Moist Coffee Infused Cake w/ Spiced Chai Frosting & Dark Chocolate Drizzle (Plant Paradox-friendly, vegan, lectin-free, sugar-free, grain-free, gluten-free)

Directions

1. Coffee Concentrate: Combine coffee and boiling water in a French Press and brew for 5 minutes. Transfer brewed coffee to a measuring cup and add enough water to bring the total amount of liquid up to 1 1/4 cup (10 oz). Set aside.
2. Chai Concentrate: Brew tea bags in boiling water for amount of time recommended on tea package; for most black teas that means 5 minutes. Press tea bags with a spoon to remove as much liquid as possible, then discard.
3. Transfer brewed tea to a measuring cup and add enough water to bring total amount of liquid up to 1 cup (8 oz).
4. Frosting: Add coconut milk powder, coconut milk, erythritol, vanilla, stevia, and salt to a food processor or blender. Melt coconut oil in a pot over medium heat until completely liquified then pour into food processor.
5. Blend on high until all of the coconut milk powder and erythritol is dissolved. Add in Chai Concentrate and xanthan gum and blend until thoroughly incorporated.
6. Transfer frosting to a shallow container, like a pie pan, and place in fridge until completely cooled, 2-3 hours. Stir frosting every 30 minutes or so while it’s cooling.
7. Once the frosting’s completely cooled, check its consistency. If it’s thick enough to spread, you’re good to go. If it’s too thin, add another 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum and whisk in. If it could still be thicker after this, add another 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum. Store in fridge until ready to use.
8. Cake: Pre-heat oven to 350° F. Spray two cake pans with a light coat of coconut oil spray, then dust them both with a touch of green banana flour. Ensure the flour covers the bottom, corners, and sides of the pan. Shake out any excess flour.
9. Line both pans with parchment rounds (instructions on how to make them are below in the notes!) and spray again with a light coat of coconut oil spray. Set prepped pans aside.
10. Sift green banana flour, baking powder, and baking soda together into a large bowl. Set aside.
11. Whisk together flax eggs, vanilla, stevia, vinegar, coffee concentrate, and coconut milk in a medium bowl until smooth. Set aside.
12. In the bowl of a stand up mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric hand whisk, beat together coconut oil, erythritol & salt until coconut oil appears fluffy; about 2 minutes.
13. Scrape down the sides with a spatula, slowly pour in 1/4 of the wet mixture, and beat on low speed until the mixture just comes together. Boost the speed a little to fully incorporate; about 20 seconds.
14. Turn speed back down to low and slowly pour in 1/4 of the dry mixture. Once it’s mixed in, boost speed and beat until smooth.
15. Repeat steps 13 & 14 – scraping down the sides as needed – until all of the dry and wet ingredients have been fully incorporated. Boost speed to medium at the end to ensure batter is smooth.
16. Transfer batter to a different large bowl and clean & dry out the bowl of your stand up mixer (or bowl you were previously using). Place back on mixer and fit it with the whisk attachment.
17. Add aquafaba to the clean bowl and beat on high speed until stiff peaks are formed; can take up to 10 minutes.
18. Stir in half of the aquafaba into the cake batter until no white spots are visible. Then gently fold in the second half of aquafaba – if a few white specks remain, that’s okay.
19. Evenly distribute batter among prepped cake pans.
20. Note: If you want to be extra precise, subtract the weight of your bowl from the total weight of the batter + the bowl. What remains is the weight of the batter. Divide that number (in grams) in half and you have the weight of how much batter belongs in each cake pan.
21. Bake in oven for 32-38 minutes, or until the edges are set and the center is lightly jiggly; a toothpick should come out mostly clean but with a little batter on it.
22. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 15 minutes. Then, carefully transfer cakes to cooling racks to cool the rest of the way; about 2 hours. 
23. Note: I like to transfer cakes to the racks by placing a plate on top of a pan and then inverting the pan – the cake should fall right out. Then, place your cooling rack right on top of the cake and invert the plate, thus leaving the cake on the cooling rack right-side up.
24. Once they’ve completely cooled, cut the top mound off of one the cakes using a large bread knife. This will create a sturdy & flat bottom layer.
25. Using a cake stand, lazy suzan, or large clean plate, place about a tablespoon of frosting directly in the middle then place your flat cake on top of that, cut side down. The frosting will prevent the cake from sliding around.
26. Evenly spread out a thick layer of frosting on top of the first cake then place the second cake right on top of that, with the top of the cake facing up.
27. Spread on a thick layer of frosting around the sides and top of the cake. You don’t have to use all the frosting.
28. Sprinkle edges with dark chocolate shavings & drizzle melted dark chocolate all over the top & sides of the cake. Place in fridge for 10 minutes or so chocolate can set.
29. Remove from fridge, sprinkle top with cinnamon, slice, and serve! Store cake at room temperature in a “cake container” or simply cover with aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Best within three days.