Valentine's Day Poppy Seed Pound Cake w/ Lemon Glaze (GF) (DF) (Update)

Homemade baked goods may not look as professional as store bought, but I've been told you can "taste the love" that that goes into a cake you made for someone special. This recipe from the cookbook, Against All Grain: Delectable Paleo Recipes to Eat Well and Feel Great, is gluten free, dairy free and sweetened with honey, hopefully to be enjoyed by almost everyone on your Valentine's list.

My Paleo Marin Rating: 4 Persimmons*

Grocery List:

Spectrum palm shortening

Coconut Flour

Honey

Almond Milk

Fresh Lemons, about 6

Vanilla Extract

Almond Flour

Sea Salt

Eggs, 5 large

Poppy Seeds

Cashews

Coconut oil

Coconut Milk

Ingredients:

Cake:

1/3 cup Spectrum palm shortening, plus extra for greasing cake pan
3 tablespoons coconut flour, plus extra for coating cake pan
3/4 cup honey
2/3 cup almond milk, unsweetened
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups almond flour, blanched is best (I used bin flour from Whole Foods)
1 teaspoon sea salt
5 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Glaze:

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons finely ground cashews, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted and cooled, 2 teaspoons honey, melted and 1 tablespoon coconut milk (non-dairy)

Directions:

Cake:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

1. Grease the pan well with shortening and then coat every surface with flour.

2. In a food processor or high speed blender, add shortening, coconut flour, honey, almond milk, lemon juice, vanilla, almond flour, baking soda and sea salt. Blend until smooth for about 15 seconds.

3. Add 1 egg at a time, blending until all are mixed into batter.

4. Put batter in bowl. Gently fold in poppy seeds and zest.

5. Pour the batter into the cake pan. Bake on rack in oven for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean (my oven took another 10 minutes - internal temperature will be about 190 - 210 F when done).

6. Cool baked cake on a rack for 15 minutes. With a spatula or knife, gently ease the sides, then turn upside down on a plate.

Glaze:

When the cake is fully cooled, whisk together the ingredients and drizzle them over the top and sides of the cake.

Recipe adapted from the cookbook Against All Grain: Delectable Paleo Recipes to Eat Well and Feel Great .

#paleo #glutenfree #dairyfree #grainfree #grainfreecake #cake #poppyseedcake #poppyseeds #valentines #dessert 

*My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.