Coconut Flour Chocolate Cake with Coconut Palm Sugar Frosting

I really wanted a bite of chocolate cake today so I made this little cake. It's a dark chocolate frosting, really tasty.  Coconut palm sugar has a low-g.i. and I feel it's a better choice than agave.  I've tried making frosting with stevia, or with sugar alcohols, and they never turn out. So, just be careful how much you eat and you should be fine, if you are maintaining a low-carb lifestyle. This is a dark chocolate cake that is not too sweet.

It's just one layer in a 7" pan. I know that's an unusual size pan. You could use an 8"x8" brownie pan, just check as it will probably cook faster.  Or you could instead make 6 cupcakes with this recipe.


***You'll want to cut out a circle of parchment paper for the bottom of your cake pan so it won't stick.  Cut a piece of parchment paper bigger than the bottom of your pan, then with one hand hold it to the inside of the bottom of the pan, and with the other hand, draw a line with a pen or slightly sharp object all the way around the inside circle on the bottom, so you'll know where to cut it. Then cut it along the line you made, and it will fit perfectly in the bottom of your cake pan.

Coconut Flour Chocolate Cake with Coconut Palm Sugar Frosting
adapted from Cooking with Coconut Flour



Cake:
6 Tablespoons butter or coconut oil
1/2 cup cocoa powder, fair trade
6 eggs, room temperature, 3 separated
1/4 cup coconut milk or whole milk
1/2 teaspoon stevia powder (I used NuNaturals)
1/4 cup Erythritol, or 3 Tablespoons honey, or 1/4 cup coconut palm sugar (subs)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sifted coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
parchment paper cut out to fit a 7" baking pan

Butter or oil your pan under and on top of the parchment paper, as well as on the sides.   Preheat oven to 350˚F.
Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Mix in cocoa powder, set aside to cool.  It is very beneficial to have all of your ingredients at the same temperature. In one large bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. If your kitchen is warm, it is okay to put these into the fridge until you need them so they don't melt. In another bowl, mix together the other 3 eggs, egg yolks, [coconut] milk, stevia, sugar sub, salt, and vanilla.  Stir in cocoa mixture.  Combine sifted coconut flour with baking powder and whisk into batter until there are no lumps.  This is the time to taste your batter to see if it is sweet enough - you may want to add more sweetener, if it is not.
Fold egg whites (if you don't know how to, go here for tips) into mixture, starting with 1/3rds, mixing, then the rest. Pour into cake pan and bake for 20 - 30 minutes or until toothpick entered comes out clean when inserted into middle of cake.  Cool.
Take a long piece of wire or dental floss and slice this cake in half and make it two layers so that you can put frosting between the layers.  Or you can cut it in half with a large knife.

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, soft
1 - 3.5 ounce 85% Green and Black Chocolate bar
3 Tablespoons coconut palm sugar, measured and then powdered in a coffee/nut grinder
1  teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch finely ground sea salt

Melt chocolate in a very dry (one drop of water will ruin the chocolate) small pot or a double broiler, watching carefully, over very low heat.  Stir it and watch that it doesn't burn.  Remove from heat and let cool completely (catch it while it's still liquid though- don't refrigerate).  Wait until after it is cooled to do the rest: In a medium - large bowl, whip together butter and sugar until creamy.  Add chocolate slowly in a pouring motion while whipping. Add vanilla and sea salt and whip a little more.  Frost your cooled cake!!

You can, if you wish, top this dark chocolate cake with coarsely ground sea salt or non-pareils, which are gluten free and pretty low carb but still have sugar... your choice!  We did it half and half!