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My favorite cake to make over the last 10 years is Nigella Lawson’s Lemon Madeira Cake.

I get a little nostalgic every time I make it because I used to bring it to my Grandparents’ house before they passed away. They always enjoyed it, and it felt good to bring something to them for a change after all they brought to me through the years.

Since I’ve been joyfully baking grain free this year, I wanted to covert this traditional recipe to a grain free version. I did not want to sacrifice texture or flavor so I went to work modifying and am very happy with the results. I wish my Grandparents were still here to have some with me!

There’s something about lemon cake that draws me in! It’s so fresh and light, bringing bold flavor to any batter it’s added to. My family loves it to so adding this grain free lemon medeira cake to our breakfast or dessert repertoire makes everyone very happy!

As with my grain free banana and grain free blueberry breads, I add gelatin hydrosylate for some added nutrients. It doesn’t change the texture at all and is completely optional.
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Instructions:
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1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Line a standard loaf pan with parchment paper.
3. Combine dry ingredients.
4. Add wet ingredients and mix well.
5. Allow mixture to sit for at least 5 minutes.
6. Spoon into baking dish - batter will be cookie batter consistency.
7. Bake for 1 hour or until a knife comes out clean.
8. Remove to a cooling rack.
9. Cool slightly before cutting.

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While not as dense as a pound cake, grain free lemon medeira cake has a moist, springy texture without being overly heavy. It’s deliciously lemony and sure to become one of your favorite cakes!

I think my Grandparents would be proud!
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Be nourished. Be happy.
Enjoy!

One caveat to this recipe: you all know I am very strict with sugar. There is quite a bit of sugar in this recipe. Natural or not, sugar is sugar. It’s ok to use less than the recipe calls for. I know I prefer a less sweet cake. Remember, this is a special occasion treat!

​Cassava Chocolate Cake – by Erin Smith

Before I’d gotten on the real food bandwagon, someone at work brought a store-bought, gluten-free cake.

Most coworkers kept their distance, making snide remarks like “If I’m gonna eat the calories….”

I was among the brave who tried it, and I wish I hadn’t. Terrible, disgusting, flavorless. Contrary to popular belief, chocolate DOES NOT cover all else.

In other words, I know what a bad chocolate cake tastes like, and this ain’t it.

In order to achieve “gluten-free” status, I used cassava flour (it’s all the rage amongst the real foodies). It’s a starchy root, kind of like a potato. Just don’t imagine that it tastes like you’re adding potato flakes, because that would be gross.

Cassava flour has a slight earthy taste to it, but in a good way. It is extremely nutritious, containing good sources of potassium, vitamin C, fiber, and even some protein, iron, and magnesium.

The beautiful part is that you can trade it out in a 1:1 ratio with flour, and still keep a similar consistency. I’d say it’s slightly denser than normal cake, but it just makes it a little fudgier… so no complaints here.

A couple weeks ago, it was our Little Man’s 2nd birthday, which is crazy and insane. He’s not much of a dessert eater – he signs “grapes” or “strawberries” pretty much at every meal. He needed a little encouragement to dig into his chocolate cassava flour cake, but once he did, that stuff got ate.
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Along with the cassava flour, you’ll see that I’ve used sucanat, organic sugar, and other healthier ingredients. I wouldn’t call this a weight loss meal, but it sure beats processed, GMO ingredients that provide no nutritional benefit or even block other nutrients from entering your system.

In other words, it’s a dessert you can be confident your family will like, and you can sit back, arms crossed, smiling at your achievement. You can check out our date cake and brownie recipe too if those sound tasty to you.

Enjoy your cake!

For Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line bottom of 8-inch cake pan with parchment paper and butter.
2. Cream Sucanat, sugar, softened butter.
3. Add cacao, warm water, and vanilla.
4. Mix in eggs one at a time until combined. Do not over-mix or your cake will come out flat.
5. In separate bowl, sift together cacao, flour, soda, and salt. 
6. Slowly add flour mixture to wet mixture and mix until combined.
7. Pour half of the mixture into cake pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until edges look crisp and knife comes out clean when inserted into the middle.
8. Immediately after taking pan out of oven, run a knife around the edge of the pan. After about 10 minutes, remove from pan and let cool on a cooling rack.
9. Repeat baking process for second layer.

For Frosting:

1. Combine powdered sugar, butter, cacao, and vanilla.
2. Add small amounts of milk until desired consistency is reached, usually very fluffy and not runny or your cake will slide all over. You probably won’t need the entire 2/3 Cup just FYI!
3. After cake layers are cool, frost the top of one layer, add the top layer and frost the top then the sides. Store covered so the cake doesn’t dry out.

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