I have never worked so hard on a recipe before and quite frankly, I hope I don’t have to for a while! Lots of frustration and tears shed, but I was SO determined to create the cake that Willow requested for her birthday. There came a point when I was close to throwing in the towel and just making someone else’s recipe, but I felt like I was getting closer to success and didn’t want to give up. After about 20 trials (not exaggerating), I finally got it and I finally got the frosting recipe the day before the big day…talk about a huge relief! Oddly enough, while the cake tasted really good, I felt it could be better, so I ran two more trials after Willow’s birthday and I’m SO glad that I did, because the cake turned out lighter, fluffier, and cut like a dream!

Now, if you don’t have a blender, you can either use a stand up mixer or just a simple mixing bowl + spoon/spatula. While it can be a bit of a pain to scrape out the final bit of batter, the blender does a great job of breaking up any clumps of flour or coconut butter.

Willow was SO quick to blow out the candles! She had such a great day with family and enjoyed listening to the Taylor Swift station on Pandora ALL. DAY. LONG.

As for the frosting, we ran several trials using a variety of bases (cashew, sweet potato, and aquafaba) – while I loved the idea of using sweet potato to keep it lower in fat, we could not get past the flavor and texture. Had we made chocolate frosting, I could see how that would work out better. Anyways….I saw SO many different frosting recipes using aquafaba, but every single one of them used either cane sugar, oil/butter, or both. I didn’t want any of those, so I went to work figuring out ways to keep it “healthier.” I did try using coconut sugar instead of maple syrup, but the color was off, along with the flavor.

I swear that’s not mold in the center layer! Ha! I did a thin layer of coconut-blueberry frosting along with the coconut-raspberry.

OH! And if you’ve never frosted a cake before, I HIGHLY recommend watching some YouTube videos…especially if you choose to double this recipe and make a layer cake like I did for Willow’s birthday. I, however, did not learn these tricks until after putting this layer cake together. The lovely Cara over at caraschrock.com shares a birthday with Willow and we both made layer cakes for the first time. She’s the one who told me to check out YouTube videos next time! Ha!! Here’s one that I found really helpful:

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BLENDER VANILLA CAKE: 

Gluten-free, soy-free, oil-free, refined sugar-free, gum-free, vegan

Makes one 9-inch* round cake or 8 cupcakes

*I recommend a smaller cake pan if you’re looking for a taller cake. As you’ll see in pics below, my cake was rather short, but all I own is a 9″ cake pan. You may have to adjust baking times depending on size of cake pan. Also note that if you want to make a layer cake like the one I made for Willow’s birthday, you will NEED to double both the cake recipe and frosting recipe.

What you need:

• 1/2 cup blanched almond flour
• 1/2 cup sweet sorghum flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon psyllium husk powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt
• 6 Tablespoons pure maple syrup (room temperature)
• 6 Tablespoons aquafaba (room temperature)*
• 6 Tablespoons coconut butter (softened)
• 6 Tablespoons warm water
• 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract

*I use homemade rather than from canned chickpeas, but that’s just a personal preference. To do that, I cooked up a couple of cups of dried chickpeas and once the chickpeas were cooked, I removed them and let the liquid cook down a bit more (approximately 10-15 minutes) on low-med heat. Allow to cool before refrigerating in a glass jar.

How to:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and either lightly oil cake pans or line with parchment paper. If you’re making cupcakes, grab your cupcake liners + cupcake pan!
2. Place your wet ingredients in the blender and mix until smooth and slightly fluffy; scrape down the sides as needed.
3. Add your dry ingredients and blend again until well incorporated (no lumps).
4. Pour the batter into your cake pan and smooth the top out as best as you can. I found that using wet fingers did the trick. It doesn’t have to be perfect because you’ll be frosting it!
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the center isn’t jiggly (clean toothpick test) and springs back to the touch. Edges should be slightly golden. Please note that my oven is horrendous (requires longer baking), so baking times will vary.
6. Allow to sit in the pan for 25 minutes before removing, then allow to cool completely before slicing or frosting.

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COCONUT-RASPBERRY FROSTING:

I achieved the fluffiness by using the same method I incorporate for my body butters…chilling the mixture before whipping gives it a nice, light texture!

What you need:

• 1/3 cup Aquafaba (room temperature)
• 3/4 cup pure maple syrup (room temperature)
• 2/3 cup coconut butter (softened)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons freeze dried raspberries, ground*

*you can use strawberries instead, but Willow requested raspberries. Since they are super seedy, I ground them into a powder (using a nut/spice grinder) and then used a sieve to filter out the seeds that didn’t get ground. I did not have to do this when using freeze dried strawberries.

**you can use any freeze dried fruit for color (blueberries, bananas, mango, etc.) or natural food coloring.

This is how it looks after being blended…smooth + glossy.

How to:

1. Pour the Aquafaba into a high-speed blender and blend on high for 3-4 minutes.
2. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth and glossy (see photos above).
3. Transfer the mixture into a mixing bowl; place into the freezer for 15-20 minutes.
4. Remove and using a stand-up mixer (or handheld) mix on high until fluffy. This will take anywhere from 5-10 minutes. If the frosting does not fluff up, place in the freezer to chill for a few more minutes.
5. Once you’ve achieved the right texture, you’re ready to frost your cake/cupcakes! If your cake isn’t ready yet, store the frosting in the fridge…but remove 45-60 minutes before ready to frost – otherwise the frosting will be too firm to work with.
6. Refrigerate the frosted cake and remove it 30-40 minutes before you’re planning to slice and serve it.

Thanks for stopping by!

❤