I’m not quite sure how it happened, but my son recently turned four! He was active in my belly and has not stopped moving since the day he was born. He keeps life interesting and exciting for sure!
One of the fun things about my son is that he is already very passionate and knows what he likes. His enthusiasm is a gift. One of his passions is construction trucks and “worker men.” The other is farming. He is sure we are moving to a farm soon and will have every animal possible. He has even assigned the whole family their chores already! I love his enthusiasm and wouldn’t be surprised if he really does have a farm of his own some day (and mama would be very proud of him if he does!).
My son’s favorite animal is a “baby calf.” So this year we decided to do a cow spotted birthday for him. He loved the idea. I loved that it didn’t require any color for decorations. I think my only problem was that I kept thinking of more fun treats to go along with the theme!
My first priority was to make his cake have cow spots. I recently made a soaked gluten free vanilla cake for my daughter’s birthday (with really fun, colorful decorations!). That served as the starting point. Then I created this soaked gluten free chocolate cake to use for the spots.
The cake turned out so well! Every time we cut into the cake the spots changed. It was so fun. The other great thing was that we had lots of extra cake batter since the chocolate was only used for spots. So we made the rest into donuts.
My son was so happy with his cow spotted cake and birthday celebration. I made chocolate spots and chocolate frosting to decorate the cake. Then to really turn it into a cow spotted celebration I made inside out “Oreos”, chocolate suckers, chocolate/vanilla yogurt gummies, fudge swirl ice cream (like this without the caramel and cone) and chocolate milk (using this chocolate sauce).
I do try to limit the amount of chocolate my son eats since it tends to make him hyper. But this was a fun and special birthday treat for him. If you avoid cocoa you can substitute carob in this recipe.
This cake is also quite allergen friendly since it is gluten, dairy, nut, corn, rice and soy free. It does contain eggs whites. Side note – don’t get rid of those leftover yolks! They are packed with nutrition. Use them for Russian custard, pudding, ice cream or smoothies.
Do you have a farmer-in-training? Or maybe you need a special way to celebrate an older farmer in your life? This cow spotted cake is so fun and delicious! Plus the grains are properly prepared. It’s the perfect treat for kids and adults. You can make it simple with just the cake. Or go all out with cow spots everywhere! Happy farming and happy birthday!
- 1 cup sorghum flour (or white rice)
- 1/2 cup amaranth flour (or brown rice)
- 1/4 tapioca flour (or arrowroot)
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder (or carob)
- 3/4 cups water, milk or milk substitute
- 2 Tbsp. lemon juice, yogurt, whey or kefir
- 1 1/4 cups organic cane sugar or coconut sugar
- 2 Tbsp. melted coconut oil, palm shortening or butter
- 1/2 tsp. unrefined sea salt
- 3 egg whites
- 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
- Combine the flour, cocoa powder, water/milk and lemon juice/yogurt.
- Cover and let sit 7-24 hours.
- Grease and line with parchment paper two 8" or 9" round cake pans or one 9x13 pan.
- Heat the oven to 350*F.
- Beat the egg whites and 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- Add the sugar, butter and salt to the soaked mixture. Beat well (it will be thick).
- Fold in the egg whites.
- Stir in the baking soda and 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar.
- Immediately pour the batter into the prepared pans.
- Bake for 35 minutes for 8/9" rounds, 40 minutes for 9x13 or 25 minutes for cupcakes.
- This batter can be used for donuts. Simply grease and fill the donut pans with the batter. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes.
- To make the cow spotted cake prepare the vanilla batter at the same time as the chocolate batter. Fill the pans with all of the vanilla batter. Drop spoonfuls of the chocolate batter into the vanilla batter. You will use about 1/4 - 1/3 of the chocolate batter for the spots. Bake 35 minutes.
In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog.