Coffee Cookie Chocolate Birthday Cake

It was the husband's birthday this week :) So we had lots of treats and goodies and celebrating and of course it involved cake :) My hubs always asks for a coffee- chocolate- raspberry combo and this year I added in some Glutino Chocolate Cream Sandwich Cookies (think oreos) as a topping and it added the right crunch and finished touch. 

It was hard to get a decent photo of this cake because of all the excitement, but I did get a few shots because I wanted to share it with you too ;) Just in case your looking for a birthday cake for that special somebody in your life, or perhaps that somebody is you :)

It's dates again that make this cake so moist, decadent and creamy textured. I swear dates are revolutionary to GF/vegan baking and once you start- you just can't go back! I buy my dates from Costco (Made In Nature is the brand)- You can get a 2 pound bag for around 7-8 dollars and you can use them for just about everything you would use sweeteners for... in smoothies, baking and snacks. If your a follower here you know how much I love and use dates ;) But enough blabbering... let's get to the recipe and sharing and celebrating LIFE with all of your loved and dear ones...
HAPPY BAKING!

Coffee Cookie Chocolate Birthday Cake Recipe
{free of gluten, dairy, soy, corn, nuts and seeds}

1 1/4 cup of gluten free oat flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup of tapioca flour
1/4 cup of potato starch
1/4 cup of coconut flour
3/4 cup of coconut palm sugar
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
2 ts. of baking powder (I use Hain brand)
1 ts. of baking soda
1 ts. of sea salt

1/3 cup of maple syrup
1 1/4 cup of date puree ***This involves pouring 1 cup boiling water over a heaping cup (1 cup) of pitted dates and letting it sit for 5-10 minutes and then blending in a high powered blender to whip up a creamy date-pudding like substance.

1 ts. of pure vanilla
1 cup of warmed coconut oil (or avocado oil works here too)
1 cup of coconut milk beverage (I use So Delicious)
1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar

***1 1/4 cup of chocolate chips morsels (Enjoy life brand)

melted in a saucepan with 2-3 TB coconut oil and 2 TB of finely ground decaf coffee

First grind your GF oat flour and mix well with all the other dry ingredients. Then mix in the wet ingredients, and date puree. You can add in the warmed oil as well and then lastly add in the melted chocolate and coffee...

Lastly, melt together the chocolate chips with some coconut oil and the ground coffee. Do not let the heat up above low and once it starts to melt you can almost turn off the heat and just keep stirring and it will continue to melt as you stir. Use about 1 cup of the melted chocolate mixture for the cake batter and save 1/2 cup or so of the mixture for the frosting later on...

Mix well and you will start to see the vinegar and baking powder do it's work and make the batter poof up a bit. split batter in half and pour evenly into a coconut-oil-lined baking pans. 

I bake mine in (2) 9x9 circle pans in a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until it is no longer wet and giggling. The cake should show a clean toothpick from the middle of the cake and firm, but soft. no wetness. Pull from the oven and let it cool completely.

When it is cool completely, it will be ready to frost. 

Coffee Chocolate Frosting Recipe
{gluten, dairy, egg, soy, nut, and seed-free}

1 1/2 cup of Spectrum Organic Palm Oil Shortening
1/2 cup of organic powdered sugar (with tapioca starch)
1-2 TB of maple syrup drizzle
1-2 TB of honey drizzle
1-2 TB of cocoa powder
pinch of sea salt

***1/2 cup of the warmed chocolate chips (Enjoy life brand), coconut oil and coffee mixture

In a large mixing bowl, put in all of the ingredients and then use a hand held whisk mixer and whip of the frosting on HIGH for 1 minutes until soft and creamy. Then frost the cooled cake. I transfer a cake to a plate and then cover with frosting on the top and spread thin and then place the second cake on top and spread on more frosting on top of that. You can spread frosting around the edges too and then sprinkle and decorate with the following...

1 cup of cookie crumbles (Glutino Chocolate Cream Sandwich Cookies)
1-2 TB of finely ground decaf coffee grounds 
1 pint of fresh, washed and dried raspberries 

Hope you ENJOY! Happy Baking :)

Much love and light to you, xoxo,
Stephanie