Paleo Spice Cake with Maple-Cashew Frosting

My 2.5-year old announced “let’s make cake!” and started pulling random seasonings out of the spice drawer.  She pulled out cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom, vanilla, paprika, and cumin.  Okay, maybe those last two weren’t so inspiring, but the first five looked pretty good to me!  I had been meaning to try my hand at a Paleo layer cake with birthday parties in mind and this was the perfect excuse!  The end result was a perfectly moist, spongy cake with a fabulous flavor.  This cake is nut-free, although the frosting is not (because I just couldn’t resist this amazing flavor combination!).  For a wonderful nut-free whipped frosting alternative, try this recipe by Paleo Spirit.

Ingredients (Maple Cashew Frosting):

• 1 cup Unsalted Cashew Butter (or make your own with 2 cups Unsalted Cashews)
• 1 cup Palm Shortening
• 1/3 cup Grade B Maple Syrup

1.    I made my own cashew butter (the easiest nut butter to make at home).  I placed two cups of raw unsalted cashews into my Food Processor and blended until smooth, about 3-4 minutes.
2.    Whip cashew butter, palm shortening and maple syrup in the bowl of a Standing Mixer for 1-2 minutes, until fluffy.  Store in the refrigerator but allow to come to room temperature before frosting.

Ingredients (Nut-Free Spice Cake): 

• 12 Eggs (better if they are at room temperature)
• ½ cup Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, melted
• ½ cup Palm Shortening (or substitute softened Unsalted Butter)
• 1 cup Honey
• ½ cup Arrowroot Flour
• ¾ cup Coconut Flour, sifted
• 1 tsp Salt
• ½ tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 2 tsp Ground Ginger
• ½ tsp Ground Nutmeg
• ½ tsp Ground Allspice
• ½ tsp Ground Cloves
• ½ tsp Ground Cardamom
• extra Palm Shortening and Arrowroot Flour for dusting the cake pans

1.    Prepare three 8” or 9” round cake pans by greasing with palm shortening.  Cut out a circle of wax paper and line the bottom of each pan.  Then grease the top of the wax paper.  Finally, dust the pan with arrowroot powder.  Set aside.
2.    Preheat oven to 350F.
3.    Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a standing mixer and whip 3-4 minutes until thoroughly mixed and smooth.
4.    Divide batter among the three pans.  Spread the batter out to the edges of each pan.
5.    Place in the oven on two racks, spacing out so that they bake evenly (you might want to rotate pans halfway through baking).  Bake for 27-28 minutes, until fully cooked and a toothpick stuck into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
6.    Cool on wire racks until cakes are room temperature.  Invert each cake over a plate or cutting board.
7.    Place the first cake layer on your serving dish, cover the top in frosting, add the second layer, cover it with frosting, add the third layer, cover the whole cake with frosting (you should have enough).  Dust with cinnamon or nutmeg if desired.
8.    Enjoy!

 Do you need help finding any ingredients?  Check out  Important Pantry Items for the Paleo Baker.