Vanilla Cake with Berries (Two Frostings)

The year-round birthday classic: a tender, golden almond flour vanilla cake, frosted with your choice of tangy cream cheese frosting or fluffy coconut whipped cream, and piled with fresh seasonal berries. Make it as a simple single layer, or as a showstopping layer cake with raspberry jam between the layers.

Yield: One 8-inch cake, serves 8 (or a two-layer cake, serves 12) · Active: 20 min · Total: 1 hour, plus cooling · Year-round, with the berries of the season · Best eaten: afternoon

Ingredients

Vanilla cake (double it for a layer cake)

• 2½ cups blanched almond flour

• ½ tsp baking soda

• ½ tsp Baja Gold sea salt

• 2 pasture-raised eggs, at room temperature

• ¼ cup coconut oil, melted (plus more for the pan)

• ½ cup maple syrup

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

• 1 tsp raw apple cider vinegar

Egg-free option: Replace the eggs with 1 tbsp ground chia seeds plus 1 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 4 tbsp water. Let it sit 10 minutes before adding it, and bake the cake 10 minutes longer.

Frosting: choose one

• Cream cheese frosting: 8 oz full-fat cultured cream cheese, softened; 2 tbsp maple syrup (or a few drops of stevia); and 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

• Coconut whipped cream: 1 can (13.5 oz) full-fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight; 1 tbsp maple syrup; and 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Raspberry jam filling (for a layer cake)

• 2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries

• 3 tbsp maple syrup

• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Topping: fresh seasonal berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries)

Method

1. Prep. Heat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch cake pan with a parchment round, and grease the sides with coconut oil.

2. Mix. Whisk the eggs, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and vinegar. Add the almond flour, baking soda, and salt, and stir until a smooth batter forms.

3. Bake about 25 minutes (35 if using the egg-free option), until golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely, then turn it out onto a cake plate.

4. Make your frosting.

   • Cream cheese: Whip the cream cheese, maple syrup, and vanilla in a stand mixer until fluffy.

   • Coconut whipped cream: Scoop the solid cream from the top of the chilled can (save the liquid for smoothies), and whip it with the maple syrup and vanilla until thick and fluffy.

5. Frost and top. Frost the cooled cake, and pile the berries on top.

To make a layer cake: Double the cake batter, and bake it in two 8-inch pans. While the cakes cool, simmer the raspberries, maple syrup, and lemon juice over medium heat for 8–10 minutes, mashing the berries, until thick and jammy, then let it cool. Spread a layer of jam and a layer of frosting between the cakes, then frost the top and sides and finish with berries.

Seasonal berries:

• Spring: strawberries

• Summer: raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries

• Fall and winter: pomegranate arils and orange segments, or a jam made from frozen berries

Storage: Refrigerated up to 4 days. The unfrosted cake freezes well, wrapped, for up to 2 months.

Nourishment Notes

Almond flour — vitamin E, magnesium, and monounsaturated fats.

Pasture-raised eggs — complete protein, choline, and vitamins A, D, E, and K2.

Berries — vitamin C, anthocyanins, and fiber.

Cultured cream cheese — calcium, vitamins A and K2, and, in cultured versions, live cultures.

Coconut whipped cream and coconut oil — lauric acid, a medium-chain fat. Coconut whipped cream holds its shape longer at room temperature than dairy whipped cream.

Maple syrup — manganese, zinc, and polyphenols.

For your cycle: With fresh berries and protein-rich almond flour and eggs, this is a lovely celebration cake in any phase, and the berries' vitamin C is especially welcome in the follicular phase.

Sourcing

• Almond flour — organic, blanched, and finely ground (keep it in the fridge)

• Eggs — organic and pasture-raised, from a local farm or Alexandre Family Farm

• Cream cheese — organic, full-fat, and cultured, from grass-fed milk, with no gums

• Coconut milk — organic and full-fat, made with just coconut and water, with no guar gum (Native Forest Simple comes in BPA-free cans)

• Coconut oil — organic, virgin, and unrefined

• Berries — organic and seasonal, or organic frozen berries

• Maple syrup — organic Grade A dark, like Coombs Family Farms

• Vanilla — organic pure vanilla extract

• Raw apple cider vinegar — organic, with the mother (Bragg)

• Chia seeds and flaxseed (egg-free option) — organic, ground fresh

• Baking soda — aluminum-free

• Baja Gold sea salt

— Anna aka Food Marshall