Happy Birthday to me!

Ok, the title sounded kind of pompous, no?  Sorry. Well you see, every time my birthday rolls around, I always end up making myself a birthday cake.  So here's this year's version.....kind of an experimental version that turned out pretty well, even with whole wheat flour!

Tanya's 2009 Chocolate Raspberry Coffee Birthday Cake:
(inspired by Rich Chocolate Cake in Vegetarian Cooking & Vegetable Classics by Denny & Ingram)

Almost 1 cup of whole wheat flour, plus a couple of Tbsp of high gluten white flour (to fill the cup)
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
~7 tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup agave nectar
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp baking powder
~1/2 small jar of raspberry jam/preserves

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.  You can add a little more agave if you want it sweeter.  For me, the jam and frosting made it sweet enough.  Pour into an 8 or 9 inch round cake pan and bake about 40-45 minutes at 300 degrees.  Let cool on rack.  When cool, slice in half to make 2 layers.  Spread the jam on the bottom layer.  Put the other half on top, and frost.


Frosting:
~3 cups organic powdered sugar
~3 tbsp instant coffee granules, plus a little water

Mix the coffee and water together to dissolve.  Put sugar in a bowl, add the coffee mixture.  If too thick, add a little more water.  If too thin, add more sugar.  You want it firm, but mixable (if that's a word).

Not too many ingredients.....very simple.  The outcome?  Well, it's not fluffy like a regular white flour, eggy, buttery cake.  A little more dry and with the agave nectar it wasn't very sweet.  That's ok, because the jam and the frosting are quite sweet and make up for it.  Again, you can adjust the ingredients to your liking too!  That's what I did.  Maybe next time I try this recipe, I'll replace something else.  Who knows??

And my husband bought me Sunflowers (my favorite)!!  He gave them to me at the stroke of midnight last night! :)

Anyway, sorry no blog post yesterday.  Too busy.  And I went back to work today (on my birthday nonetheless) so only the cake today.  Tomorrow is busy too....I'll see what I can do!  Stay tuned.

Happy cake eating!
Eat smart,
T.