Yesterday was my birthday and it has become a tradition for me to make my own birthday cake. It’s not that nobody offered (my husband and teenager both offered), but I like to experiment and find the healthiest version so I can share it with my clients. Friends laugh when I tell them I like to make my own birthday cake. “What is it made of … tofu?” they say. Well, no, but I did come up with an interesting alternative.
Over the years, I have found that I feel much better when I stay away from grains and refined sugars. What are the 2 ingredients in most birthday cakes? Grains and sugar. So what to do? It’s time to get creative. Some healing diets that I have done for myself over the years have used a creative ingredient for the base of a cake – what is it you ask? White beans! Who knew that cooked white beans would create a nice texture for cake! Having said that, this is what I came up with. Rather than a cake-y texture, it is more of a creamy texture. Check it out and let us know in the comments below what you think.
Grain Free Birthday Cake
- 3 cups cooked white beans (1 cup dry beans soaked overnight, rinsed and cooked until soft – skimming the foam as they cook)
- 6 eggs
- ½ cup honey (I used ¼)
- 4 TBL coconut oil
- 1 TBL vanilla
- 1/3 cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa or cacao powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
Place cooked beans in food processor and mix until smooth. Add remaining ingredients. Bake at 350° for approximately 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. If making this as a sheet cake, baking time will be less than a taller cake.
For icing, I used 1/2 cup coconut cream and drizzled a little bit of honey into it (about 1 teaspoon?) Then I whipped it using my hand mixer. That added a nice light topping to the cake. If I had fresh strawberries they definitely would have topped this baby.
The best part? After eating it I didn’t feel sluggish or bloated!
I believe that avoiding packaged foods could be the first step to lose weight. They will taste fine, but refined foods currently have very little nutritional value, making you eat more simply to have enough vigor to get over the day. In case you are constantly taking in these foods, moving over to whole grains and other complex carbohydrates will help you have more strength while feeding on less. Good blog post.