Happy birthday to me!

Last week was my 32nd birthday. I love my birthday. I celebrate all week with my kids and make it fun for them too. We do activities and they help me make my cake every year.

Its always a challenge to find a recipe for my birthday cake. I try to keep it on the healthy side, the recipe must include lots of rich, dark chocolate and if there are strawberries, well that's a plus too! But, at the same time, I am not a complex baker. I like easy recipes that don't take a ton of ingredients, time or energy. I am a streamlined type of gal afterall, and, let's be honest here, how many working mommas aren't?

So I decided to combine my most favorite flavors to make my own cake- deep dark chocolate and fresh whipped cream with strawberries (I really dislike frosting and fondant). This cake is flourless, gluten-free, and has no sugar added. But OMG! It was delicious! Here's the final cake:

What you will need:

8 eggs

2 bars of 70% chocolate, cut into peices

2 Tbsp of Coconut Oil

2 Tbsp unsweetened natural apple sauce

1 8oz carton of whipping cream

about 10 nice looking strawberries, cleaned and cut up

2 tbsp of mini dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.

1- in a glass bowl that fits over a saucepan (or a double boiler if you have), melt the chocolate and coconut oil together till smooth. let cool a few minutes.

2- using an electric whisk or blender (i used my immersion blender), mix eggs well until foamy. Add the apple sauce and mix some more.

3- mix together the melted chocolate with the egg mixture.

4- spray or coat a non stick spring form pan, then pour the cake mixture into it and gently shake from side to side, it so the top is even.

5- bake for 35-40 minutes, when the sides start to pull away from the sides and the center is baked through. Now wait for cake to cool at least 1 hour.

6- whip the whipping cream with a whisk or electric mixer until it solidifies a bit.

7- remove cake from springform pan.

8- top the cake with the whipped cream and decorate with strawberries and chocolate chips.

This is a RICH cake. If you are not a chocolate lover, this is not the cake for you. If you really enjoy rich dark chocolatey flavor, then you will love this cake. The richness combined with the light sweetness of the whipped cream and strawberries is simply divine.

And, btw, a bottle of Shiraz or Petite Syrah would go really well with this cake!