"I Can't Believe It's Primal" Chocolate Cake

  I think it's appropriate that the first primal dessert recipe I post is this cake I made for my baby's first birthday a few weeks ago. Not only did it look awesome and gourmet, but it tasted amazing also! I was very pleasantly surprised! My four-year-old saw right through it and didn't like it the first try, but his second try he ate the whole piece. I think he'll get there! (Or maybe it's even better the next day?) Of course if you're used to eating chocolate cakes with flour and refined sugar, then you're definitely going to notice a difference, but I've never been a huge fan of chocolate cake and loved this. So here goes...

I got this recipe from Emily's blog Joyful Abode. She made it up, and I must say I'm super impressed by her skills! I can't claim this recipe as mine, even though I made a couple changes here and there, because it's just that amazing to me that it actually works! She calls it Grain Free Gluten Free Chocolate Cake, but I call it:

I Can't Believe It's Primal Chocolate Cake


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix:

• 1 cup peanut butter (or almond butter)
• 6 Tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/ 4  cup cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract

After you've mixed these, taste to adjust the amount of honey or cocoa you want. If you want it sweeter or less bitter add more or less to your personal taste.

Then add:

• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp lemon juice.

Pour batter into an 8x8 round or square buttered or sprayed cake pan, then bake about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Emily said to do 25 minutes, but my cake was still raw in the middle, so I put it back in the oven for about 15-20 minutes longer before the toothpick finally came out clean.) Turn onto a cooling rack when you take it out of the oven. While cooling, make Ganache for the topping.

Dark Chocolate Ganache

 Mix a few Tbsp butter with a cup or so of dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate.

 Microwave about 30 seconds, then remove and stir. Microwave in 10 second increments, stirring each time, until all chocolate is melted smooth.

 Then pour in heavy cream a little at a time, stirring to completely combine after each addition, until the ganache reaches the consistency you want. (You don't want it to be too runny. I think I only put 2 or 3 Tbsp in.)

 When the cake is completely cool, spread the ganache on it with a spatula and put it in the fridge (if you like it cold). It hardens on the cake, so you can do cute little designs and it will still be there when it cools.  Enjoy!