Meet your new best friend. This gluten free chocolate cake is enrobed in rich dairy free ganache which is also tucked between the deep dark chocolate layers of the cake. Cinnamon and chilli make this like a Mexican hot chocolate fell into a cup of coffee and married a gluten free dairy free chocolate cake. Jump straight to the recipe.
It’s right there. It’s in the jumbled front pocket of your handbag. On your nightstand when you sleep. It’s in the kitchen while you’re making dinner for your your family. It’s poolside during vacation, and at the top of the mountain you’ve worked so hard to climb. It’s right there. The whole world is literally at your fingertips.
This massive shift in our culture is changing the way we interact and even the way we think. Yet with all of the access to our people all over the world, many of us report feeling more isolated, less connected, and longing for community.
I’m of two minds. Social media can have a terrible effect on a person’s self esteem. The self-judging, the comparison, the feelings of inadequacy, the jealousy are rough on anyone. On the other hand, Social Media can be a powerful gathering place for friendship, advocacy, support, and community.
I’ve been so fortunate to find such a community in food blogging. Over the past five years, I’ve made friends I can turn to for advice on everything from gluten free baking, to finding a pet sitter, to how to use the latest apps and gadgets, to how to cope with personal losses.
Our community was recently struck with a devastating loss when Joan Hayes of Chocolate Chocolate and More suddenly passed away from a heart attack in her sleep. Joan was vivacious, funny, generous, and whip smart. Though I only met Joan once in person, I feel so grateful that I had a chance to sit down and share a meal with her. We interacted often online and I considered her a friend and a colleague. I was looking forward to seeing Joan in Chicago at Blogher Food and at a little dinner party I was hosting with my friends from Gourmet Garden.
When Joan didn’t RSVP on time, I thought it was unlike her. I was just about to send her a Facebook message when I heard the news that she had died. Just like that. I knew I wanted to make a proverbial place at the table for her at dinner, and it was my husband who suggested that I make one of her recipes and say a few words about her at the party.
So this gorgeous gluten free chocolate cake is adapted from Joan’s Chocolate Mocha Cake. In the spirit of Joan’s warmth I added cinnamon and chilies. With a nod to Joan’s generosity, I made a super-sized triple layer cake. In honor of her welcoming qualities, I chose to make it dairy free as well as gluten free so that everyone in attendance could enjoy it. And of course, it wouldn’t be a tribute to Joan if it was not chocolate, chocolate, and more so there is a veritable boat load of dairy free chocolate ganache coating this beautiful cake.
If you have a chance to visit, Joan’s blog, please do. Consider sharing her lovely recipes on Facebook and Pinterest. Joan may be gone, but as was her wish, her blog will carry on thanks to good planning on her part. Joan was a single mom and the blog, her sole source of income, will continue to support her three teenaged kids. Every time you visit, you’re helping to support her three kids!
I hope you’ll enjoy a big slice of this gluten free chocolate cake with its velvety dairy free gananche and Mexican hot chocolate flavors. I hope you’ll share it with friends and make sure to hug them extra tight the next time you have a chance. Thank you for reading food blogs, for making this beautiful community possible. I am grateful for each of you, every day.
GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH CINNAMON AND CHILLI
This dairy free and gluten free chocolate cake tastes like a Mexican hot chocolate in cake form. That’s a good thing. The chocolate cake is fluffy and gorgeous and the ganache is rich and velvety. You couldn’t ask for a better combination. For the chocolate, I used a mixture of 62% and 74% chocolate. To get coconut cream, refrigerate a can of full fat coconut milk overnight then scoop out all of the hard white cream leaving the coconut water for smoothies or other recipes. My favorite is Native Forest as I always seem to get the most cream from this brand.
This post is sponsored by Gourmet Garden. I have received both product and monetary compensation for this post. My opinions are 100% my own and I only work with brands I love and that I feel will be useful for my readers. Thank you for supporting the brands that help make The Tomato Tart possible.
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Serves: 8 servings
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 ounces dark chocolate* (¼ cup), melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose gluten free flour, no xanthan gum needed
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped gourmet garden lightly dried chili
- ½ cup coconut cream•
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup strongly brewed hot coffee or espresso
- ½ cup coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon gourmet garden lightly dried chili
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil
- 10 oz dark chocolate (I used a mix of 64% and 72%)
- more finely ground Gourmet Garden lightly dried chili, smoked sea salt, powdered sugar, cinnamon sticks.
- Preheat oven to 350º and grease and flour three 5 inch cake rounds. http://amzn.to/1RUXbts
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together coconut oil and brown sugar . Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing each egg until it it fully incorporated. Scrape down the bowl with each addition- to make sure every little bit of goodness is incorporated into the cake batter. Add in vanilla extract and melted chocolate. Mix again.
- In a smaller bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a third bowl, vigorously mix coconut cream with vinegar. Next, we’ll add these ingredients to the creamed butter mix. Alternating, add in the dry ingredients in three additions and the coconut cream in two additions. Start and end with the flour. Finally, stir prepared coffee into cake batter.
- Pour batter into three greased and floured 5 inch round cake pan minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (about 30 minutes). Remove from oven and let cool on cooling rack for 30 minutes before turning cakes out onto plates or boards. Let cake cool all the way before frosting with ganache.
- In a small saucepan, heat coconut milk, cinnamon sticks, and dried chili. Slowly bring to a fast simmer, then lower heat to the lowest setting and steep cinnamon and chili for at least 10 minutes. Keep warm, but don’t let it boil.
- Melt coconut oil in a medium saucepan over low to medium low heat. Add chocolate and stir often. Go slow, erring on the side of a too cold pan rather than a too hot pan. Once chocolate is all melted, strain warm coconut milk through a fine sieve and slowly pour the liquid into the chocolate, stirring to incorporate. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before frosting the cake.
- If cakes are domed in the middle, use a good serrated knife to slice across the top of the cake removing the domes so you have a nice flat surface to work with.
- Place the bottom cake layer on the plate you plan to serve it on. Spread a layer of ganache about ¼ inch thick over the surface of the cake. Repeat with the next two layers. Once you have the thin layer of ganache spread across the top layer, start pouring the rest of the ganache all over the top of the cake. Use an offset spatula or the back of a large spoon to encourage the warm ganache to spill over the edges of the cake. This creates the dripping waterfall look you see on the finished cake.
- To garnish, sprinkle powdered sugar and cinnamon through a sifter or fine mesh sieve. Then top with finely minced Gourmet Garden Lightly Dried Chilli and top with two cinnamon sticks.
- This cake will keep well in the refrigerator for a couple of days. If you’re storing a frosted cake, don’t let the plastic wrap
Please visit some of the other bloggers who have done tributes to Joan Hayes
A roundup of posts dedicated to Joan #chocolateforjoan
Dine & Dish’s Boozy Milkshake for Joan
Wow. This looks terrific. Your photos are insanely gorgeous as well.
And I loved that you made this for Joan. I didn’t follow her blog that closely, but I am sure I have many different pins from her blog and have made at least one of her recipes. I just visited and pinned some of her recipes 🙂 And yours, because I love love love chocolate. I’ve never made a layered cake before but this seriously makes me want to try!
HI Ashley,
Thanks for your kind words. Joan was one of a kind, and her recipes have always worked for me. That’s saying a lot because I adapt them to be gluten free. She was a solid recipe writer. I’m sure you’ll love whatever you make from her site. Thanks for pinning, too!
PS, I also love chocolate. Like so very much.
I’m sorry for the loss of your friend. It seems she was well-loved. The cake is beautiful. I love adding cinnamon and heat in my brownies. Will have to try this.
Thanks so much! I love chocolate with warming spices (cinnamon, chili, ginger, allspice…) I turn towards that flavor profile often in both sweet and savory.
sweet Joan, thank you for a sweet post!
Joan would love this cake, Sabrina. She truly would. Your photos are gorgeous too! We all miss Joan so much.
Thanks Carolyn. I really wanted to make something special to honor her. Thank you for your kind words- and also, now I’m tearing up at 11 am on a Tuesday. XO
This was the perfect tribute to Joan. <3
Hi Rachel, thank you so much. It was so good to meet you and hug you in person. Thanks for coming.
I’m so glad I got to taste this cake in honor of Joan with you! Thank you again for hosting such a fabulous party!
Love you, lady! Congratulations on your new beautiful bebe!
It was so good to hang out. Thanks for coming in and rolling up your sleeves to help out.
I call that the chocolate lava of death. It really would be the cause of death for me…… for I love chocolate to death. Ok, enough of dying. Can you just give me a slice. Just one will do. Oh, and come stay closer to me.
You are too darned cute AiPing! I would happily share a slice of this with you. XO
I love how you captured Joan’s spirit in this cake!
Aw thanks Sue! I’m glad that it feels that way. XO
What a heartfelt tribute for Joan, and I loved that you actually served this cake at your dinner in her honor. I love the flavors of Mexican chocolate, and I know I will devour this cake in an instant. Quick question – can I use regular all purpose flour instead of the all purpose gluten free flour? I’m not sure if they are 1:1 subs.
Hey Carla, thanks so much! I was feeling so sad, and my husband said “Why don’t you make one of her recipes and serve it and acknowledge that you’re all missing her” and it just seemed so right.
As for A/P flour, I think so. I adapted from Joan’s recipe and made it three times, and it worked perfectly every time. I started with a 1:1 sub and it worked like magic.
i’m so lucky I got to enjoy this cake in person!!
This is a gorgeous cake and such a lovely tribute to Joan. She really was one amazing woman that touched the lives of so many of us!
Yum! I love the Gourmet Garden lightly dried herbs. And…I miss Joan so much. What a light she was!
I actually deleted FB off my phone yesterday. I have messages and groups, all I need for work, but I can’t stand scrolling my feed anymore. The drama makes me crazy!! This cake. That ganache. OMG!!!
First of all, this is a lovely tribute to Joan. She was so loved by everyone, including myself. I still haven’t been able to write about her yet. I want to but I just can’t find the right words. We became friends through Foodbuzz years ago and it just grew from there. I think we bonded over our mutual love of sugar. Then later over our rocky marriages. Her strength was admirable. I’ve been thinking about her a lot lately. I chatted with a close friend of hers recently and it was so nice to think back on our conference adventures, and late night G+ hangouts. We’d both get in our jammies, hop in bed and then chat until one of us fell asleep. I miss those chats. I miss Joan. The blogging world is not the same without her.
Secondly, I am so with you on social media. I’m sort of the anti-cell phone user. I’m not sure if it’s because data is crazy expensive in Canada or I just can’t be bothered. I never think to grab my phone and take photos of what I’m doing. Same with when I travel. I go to conferences and I literally get home days later without any photos of me and my pals. I tend to be one of those people who get so caught up living life I forget to document it. Which is good and bad. I wish I had more photos of people. But I never want my phone or the internet to take over my life. My son is very obsessed with technology so I see the dark side of it. It can take over you life and become a total obsession quickly. I’m purposely avoid FB each day until I get all my stuff done for work and around the house. That way I don’t get sucked into the vortex of FB, ha. I have an obsessive personality so I have to make that decision to not go down the rabbit hole or my life would spiral out of control quickly. Ha ha ha
Okay, now the recipe. This is stunning. The flavours, the chocolate, it’s making me swoon. That first photo blew my mind, it’s stunning. You rocked the cake. Joan would definitely approve.
Gourmet Garden is awesome. K works at a grocery store and I’m always telling her to bring them home. I LOVE their products.
What a nice way to celebrate Joan. Totally love the mix of chocolate + chili and cinnamon!
Sabrina this is the most beautiful tribute to Joan. I am so glad I can name you among the beautiful blessings that have come from my blogging experience. You are an unparalleled sweet soul. And, I am seriously considering making this cake for my birthday in a few weeks for all the reasons you listed, it is a sweet and loving way to feed all the people in attendance. Brava!
Beautiful! Love that hint of spice and decadence!
Wow this looks incredible! Swoon! I would love a slice of that beautiful cake!
yes! Yes! YES!!! This looks DI-vine! Like DI-ve Right In (me first!)
MY MY MY! This looks rich and heavenly. I love chocolate and cinnamon together–it helps it not be so sweet! Great idea.
Such a beautiful cake, Sabrina! Love chocolate and spice together 🙂
Well this cake looks decadent and delicious! I’m a proud chocoholic, and would love to be devouring this right now!
This is seriously stunning!
You sold me on Mexican hot chocolate plus coffee! Sounds unbelievable!