Gluten Free Coconut Cake with Fresh Berries, Ganache, and Whipped Cream

 This Coconut Cake with Fresh Berries, Ganache, and Whipped Cream is tender, slightly sweet, and fragrant. Plus, it is a truly decadent gluten free dessert. 

It’s difficult to imagine where I’d be without mom’s table. I grew up at that table amidst plates, casserole dishes, and the Sunday paper.  It’s where I took my first bites. It’s where my brother and I fought for elbow space, where I slurped cereal and read the comics before school. It’s where I ate stuffed crust pizza and giggled about boys with my friends. It’s where I learned to hull strawberries and play a mean game of Rook. It’s where we hashed out curfews and dating relationships, where I agonized over college decisions, and where I cut, pasted, and sealed hundreds of wedding invitations. It’s where we celebrated birthdays and Thanksgivings, long summer nights and wedding mornings.

Over the years, Mom’s table has welcomed friends and family, neighbors and distant guests. It’s captured stories from the walls of elementary schools to the safaris of Uganda. It’s seen celebration and grief, fights and forgiveness. It’s been full of turkey and mashed potatoes and full of junk mail. Laden with candles and china or paper plates and solo cups (or both). It’s been a desk. A counselor’s office. A crafting nook. A bakery. A card table. A refuge.

Anyone that’s lucky enough to spend some time around Mom’s table has experienced it. There’s a sense, a feeling you get, sitting there, that this is the kind of place you want to be. It’s the kind of place you can let loose a little bit. Be yourself. Laugh until you snort. It’s the kind of place you want to stay awhile and cozy into. The kind of place that feels like home.

It’s not the table that draws me back there, time and again, and makes me stay into the wee hours of the morning. It’s not mom’s colorful, vintage decorating style (though it’s so inviting), and it’s not even the smell of her fresh baked goods (though I can’t resist them).

No, the reason this table is so powerful is because of Mom. It’s her person, her presence,that draws people. Mom’s love hits you the moment you sit at her table. It whispers: You are welcome here. You are loved. You are enough. You belong.

I can never thank Mom enough for that simple message. For showing me, through brownie batter and breakups, what it means to be unconditionally loved. What it means to be welcomed, no matter the circumstance. What it means to be generous with my time and my food, and with my own kitchen table. Her love has changed and shaped me, and pointed me to Jesus, time and again. And that’s the greatest gift she could have ever given me.

This week all of our #SundaySupper contributors are honoring our mothers by making special dishes just for them. Our kitchen table has looked a little different since mom found out she has to follow a gluten free diet. You’d never hear a complaint come out of her mouth, but mom has had to pass over too many desserts since then. I made this cake so she could enjoy a truly decadent gluten free dessert.

The cake is made with coconut flour which is light and nutty and has an absolutely intoxicating scent. Coconut flour soaks up a lot of liquid, so this recipe requires a lot of eggs. But this couldn’t be easier to make. Honestly, it’s easier than any gluten-full cake I’ve ever made. You just throw all the ingredients together in a mixer or food processor and blend until smooth. That’s it. No separating the wet and dry ingredients. No creaming butter and sugar.  Just throw it in and blend.

The resulting cake is tender, slightly sweet, and fragrant. It makes a beautiful base for frosting or, in this case, piled high with fresh berries, rich chocolate ganache, and fluffy, orange-scented whipped cream.

I love the understated elegance of this cake. It reminds me of mom. It’s not fancy or glamorous, but has a graceful beauty about it that just begs you to grab a slice.

Gluten Free Coconut Cake with Fresh Berries, Ganache, and Whipped Cream

Yield: 10

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

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Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 8 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

For the ganache:

• 8 oz. semi sweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream

For the whipped cream

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
• Zest of 1 orange
• 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed orange juice

For the berries:

• 6 oz. blackberries
• 6 oz. raspberries
• 1 quart strawberries, halved

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter 2 8 inch round cake pans and dust with coconut flour. Set aside.

Place all the cake ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer, and mix together, starting on low speed. Once the flour is mostly incorporated, turn speed up to medium high and beat until smooth and well combined.

Divide batter evenly between the two cake pans and smooth with a spatula. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until golden and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for about 2 minutes then run a knife around the outside and invert cakes on a cooling rack to cool completely.

For the ganache:

1. Place chocolate in a large heat proof bowl. Heat cream on the stove top over medium low heat until bubbles are just beginning to form around the outside surface. Keep an eye on it because it can bubble over fast! Remove from heat and immediately pour over chopped chocolate. Allow to sit for 5 minutes then whisk until smooth.

For the whipped cream:

1. Place the heavy whipping cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (this works even better if you've chilled your bowl before hand). Whip the cream, starting on medium speed and increasing to high until soft peaks form. Stir in orange juice, powdered sugar, and orange zest. Continue to whisk until peaks are firm.

To assemble:

1. Place one layer of cake on the serving platter. Top with cooled but still pourable ganache, enough to generously cover the top and run down the sides a bit. Place half of the fresh berries on top of the ganache followed by half of the whipped cream.
2. Add the second layer of cake over the whipped cream, followed by more ganache, and the rest of the whipped cream. Finally, pile the remaining berries in the center. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Note: Ganache will harden when refrigerated. If you'd like it soft, serve immediately or allow to come to room temperature before serving.

Recipe adapted from Deliciously Organic

Make sure you take a look at my other great shareable recipes by searching for “Mother’s Day” in the search bar at the top of the page!