairy.

1⅛ cups coconut flour
½ cup arrowroot or tapioca flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon finely ground sea salt
6 large, moist Medjool dates, pitted
¾ cup pure maple syrup
½ cup apple or orange juice
6 large eggs
½ cup liquefied coconut oil
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup grated zucchini
1 cup cored, grated apple
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Use coconut oil to grease two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

Weigh the flours and sift together with the spices, baking soda and salt into a medium-size bowl; set aside.

In a food processor or high-speed blender, puree the dates with the maple syrup and apple juice until you have a smooth paste, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary.

Separate three of the eggs and place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer. Allow them to come to room temperature.

In a separate large mixing bowl, place the three egg yolks along with the three remaining whole eggs, add the date puree, oil and vanilla and stir until combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the date mixture. Stir in the carrot, zucchini and apple.

In the stand mixer, using the whisk attachment on medium speed, whip the three egg whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to whip until you have firm peaks.

Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the batter and continue folding until well combined, taking care not to overmix and lose the airiness of the eggs.
Divide the batter between the two prepared pans. It will be thick. Spread it out evenly.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack to continue cooling. Frost or glaze.

Maple Cashew Glaze
Makes about 1 cup frosting

This sweet, delicious glaze is terrific as a topping for cake, cookies, donuts, or even ice cream. It’s made from raw cashew cream, a vegan specialty often used as a stand-in for cheese, sweetened with organic maple syrup and coconut butter. This glaze is wonderful on the Spice Harvest Cake — the maple flavor is the perfect complement to the spices in the cake and so delicious you will not miss cream cheese frosting.

½ cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours or overnight, then drained and rinsed
¼ cup coconut butter, heated
¼ cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons liquefied coconut oil
Pinch of finely ground sea salt
Filtered water

Place the cashews along with the coconut butter, maple syrup, coconut oil and salt in a food processor or high-speed blender and process until smooth and creamy (this will take several minutes), scraping down the sides as necessary.

Add a tablespoon of filtered water at a time until you reach your desired consistence for either frosting or glazing.

Reprinted with permission from Sweet Paleo: Gluten-Free, Grain-Free Delights by Lea Hendry Valle (Countryman Press).

More guilt-free Paleo cakes to enjoy:

Gluten-Free Lavender Honey Cake

Chocolate Fudge Cake from ‘Gloriously Gluten-Free

Gluten-Free Black Currant Polenta Cake from ‘Mug Cakes’