Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Grain Free, sugar free Delicious Chocolate Cake!

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     During times like the holidays, I always feel concerned about what to feed to my family members and friends who have allergies and special dietary needs.  I don't want them to feel left out from all of the special foods that we eat at this time of year.  Food is such a big part of the holiday season.  So, I'm always on the lookout for special recipes to try that will be delicious, not just for those who have such a limited diet, but for everyone to enjoy so that no ones feels isolated or singled out! 

      I have a friend who is not only gluten free, but totally grain free!  On top of that, she is dairy free!  What a bummer!   We were both going to a small holiday gathering, so I was searching for a treat that would fit all of her criteria.  Imagine my surprise when I came across a recipe on A Modern Homestead for a chocolate cake that used squash flour instead of any type of grain flour to make a delicious chocolate cake!  I was amazed! 
       I have made squash (zucchini) flour before.  I shared a post about it here.  But, I didn't realize that you could use all squash flour and zero grain flour and get such a wonderful result! Not only that, this cake that fits a 9" square cake pan only requires 1/2 cup of squash flour!  
        Victoria on A Modern Homestead gives an excellent tutorial for making squash flour here.  If you grow your own zucchini, this will be a great way to use up all of that bumper crop of zucchini that home gardeners get every year! 
      Luckily, I already had dehydrated zucchini stored in my pantry, so I was able to grind it into zucchini flour.  If you don't have any dried or freeze dried zucchini, you can pick some up at the grocery store, dehydrate it and give this recipe a try! 

      I was excited to give the cake recipe a try, but I had to tweak it to meet our particular needs.  So, I'm sharing with the the adapted version of A Modern Homestead's recipe.  Her version uses cacao and dairy and is a little less sweet that our family likes in a cake.   If you want your cake to be dairy free and a bit sweeter, my version is the one you will want to try. 
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Click on the recipe for the printable version.

• You can see that  I substituted shortening for the butter.  You could also use vegan butter, but I was all out of it.  ​
•  I used coconut milk in place of regular whole milk.
• I increased the amount of honey because the batter seemed too bitter for us with only 1/4 cup.  That added liquid made me have to increase the baking time as well.  ​
• Also, I used cocoa powder instead of cacao.

     You may be wondering about that dollop of frosting on the top.  Here is what the cake looks like at first:

Yummy, but needs something to make it more festive!

     You can use vegan butter and honey to make a delicious butter cream.  Here is a great recipe at Recipes to Nourish.  I substituted vegan butter and it came out so good!  We even used to to decorate cookies!  (No white frosting though, because it will be honey colored!)  I just put a dollop on the top of the cake with an almond slice, since almonds are okay for everyone here. 

This cake was fluffy and pronounced great by everyone who tried it! It would be a great addition to your New Years Eve Spread!

Dehydrators are reasonably priced and are a perfect way to preserve food, and now to make vegetable and fruit flours!  

Other Related Articles:

• Strawberry Fruit Leather
• Sprouting Wheat for Flour​​