Homemade Birthday Cake was the norm when I was growing up, every member of my family had their GO TO cake. Mine was lovely layered cake known as German Chocolate Cake. It had this really yummy frosting made with pecans and coconut and I simply couldn’t think of anything better.
This cake is named for a man not the country!
Travel forward with me to 2019 and I have re-fashioned my childhood cake into a more whole food version that tastes just as special as it always did! In this version, the white flour and white sugar have been replaced with wholefood options. And if you want the cake to be VEGAN, the eggs can be replaced too! WOW, so is this really a cake? Yes it is and its every bit as good as the original.
So what magic did I spin to create this cake?
It starts with replacing the flour. Which I did my using pre-cooked quinoa. I then replaced the white sugar with coconut sugar. Now I could have used rapadura sugar here, however, I really like the caramel taste of coconut sugar. I don’t have an issue with eggs, however, I have many friends who either can’t eat eggs or are vegan, so I have included an option to use chia gel as an egg replacement. You could also use powered egg replacement, however, I wanted to keep this as a whole food cake so chia was the better option.
The result, is a moist, yummy, chocolatey cake worthy of being someones favorite Birthday Cake! With the perfect pecan and coconut frosting. YEAH!
For the frosting, the sugar was replace with whole majool dates – the rest is almost the same, unsweetened coconut and fresh raw pecans. Its the perfect frosting for this cake. Whats more, you can make this cake as a single layer, double layer or turn it into cup cakes. The choice is yours. I hope you love this cake as much as I do and make it often.
ARE YOU AVOIDING BREAD? IS GLUTEN AN ISSUE FOR YOU?
Today I have a great option for you, I am sharing a recipe for a FERMENTED gluten free bread. YEAH!
Why a fermented bread? The cool thing about the natural process of long fermentation is it breaks down gluten proteins into smaller fragments, which improves digestibility. The process also breaks down phytic acid, a naturally occurring compound found in all whole grains that inhibits mineral absorption, so the fermented process produces a bread which won’t spike blood sugar, has more magnesium, zinc, iron, B12, and a lower glycaemic index.
However, If you have celiac disease all gluten-containing breads are off the menu. Which is why we are looking at this bread recipe using all GF pseudo grains. This bread can be eaten by those avoiding all standard grains and/or have celiac disease.
So how did we get here…. has it always been this way?
For 10,000 years, we cultivated wheat, stored it, milled it and consumed it. The system worked, and it nourished civilization. Then, in the industrial era, we changed things. First, we invented mechanical technologies to turn wheat into barren white flour. Then, we invented chemical and genetic technologies to make it resistant to pests, drought and blight and easier to harvest. And, while we were tweaking genetics, we also figured out how to increase glutens for better “baking properties” (fluffier results). Put another way:
We have mutant seeds, grown in synthetic soil, bathed in chemicals. They’re deconstructed, pulverized to fine dust, bleached and chemically treated to create a barren industrial filler that no other creature on the planet will eat. And we wonder why it might be making us sick?
So what else is in our bread?
Has anyone you know made let you know: “I’ve gone gluten-free and feel so much better. For the vast majority of people with some level of “wheat sensitivity”, symptoms are much milder and seem to be triggered by *something* about modern wheat. The irony, however, is that most gluten-free versions of traditional wheat-based foods are actually junk food. A quick check of the ingredients labels and you might see thinks like rice starch, corn-starch, tapioca starch, potato starch and guar gum, which are highly refined industrial starches that spike blood sugar just like white flour.
Well good news, my fermented bread recipe is perfect for you. Its gluten free, vegan and yeast free.
Checking the batter along the way. Seeing little air bubbles means fermentation is happening.
I really love this bread! Its a very dense loaf, with a slight sour taste. Perfect for anyone who can't have gluten. It's also free of eggs and yeast. The fermentation process (leaving out at room temperature) gives it a rise with all the air bubbles, but by no means is this a light fluffy loaf. Lovely toasted with your favorite toppings.
Peeking inside the finished loaf. As you can see, very dense.
Ah the rich smells from the kitchen today sent me back in time to when I was little. It had me wrapped up in my childhood …. cold winter days just before Christmas when I would bake all sorts of wonderful creations. I think this magical memory will stay with me all day! How wonderful.
Today I made Christmas Spice Biscuits, using all the traditional spices – you might feel you have been transported to another country. So lovely!
The recipe is based on a classic one and uses both white and brown sugar – I altered this and changed the sugar to all coconut sugar. I also used a combination of milk and baking soda (bicarb) instead of eggs (EGG FREE). However the standout for this recipe is the use of white pepper!
For those wanting an alternative for bone broth/stock made from animal sources I have a great recipe for to try.
This recipe is liver detoxing and mineral dense broth is a great addition to any kitchen. Once made, this will keep for a week or so in the fridge and months in your freezer.
The trick with making this broth is keep the skin/peels on all the vegetables and include good quality KELP. Kelp is a important sea vegetable rich in minerals including iodine and other key minerals and vitamins. Similar to bone broth, adding this broth to your diet will help with good health. As with bone broth, you can use this wonderful broth for cooking and creating great recipes. I also really enjoy having a warm cup of broth mid morning or late afternoon.
I recommend using a slow cooker for this – however if you don’t have one the stove top will work just fine.
This is healthy lovely broth, perfect for liver detoxing. Use the broth as mid morning or late afternoon snack, use for recipes and cooking liquid or to stir-fry veggies instead of using oil.
If you are like me when you finish a BIG WORK OUT, such as a VERY long walk, or big swim you can feel totally drained. This happens to me when I have sweated ( NOT glow rather real sweat) and been active for more then 2 hours. I find my body starts to slow down and I feel drained. This can be an issue if you need to carry on with what your are doing.
I am currently training for an annual charity walk taking place at the end of July. I know from my training and past walks I feel better and preform better when I am hydrated correctly. This goes beyond just water, its also important to replace lost electrolytes. After a bit of research and testing what’s on the market, I turned to coconut water – which is effective at replenishing fluids and electrolytes after exercise. It is comparable to other sports beverages.
The only issue I have with coconut water is its sweet/slightly sour taste which I don’t care for. However, I do like how quickly I recover when I drink it. So I enhance my coconut water by adding fresh lemon juice – to help with the sweet taste, a pinch of sea salt – to help with the sour taste, and 1/4 tsp. of magnesium power – to help my muscle recovery.
I found my perfect electrolyte drink!
I started with coconut water, add the juice of a lemon and a 1/4 tsp of magnesium powder.
