Almond Flour Chocolate Vanilla Marble Cake

This week, all week, I have eaten cake at least once a day. And how sweet it is! Made with almond flour, this cake is dense: like a pound cake, but almost fudgy. Topped with fresh peaches, a scoop of ice cream, or Oliver’s favorite, smeared with peanut butter, it’s divine. Whip cream (light and airy) with fresh sliced strawberries would be a perfect match to it. 

Eating cake every day is not my typical M.O., not that I have a problem with cake… it’s cake after all, and who wouldn’t want a little bit each day?! But since this is different from my usual, it feels special. Opening up the fridge for one of those “Hmm, what should I eat" moments is electrified by finding a slice of marble pound cake staring back at you. (See? Making cake can lower your energy bills! You’ll spend less time looking in the fridge!)

This week it’s my birthday 🎉 so making something special was in order! Whether you have something special to celebrate or you just want to make a regular day feel special, the swirled batter of this cake is sure to impress, so get out your mixing bowls, and preheat the oven. 

Feel like experimenting? You can swamp the vanilla extract out for almond to accentuate the almond flour. You can stir the zest of one lemon (or orange!) into the vanilla batter for a fresh zing. Baking it science right? So create your own science experiment. 🔬

Almond Flour Chocolate Vanilla Marble Cake

Published September 12, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

   |     Print This Recipe

Serves: 12   |    Total Time: 70 minutes

---

Ingredients:

• 2 cups almond flour 
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder (or 1/2 teaspoon baking soda)
• 4 large eggs
• 2/3 cup honey
• 1/2 cup butter (softened)
• 1/2 cup whole milk, plus 3 T 
• 1 tablespoons vanilla 
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a bread pan with parchment paper.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, beat together honey and butter until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating in. Add milk, and cream until incorporated.
3. In a seperate bowl, whisk together almond flour, coconut flour, salt, and baking powder. Add dry mixture to the butter mixture 1/2 at a time, beating into a batter.
4. Once the batter is mixed and no clumps remain, split the batter evenly between two bowls. Add vanilla to one bowl and cocoa to the other. Beat the vanilla into the vanilla batter and then the cocoa into the chocolate batter.
5. Scoop 1/4 cup of the vanilla batter into the pan. Then, scoop in chocolate batter. Alternate between the two batters, until all of the batter is used. Then, run a chop stick or the handle of a spoon through the batter to add some swirls.
6. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle. Allow to cook 10 minutes before serving.
7. Serve plain, with whipped cream and berries, or smeared with peanut butter for a snack.

Grain-Free Brown Butter & Pear Coffee Cake

Let's start from the top with this one, because there is just soooo much to love.

First stop: Streusel. I'm a big streusel fan, and have been in quite the streusel mood lately. I've been finding all sorts of things to top with it -- even this banana bread with an added streusel layer. 😍Streusel is buttery, crunchy, sweet, -- what more could you want? I'm mad for it. 

Next stop? 🍐The pear and raisin filling. Perfectly ripe pears are a delight in any form, but in this cake they are both creamy and light, all in one bite. They're sweet, with a hint of floral flavor. The raisins add a bit of texture, and after being baked in this cozy cake, they soak up hints of vanilla, buttery flavor, and become even more delicious than before they were added into the cake. Together, they make this treat a perfectly delicious and light-enough-for-a-snack cake.

The last part--the cake batter itself- is the best of all. The real magic maker is the browned butter. Have you baked with brown butter? The first time you do it will change your life! Seriously-- once I discovered brown butter I never made cookies the same way again. Browned butter starts as just regular butter, but you cook it low and slow until it becomes a beautiful caramel color. Something happens when butter begins to brown, it goes from tasting like butter to tasting like caramel, butter, and so much more all in one bite. See what I mean? Life changing. Anyways, brown butter is what makes this soft-crumb almond flour cake so drool-worthy. 

If this is what fall tastes like, I'm happy with the seasons just standing still right here. 🍂

Grain-Free Brown Butter & Pear Coffee Cake

Paleo, Primal, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free    |   Caitlin Sherwood    

Brown butter is the secret magic that makes this cake so good, but if you’re dairy-free, go ahead and try it with coconut oil or even ghee.

Serves: 8-12   |    Total Time: 60 minutes

---

Ingredients:

Cake:
• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 3-4 tablespoons honey
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup coconut milk (canned)
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 pears
• 1/3 cup raisins
Crumble Topping:
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 1/3 cup almond flour
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 350°F. In a small sauce pan, melt the butter for the cake over low heat. Continue to heat over low until butter turns golden in color and begins to smell of caramel. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, honey, coconut milk, vanilla, and once cool to touch the browned butter. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, folding until fully incorporated. Next, dice and seed the pears. Fold the pears, along with the raisins, fold into batter.
3. Spread the batter into a grease 9-inch cake pan.
4. Make the crumble topping: melt the butter, and stir in the coconut sugar, almond flour, and coconut flour. A course meal should form. Sprinkle over entire cake in even layer. Place in center wrack of oven and bake for 30 minutes, until toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Paleo Blackout Chocolate Cake

View fullsize

It's true... I finished grad school yesterday! I’m officially a Master (not the Jedi kind, just the regular kind).

The number one question I’ve be getting over the last few months is “What are you going to do now?” which makes me feel like I should yell, “I’M GOING TO DISNEY LAND!” but that’s not at all what I’m going to do so I have refrained so far.  

I don't really know what to shout, so instead I'll just go on expressing my emotions through food. This is how graduation feels right now:  

View fullsize

Yup, as sweet as cake. Blackout Chocolate Cake, to be exact. 

It's pretty rare that I'll commit to making a cake. Even though the decadence is worth the effort, it's just not practical for a household of two. We end up eating cake twice a day, every day, until it's gone (Yup, breakfast of champions...). On this occasion, I went for it anyways, because it felt monumental. Since I'm not have a graduation party, I had to live it up somehow.  

View fullsize

As naughty as this cake looks, it can actually hold it's own on the nutrition front. Seriously, I can eat a slice of this on an empty stomach and not get a sugar rush. The frosting is super lush, but only requires three ingredients: coconut milk, chocolate, and a spoonful of coconut flour to help it reach the right consistency. The cake itself get's it's soft crumb from whipped eggs, coconut flour, and cocoa powder. If you skipped the cashew sprinkle on top, it would be totally nut free!

View fullsize

View fullsize

Paleo Blackout Chocolate Cake

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free    |   Caitlin Sherwood    

This chocolate cake is rich and dark, but not too sweet—just the way I like it!

Yields: 1 two-layer 8-inch cake   |    Total Time: 90 Minutes

---

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup coconut flour
• 6 tablespoons cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 6 tablespoons honey, melted
• 3/4 cup coconut oil or butter, melted
• 9 eggs

For the frosting:
• 2 cups canned coconut milk (full-fat)
• 1-1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• Optional: Chopped nuts for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously grease two 8-inch cake pans.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients for the cake. Set aside.
3. Melt the coconut oil (or butter) and honey. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes, and then beat in the eggs, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla.
4. Fold the dry mixture into the wet mixture half at a time. Batter should be light and may have a few small clumps, but should be well incorporated.
5. Divide the batter into two 8-inch cake pans. Place in oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle.
6. Remove from oven, and set on a cool wrack for 15 to 20 minutes.
7. While the cakes cool, make the frosting: heat coconut milk in a small sauce pan until it simmers. Remove from heat, and add the chocolate chips. Allow the chips to melt, and then use a whisk to mix until smooth. Cover and place in refrigerator for 20 minutes.
8. Remove frosting mixture from fridge. Use an electric beater to beat in 1 teaspoon of coconut flour at a time, until frosting reaches desired consistency.
9. Assemble the cake: run a knife around the rim of each cake pan and gently tap to loosen. Flip over, and remove cake from pan. Place first cake on serving plate. Spread 1/2 cup of the frosting mixture over top in an even layer. Place second cake over top. Use about 3/4 cup of the frosting to apply a thin layer over frosting over entire cake--it doesn't have to be perfect, this layer is simply for patching up holes and catching crumbs. Finally, use remaining frosting to add finishing layer around entire cake. Decorate with chopped nuts.

Cake recipe inspired by Double Chocolate Cupcakes from the Urban Poser. 

View fullsize