Gluten Free Coconut Cake with Vegan Fudge Frosting

Gluten Free Coconut Cake

Ingredients

1/4 cup sweet white rice flour

1/4 cup millet flour

Gluten Free Coconut Cake

1/4 cup potato starch

1/4 cup white rice flour

1/4 cup tapioca flour

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

3/4 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup canola oil  (butter is fine if dairy is not a problem)

1/2 cup vanilla almond or coconut milk   (If you have no dairy issues, regular milk is fine)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1/2 cup flaked or shredded coconut (for white cake leave out the coconut)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Blend everything except the egg together in mixing bowl.  Beat on medium speed for two minutes.  Add the egg and beat another two minutes.  Stir in coconut.  Spray 8×8 square pan or round cake layer pan with non-stick cooking spray before pouring batter into pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until cake is light golden brown and starts to pull away from the edges of the pan.  Cool before frosting.

Vegan Fudge Frosting

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tbs dark chocolate cocoa powder (regular cocoa powder is OK too)

2 Tbs coconut oil (butter will work too if dairy is not a problem)

1/4 cup almond milk (or other milk of your choice)

1 Tbs light corn syrup

1/2 – 3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla (for Amaretto Fudge Frosting omit vanilla and add 1 tablespoon amaretto)

Directions

Put sugar, cocoa, coconut oil, milk, and corn syrup in a saucepan.  Heat to boiling, stirring frequently until it comes to a full boil.  Boil for 3 minutes stirring occasionally.  Remove pan from heat and let it cool before beating in vanilla and powdered sugar.  Start with less powdered sugar and add more as needed to bring frosting to desired consistency.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Because this cake is for Valentine’s Day, I decorated it with a heart made from frosting using tiny bits of vegan buttery sticks, vanilla, almond milk, powdered sugar and red food coloring.  Exact quantities of each aren’t important, to make a heart or other decoration add more powdered sugar if frosting is too thin and more milk if it is too thick.  This was piped onto the cake using a plastic cake decorator tip inside a cone made of waxed paper.