Divine Dark Chocolate and Strawberry Cake (Grain Free and Paleo Friendly)

My youngest had his 3rd birthday last weekend and to celebrate I made him this beautiful and tasty Paleo/ Grain Free cake!  The actually dark chocolate cake recipe is not mine so I will include a link to it along with the changes I made, we really enjoyed it and hope you do to!

DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE:  I used this recipe from The Food Lovers Kitchen, the only modifications that I made where the following;  I reduced the honey to 3/4 cup (we have a wonderful mild local honey) and added in 1/4 cup of coffee liquor (which is a simple sugar syrup with coffee and vodka essentially).

 Strawberry Syrup Filling: I made a "syrup" of 4 cups chopped strawberries and 1/2 cup raw honey.  I pureed them in the blender and then poured it into a saucepan.  Brought it to a boil, reduced the heat and simmered until it was my desired consistency. You will have extra you can use on pancakes or ice cream if you like.  I then set it aside and let it cool a bit while I made the Ganache.

Ganache: 12 ounces dark chocolate broken into pieces 

( I used 85% dark Lindt Chocolate)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 TBSP coffee liquor (optional)

splash of vanilla (optional)

Break chocolate into a medium glass bowl.  Pour the whipping cream and coffee liquor into a small saucepan and bring to a boil stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate pieces stirring until melted and glossy.  Cool for a glaze or if you would like to use it more like a frosting or for piping, chill it in the fridge until desired consistency.  Pour over the cake or spread to frost and you are ready to go!

Whipped Cream Filling: You may use whipped coconut milk cream for the filling or real dairy whipped cream ( I used dairy whipped cream).  Here are a few resources for Whipped coconut milk/cream recipes if you don't have one of your own.  You may choose to sweeten it slightly with honey or maple syrup or leave it plain, it's entirely up to you and what you prefer.

http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2011/09/how-to-make-whipped-coconut-cream-from.html

http://www.healthylivinghowto.com/1/post/2012/03/being-dairy-free-part-two.html

Additional Thinly Sliced Strawberries:  I sliced up some strawberries to use in the filling, the amount will vary depending on your preference.

ASSEMBLY: First bake your cake and let it cool completely.  Then make the Strawberry Syrup and set it aside to let it cool. Make the Ganache and set it aside to cool also.  While they are both cooling make some stiff whipped cream and slice up some fresh organic strawberries.  Then using a cake leveler divide each cake round into two cakes, you will go from 2 to 4 cake layers. 

Small Wilton Cake Leveler I used.

Place your first cake layer on the plate and top with some whipped cream, then top with some fresh strawberries and finish that off with some strawberry syrup.  Then place another cake layer on and repeated the steps until you get to the 4th cake layer.  Pour the ganache over the cake or spread to frost and finish it off by decorating it with some fresh  strawberries (if desired).

We enjoyed this with homemade Non-dairy Strawberry Ice Cream topped with some leftover strawberry syrup.  It taste amazing, it looks rich but it's not it's nice and light and not to sweet.  The guys in my family enjoyed more than one piece because it wasn't super sweet, and they also gave it a hearty thumbs up.  Hope you enjoy it too!

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