My neighbor and friend Hala does not like desserts that are too sweet or too unhealthy. She also loves coconut and chocolate, so I came up with this cake for her birthday. The cake and chocolate fudge frosting are dairy-free, gluten-free, and refined-sugar free. The splurge is on the Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting. To make it less heavy, I reduced the suggested butter content. It turned out lovely.

Not only did Hala and her family enjoy the cake, my husband who likes his desserts full of sugar, dairy and butter, LOVED it too.

For a two-layer cake (from the Sweet Laurel cookbook):

1 cup coconut oil, melted, plus more for greasing the pan

8 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate (I used Valrhona dark chocolate)

1/2 cup date paste (see recipe below)

1/2 cup 100% unsweetened cocoa (I used Guittard)

1 cup maple syrup

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

8 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 6-inch round pans* with parchment paper. 
2. Make date paste. Place about 12 medjool pitted dates in a medium bowl and cover with hot water. Soak for about 5 minutes until very tender. Strain the dates and place them in a food processor. Pulse until the dates are blended but not completely smooth. Leave paste in the processor bowl as you will add to it in step 4.
3. In a medium saucepan over very low heat, melt the coconut oil and chocolate together, stirring. Once mixture has melted, remove pan from heat and allow to cool completely.
4. Transfer the cooled mixture to a food processor with the date paste and blend until completely combined. Transfer the mixture in a medium bowl and whisk in the cocoa powder, maple syrup, vanilla, and eggs until a batter forms. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the edges are fully set. Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes before sliding a knife around the edges and flipping them onto plates to cool completely. 

*For Hala, I doubled the recipe and made four layers, then I had friends test one layer to make sure it tasted good. I ended up with three layers for Hala’s cake. Double the recipe and use four cake pans if you want to make a 4-layer showstopper cake. 

For the dairy free dark chocolate fudge frosting on top layer (from Sweet Laurel cookbook):

2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, roughly chopped

1/8 cup coconut oil, solid

1/8 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup smooth organic peanut butter

1/8 cup almond milk 

1. In small heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt the chocolate and coconut oil, stirring constantly. Remove pan from heat. Slowly add the maple syrup and stir to incorporate. Allow to cool completely.
2. Transfer the chocolate mixture to a medium bowl and, using a stand mixer, beat in peanut butter until a thick frosting forms. Add the almond milk and stir with a spatula until smooth. 

When cakes have cooled, frost the top layer with the chocolate frosting. 

For the Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting (from Sally’s Baking Addiction except I made it with 1 cup unsalted butter so it’s lighter):  

6 large egg whites (180 g)

2 cups sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, softened but still cool

2 teaspoons vanilla paste

1/8 tsp salt

1.        Whisk sugar into egg whites, then set bowl over a saucepan filled with two inches of simmering water over medium heat. Do not let the bottom of the egg whites bowl touch the water. Whisk the whites and sugar constantly until sugar is dissolved and mixture is thinned out, about 4 minutes. The mixture will be thick and tacky at first, then thin out and be frothy white on top. Temperature on thermometer should read 160F.

2.        Transfer warm bowl to stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment. On medium high speed, beat the mixture until stiff glossy peaks form and the meringue is no longer warm to the touch, at least 10-15 minutes. This may take 17-18 minutes on humid days. If it’s still not reaching stiff peaks, stop the mixer, place the bowl-uncovered-in the refrigerator for 10 minutes, then return to mixer and continue beating until stiff peaks forms. 

3.        If the bowl and meringue still feel warm, wait until both cool to room temperature before adding butter. A warm bowl and meringue will melt the butter.

4.        Switch to paddle attachment. On medium-high speed, add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Wait for the butter to fully mix in before adding the next tablespoon. After all the butter has been added, turn mixer down to medium speed and fully beat in vanilla and salt, about 30 seconds.

5.        The Swiss meringue buttercream should be thick, creamy and silky smooth.

When cakes have cooled, frost the remaining two layers with the Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting. Frost sides. Place some frosting in a piping bag and pipe rosettes around edges of top layer. Press coconut flakes all round the sides. This may get messy so make sure you have ample counter space and a parchment or towel under the cake stand. ( I did not plan accordingly, and my sweet dog Jirachi loved snatching and eating the flakes that fell to the ground.) Sprinkle chopped roasted almonds on top layer of the cake.