Dairy Free, Wheat free, sugar free cake experiments

I need to do a wedding cake for my brother and his fiancee can not eat white flour, sugar, soy, or dairy. I took on the challenge to figure out how to make a cake for her to be able to eat for the cutter cake.  I will do normal cake for the bottom 2 layers, but for the top layer I need a cake she can eat.  I will also need to figure out a yummy frosting that is sugar free.  Normal Buttercream can be made without any dairy, so the challenge is the sugar.  Frosting is pretty hard to make without frosting. I will post on this later. 

So...  that being said, I thought I would post my experiment on my blog.

This is the blog that I got the recipe from for the Kidney bean cake! Yep, you read it right, Kidney beans!
http://healthyindulgences.blogspot.com/2009/05/healthy-chocolate-cake-with-secret.html

 I tried the cake 2 times, the first time I used Erythritol as a sweetner and the 2nd time I used Splenda.  The recipe suggests not using splenda, but I needed to try it since it is something that I have in the house and it is considerably cheaper than the erythritol.  Here are some pictures of the experience.

 Erythritol and Stevia

 My Sister in law to be can't have dairy or soy.  I can't believe how hard it was to find a soy free margarine!! I went to 3 different stores and found 1- only 1!

This is the batter for the first batch with Erythiritol.  It was very runny and I had to add 10 minutes to the cooking time. 

I should have put the parchment on the bottom of the pan. It stuck pretty bad.  I used wilton release for this cake.  Usually it works very well.  But this is definately a moist cake.  I couldn't use it with the actual wedding cake though because it has soy. 

I must admit, it tastes very good!!!

creamed soy free margarine and splenda- 2nd trial

Bean eggs and vanilla mixture

This time I did most of what the recipe said for preparing the pan.  I skipped out on the parchment.  I will do the parchment next time!!  It is a necessity.

This batter was much thicker.  I am not sure why, I guess there was considerably more volume of sweetner. 

Well this one only cooked for 40 minutes.  I haven't tasted much of this, but the small taste I had, has a pretty strong splenda aftertaste.  Splenda does have that tendoncy.

Here is the recipe cut and pasted from the blog post I mentioned above.  Thanks healthy indulgences!

Healthy Flourless Chocolate Cake

Adapted from a recipe at LowCarbFriends
Makes a single 9" layer cake, which can be halved and stacked for the taller cake you see here!

Ingredients:

1-15 ounce can of unseasoned black beans
OR 1 1/2 cup cooked beans, any color
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
6 tablespoons unsalted organic butter OR extra virgin coconut oil
3/4 cup erythritol plus 1/2 teaspoon pure stevia extract
OR 1/2 cup honey plus 1 teaspoon pure stevia extract
OR 1 1/4 cup Splenda (using Splenda alone here is not recommended)
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon water (omit if using honey)

Mint Chocolate variation:

2 teaspoons mint extract (in place of 2 teaspoons vanilla)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees(350?-see below) Fahrenheit. Spray a 9" cake pan with extra virgin olive oil cooking spray, or just grease it with a thin layer of butter. Dust cocoa all over the inside of the pan, tapping to evenly distribute. Cut a round of parchment paper and line the bottom of the pan, then spray the parchment lightly.

Drain and rinse beans in a strainer or colander. Shake off excess water. Place beans, 3 of the eggs, vanilla, stevia (if using) and salt into blender. Blend on high until beans are completely liquefied. No lumps! Whisk together cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder. Beat butter with sweetener (erythritol or honey) until light and fluffy. Add remaining two eggs, beating for a minute after each addition. Pour bean batter into egg mixture and mix. Finally, stir in cocoa powder and water (if using), and beat the batter on high for one minute, until smooth. Scrape batter into pan and smooth the top. Grip pan firmly by the edges and rap it on the counter a few times to pop any air bubbles.

Bake for 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Cake is done with the top is rounded and firm to the touch. After 10 minutes, turn out cake from pan, and flip over again on to a cooling rack. Let cool until cake reaches room temperature, then cover in plastic wrap or with cake dome (I use an overturned plastic chip bowl). For BEST flavor, let cake sit over night. I promise this cake will not have a hint of beaniness after letting it sit for eight hours! If you are stacking this cake, level the top with a long serrated knife, shaving off layers until it is flat and even. Frost immediately before serving

~57.6g net carbs for the whole cake using erythritol/stevia.
~5.7g net carbs per 1/10th
~125.6g net carbs for the whole cake using honey/stevia.
~12.56g net carbs per 1/10th


I also did a chocolate ganache with coconut milk.  It is very thick!  I will have to thin it to ice the cake with it.  I will post more about the icing tomorrow when I have had a chance to work with it a bit.  Tastes yummy though.  If I can get it to a good consistancy, it might actually work!  I hope so!

This is the blog I used for the ganache. 

http://dairyfreecooking.about.com/od/sweetsaucesfrostings/r/Vegan_Chocolate_Ganache_Recipe.htm