*This post is sponsored by iHerb. All words and opinions are my own.
Today I’m sharing with you what I consider to be one of the best cakes I’ve ever had in my 34 years on this planet. A Paleo Caramel Custard Cake + Toasted Meringue. I made it for the first time a few months ago and have been itching to share it with you ever since! It’s a Caramel layer cake that’s filled with custard and toasted honey meringue. And the best part? It’s entirely gluten, grain, dairy, and refined sugar free! If you bake a lot of paleo/gluten free dishes like I do, then you know that sourcing all of the specialty ingredients isn’t always a walk in the park, and it certainly isn’t a one trip to the grocery store sort of feat. That’s why iHerb makes baking diet-specific recipes such a breeze.
iHerb has over 5,000 products in their online shop, and those products can be shipped to over 150 countries! Their customer service team also provides support in 10 languages. That means that making this cake which calls for almond flour, tapioca starch, coconut oil, coconut palm sugar, and vanilla doesn’t have to involve looking all over town to find each ingredient – I found every single one at iHerb along with a plethora of other hard-to-find, diet specific products. Shipping was fast, and next thing you know I’m making my dream cake!
If you need to stock up on almond flour and coconut palm sugar to make this beauty, click here to head over to iHerb where all customers can get a discount off of their order and new customers can get an additional $5 off of a $40 minimum order.
I used Nutiva Coconut oil, OMG coconut sugar, Simply Organic vanilla, Aloha bay Himalayan Salt, Edward & Sons Organic Tapioca Starch, Bob’s Red Mill almond flour, and Kevala raw honey, but the beauty of iHerb is that they carry multiple brands per ingredient type. Head over and find your preferences!
A few things about this cake:
It’s delicious. So, so delicious. The cake layers are super soft and tender and get a rich caramel color and flavor due to being sweetened solely with coconut palm sugar. Combined that with a custard filling and you really could stop the cake right there. It’s HEAVEN. But we’re going a step further and topping it with a toasty honey meringue that adds a whimsical feeling to the whole concoction.
The recipe you’ll find below will make you a two layer cake. To get a cake as tall as the one I’ve photographed, you’ll want to double the cake and custard recipes (not the meringue, though, it’s uber sweet and stretches quite far). To be honest – I don’t really recommend making a four layer version of this specific cake. The meringue doesn’t hold the weight of the upper layers well and will squish right out the sides. Multiplying the recipe by one and a half to give you a three layer cake may be the best option if you are wanting something tall.
Keep this baby refrigerated. All that custard needs to stay chilled and this cake tastes so good cold anyway.
Make cake layers and custard ahead of time so that assembling is a breeze. Freeze each cake layer wrapped in plastic wrap, and chill the custard (with a sheet of parchment pressed into the top to keep a skin from forming) so that when you want to serve it, all you have to do it make the meringue and its go-time.
- FOR THE CAKE:
- 2 cups Bob's Red Mill Almond Flour
- ½ cup Tapioca Starch
- 1 cup OMG Coconut Palm Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt
- 2 large Eggs
- ⅓ cup Nutiva Coconut Oil, melted
- ¼ cup Coconut or Almond Milk
- 2 teaspoons Simply Organic Vanilla Extract
- ½ teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- FOR THE CUSTARD FILLING:
- ⅓ cup Tapioca Starch
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 2½ cups Coconut Milk
- 2 Egg Yolks
- 2 large Eggs
- 1 tablespoon Ghee
- 1 teaspoon Simply Organic Vanilla
- FOR THE MERINGUE:
- 1 cup Honey
- 2 Egg Whites
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- FOR THE CAKE:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line two 6" round baking pans with parchment paper.
- Place the almond flour, coconut sugar, tapioca starch, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk until combined.
- Place the eggs, coconut oil, nut milk, vanilla, and vinegar in a small mixing bowl and whisk together until well combined and smooth.
- Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture and whisk until a smooth batter forms. Divide the batter evenly between the two baking pans.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool. Remove cake layers from pans and wrap with plastic wrap. Freeze until needed.
- FOR THE CUSTARD FILLING:
- Whisk the tapioca starch and salt together in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the coconut milk. Place over medium/high heat and cook just until the mixture thickens and boils. Remove from heat.
- Place the honey, egg yolks, and eggs in a mixing bowl and whisk together until smooth. Slowly pour in the hot milk mixture, whisking constantly, until well combined. Pour the mixture back in to the saucepan and cook again over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it just comes to a boil. Remove from heat immediately and quickly whisk in the ghee and vanilla. Pour into a container and cover the surface the parchment paper (this will stop a skin from forming over the top of the pudding). Refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the cake.
- FOR THE MERINGUE:
- Place the honey in a small saucepan and heat on medium/high heat to 110 degrees. White the honey is heating, place the egg whites and salt in a bow and beat until they reach soft peaks.
- Once the honey has reached 110 degrees, very slowly pour it into the egg whites as you beat them on medium speed. continue beating until all of the honey has been incorporated. Continue to beat until the meringue cools down, another 3-5 minutes. During this time, the meringue should thicken up quite a bit.
- TO ASSEMBLE:
- Place a few large spoonfuls of custard in the center of one cake layer. Pipe meringue around the perimeter. Toast the meringue with a small blow torch. Top that layer with the other layer of cake. Pipe meringue across the top of the cake and toast that meringue. Serve in slices!
Erin, for making the custard, you state to add the honey to the eggs and egg yolks, but I don’t see honey listed under the ingredients section under custard. What is the quanity of honey to add? I am excited to try this recipe. Thanks!