As someone who thoroughly dislikes baking, especially grain free baking, I can confidently say that this is one of my proudest creations to date.

I mean come on, it’s a grain and dairy free moist flavourful cake with filling and ombré icing…. I’m patting myself on the back as I type this.

I have been wanting to create a recipe that could be deemed birthday cake worthy for awhile now.

 

I started by using the base of my lemon cupcake recipe for the two layers of cake.

I love how moist and flavourful the cake is. You can adjust the lemon flavouring to make it more or less zesty depending on your taste.

For the fruit filling I used a combination of stewed and fresh strawberries, but they can easily be swapped for stewed blueberries, cherries, raspberries or blackberries. Alternatively a jam or compote would also work well.

The key to ensuring that the icing goes on smoothly, is to keep the cake cool by refrigerating it once everything is stacked together.

The coconut cream must be cold before you start making the icing. From there just add in small amounts of berries until you reach the desired colours to create an ombre effect. I recommend storing the icing in the fridge to make the icing process if easy as possible.

 

Although the icing takes a bit of effort to do, and may require breaks of 20-30 minutes of refrigeration in between, the end result is more then worth the effort, I promise. Not only does this cake look beautiful, it tastes delicious too.

f you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite1) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!

Lemon Layer Cake with Ombre Icing

3 from 5 votes
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Course Dairy Free, Gluten/Grain Free, Paleo, Specific Carbohydrate Diet Legal

Ingredients
  

Cake

  • · 1 cup Almond Flour
  • · 1/2 cup Coconut Flour
  • · 1 tsp baking soda
  • · 8 eggs*
  • · 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • · 1/3 cup lemon juice
  • · 1/4 tbsp lemon zest
  • · 1/2 cup melted butter or coconut oil
  • · 1/2 cup honey or other sweetener

Strawberry Filling

  • · 2 cups chopped strawberries
  • · 1 tbsp honey or other sweetener

Ombre icing

  • · 2 large cans coconut cream which have been refrigerated overnight
  • · 2 tbsp honey or other sweetener
  • · 1/3 cup raspberries

Instructions
 

To make the layers

  • Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) and grease 2 spring form pans (7x 2inch in size)
  • In a mixing bowl combine the flours and baking soda. Add in the eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and zest, butter (or coconut oil) and honey and stir well.
  • Pour half of the batter into each of the pans and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. If they begin to brown too quickly on top, cover the pans with tin foil while they bake.
  • Once the cakes are down, place them in the fridge to cool.

To make the strawberry filling

  • Place the chopped strawberries and honey in a pan on medium heat and cook down for approximately 8 to 10 minutes until the strawberries become tender and slightly stewed.
  • Using a spoon remove any excess liquid from the strawberries and transfer to a bowl.

To make the icing

  • Place the coconut whip in a large bowl along with the honey. Start by adding in a splash of the strawberry juice and stir through until the cream becomes light pink in colour. Place 1/3 cup of the light pink cream in a bowl and put in the fridge.
  • Transfer the remaining cream to a blender and add in a handful of raspberries and blend, the cream should become more vibrant in colour. Remove 1/3 cup of the brighter cream and place it in a bowl in the fridge.
  • Finally add more of the raspberries and continue to blend until very bright in colour. Transfer that cream to the fridge.

To assemble the cake

  • All of the components of the cake must be cold before you begin assembling.
  • Start by spreading the strawberry puree over the top of one of the cakes, make sure that it is evenly covered all the way out to the edges. If desired you can also lay thin slices of fresh strawberry on top. Place the second cake on top of the strawberry topped layer.
  • To ice the cake, start by spreading a layer of the darkest icing approximately 1 inch high around the bottom of the cake. If the icing starts to become runny you may need to transfer it to the fridge to harden up. Repeat by spreading the next darkest high 1 inch high around the middle of the cake and finish by spreading the lightest colour all over the top of the cake.
  • Place the cake in the fridge for about 30 mintues so that the icing is firm. Once the icing has slightly hardened, run a spatula around the cake to blend the colours slightly. Top the cake with slices of strawberry and raspberry.

Notes

*the eggs can be substituted for flax eggs to make vegan 

Nutritional information listed below courtesy of RecipeIQ an easy to use free app that’s great for finding out the nutritional information of your favourite recipes. Click here to download the app.