The Perfect Paleo Chocolate Cake (Grain-free, Sugar-free)

This past weekend, we moved into our lovely new condo. It seems like a much needed fresh new start, and I couldn't be happier about the location--a 5 minute commute to work with minimal traffic. There's been some big and wonderful changes in my work life as well, which I can talk more about later. I knew I had to whip up something to celebrate the newness of it all. I embarked on taking the kitchen for a test run, which was slightly intimidating due to a little less counter space. But what came out of the oven more than made up for the loss.

I must've known somehow subconsiously that a celebratory cake was even more necessary yesterday. As we sat down to taste it, two of our friends/family announced their engagement to us. We were ecstatic to hear the news and immediately paired the cake with a more than appropriate toast of champagne. We send our happy wishes and congratulations to the lovely couple! May you always find happiness in each other.

I also wanted to note here that I'm attempting to cut back on my grain and sugar intake lately. So I decided to opt for an almond flour alternative for the base of this cake with xylitol to sweeten it. I have to admit I was skeptical about what I was throwing together in the mixing bowl at first, but it turned out being one of the easiest from scratch recipes I've concocted so far. I never knew paleo could taste so rich and elegant. This is hands down my absolute favorite sweet chocolate cake I've ever made, grain-free or not. It has an amazingly moist and fudgy type quality about it that can often be missing from other basic almond flour cakes. Even after indulging in it last evening, I promptly dove into it again for breakfast this morning. The best part is you can indulge guilt free--it's quite a healthy cake and loaded with protein. This is also the perfect dessert for those on a candida diet or low carb diet.

The Perfect Paleo Chocolate Cake

Grain-free, Gluten-free, Soy-free, Dairy-free, Peanut-free, Legume-free, Yeast-free, Sugar-free,  & Low Carb.

• 2 cups almond flour/meal. I used Bob's Red Mill Almond flour/meal.
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 raw cacao powder. I love Navitas Naturals brand for this.
• 1 cup "granulated" xylitol or alternative sweetener of choice. (If it's a liquid sweetener reduce the other liquids accordingly).
• Dash of salt
• Optional: Zest of one orange.
• 4 eggs (I use soy-free fed eggs).
• 3/4 cup coconut milk (unsweetened or pre-sweetened with safe alternative sweetener). I use SO Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk.
• 1/4 cup olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use butter or coconut spread to grease a 8 or 9 inch round cake pan.
2. Mix the dry ingredients and combine well. Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and add them to the dry, whisking with a fork. Stir until well combined. There's no need for an electric mixer here.
3. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the center to ensure it's cooked through. It should be a nice fudgy consistency. Let it cool and top it with orange zest or mixed berries. I didn't think it needed any frosting at all. It's delicious on it's own.

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