I was just hired to bake a paleo cake for a first-time birthday girl's party! I started off with three simple recipes that looked good, one of which was a box cake ( this cake was not a hundred percent paleo cake, because it included cane sugar), and the others which were made from scratch and completely paleo. It was challenging, and a bit tricky, but it was so fun to bake! However, even though I have found a few interesting recipes, they didn't turn out as I expected and I am still looking for more!
Ingredients
It was a bit hard finding all the ingredients for these recipes because some of these products were really expensive, and others were out of stock. However, I did find some good substitutes!
I substituted several of the ingredients that were called on the ingredients list, such as using an interesting gluten free flour brand called Domata, instead of almond flour, because almond flour is quite pricey, and I wasn't sure if the recipes would work out.
I also used coconut sugar instead of honey since it's not healthy for a baby of 12 months old (or younger) to be eating it, because honey may contain certain bacteria that can cause botulism.
A few other abnormal ingredients that were called for, were Crisco, almond milk, and coconut oil.
First Up - Box Cake
For the first cake I wanted to try out, I decided to start off with the box cake. Since I was 99% sure that this cake would work out, I wanted to begin with the simpler cake so I would have at least one successful cake.
First I combined all the ingredients such as the box mix, eggs and liquids. Although the batter was really runny at first, once it went into the oven it began to rise perfectly! After the cake was out of the oven and it was nice and cooled, I tried a slice. It was so delicious, tasty and ever so wonderful! It was surprising how much it tasted like a normal box cake, and I definitely recommend this cake. The only downer was, the cake was slightly dry, but with a bit of paleo frosting and a cold glass of water, it balances out perfectly.
Here is a link to Camelas Vanilla Box cake - https://www.pamelasproducts.com/products/gluten-free-classic-vanilla-cake-mix
Paleo Cake From Scratch Recipe One
This recipe was probably my least favorite out of the three. I wasn't a big fan on the taste nor texture. However, if the cake would have baked all the way through instead of burning on the outside, my thoughts for this cake might have changed.
As always, I mixed up the ingredients together, using the Domata flour, coconut sugar, an almond coconut milk blend, and a few other needed elements, to get the consistency and flavors of the cake right. Unfortunately as I was mixing up all the ingredients, the batter turned into a thick doughy mess. It was more like the consistency of bread dough, rather than regular batter. But I kept it going and put it in the oven, hoping by a miracle that it would some how turn out. I did not. After about 30 minutes, I had to take it out even though the inside had not thoroughly baked, because if I kept it in any longer, then the outside would completely burn. Once it finally cooled, I tried a slice, and it was definitely not my top pick. Since the cake was still raw in the center, it was chewy, and dense. Although the sides of the cake that managed to bake through were not to bad, I still wasn't a fan. However baking this cake was still a really fun and memorable experience!
Paleo Cake From Scratch Recipe Two
For my third and final cake, I would say this recipe turned out really good! The only problem was, that this cake turned out really dense, and it didn't bake quite right. I think I put a bit to much batter in my cake pan, and as the cake was rising, it looked like a whole other cake was forming on top of it! But the flavors of this cake were really unique, and they were pretty sweet for a paleo cake. I would also recommend this recipe as well, if you are looking for a made from scratch paleo cake.
I feel like this cake was pretty easy to make, and quite forgiving if you mess up, or don't get your measurements right. Although the batter was just a bit thick, it was not as thick as the first paleo cake made from scratch. Also, since I added to much batter to the pan, the cake didn't bake properly and was exceptionally tall. But once it was out of the oven, it eventually deflated back into a normal shaped cake. This cake is definitely my favorite recipe out of the three!
Frostings
I decided to try three different frostings to pair with the different cakes, and one of which was really terrible, and the others of which were pretty good. For all of the frostings, I used a replacement confectioners sugar called Swerve. It smelled a bit weird, but tasted exactly like the real thing!
For the first frosting I found a recipe that used coconut oil, vanilla extract, salt, and confectioners sugar, which I replaced with Swerve. It turned out terrible! It was really salty, which way over powered the sweet, really grainy, since the oil was separating from the sugar, and it just tasted so greasy. I didn't even try to pair the frosting with any of the cakes, since I knew it would completely ruin any of the cakes!
For the second frosting recipe, it used coconut milk, vanilla emulsion, lemon juice ( to balance out the sweetness ) and confectioners sugar, which of course I replaced with Swerve. I think that this frosting was my favorite, because I loved its silky texture, and I especially liked the perfect balance between the sweet and tangy. I definitely think this recipe is a keeper!
As for my third and final frosting recipe, it required vegan butter ,sugar, vanilla, and almond extract, and I used the Swerve confectioners . It wasn’t to bad, although it wouldn’t be my first choice when I need a good paleo frosting. Mostly because it’s pretty much like tasting a huge thing of sweet goop. It doesn’t really have any definite flavor, its just… sweet. But I would still recommend this recipe if you can crank up the flavorings a bit, and not mind a bland taste!
Overall
These paleo cakes and frostings were so fun to bake and whip up! I definitely recommend a couple, and others… not so much. Overall, this was such a fun experience, and for those of you wanting to try out one of the recipes, I hope you’ll have as much as fun I did trying out these cakes and frostings!
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