Cake.
Frosting. For those with a serious sweet tooth.
Notes: Omitted the turmeric from the cake since we weren't making a yellow one.
For the frosting, we substituted refined coconut oil for both fats. After one cycle of melting and refrigerating trying to whip it on a warm day, this ended up working beautifully for the event. We also splurged by substituting the contents of one freshly scraped vanilla bean for the vanilla extract.
Because the frosting will melt at warmer room temperatures when made with coconut oil, leftovers must be refrigerated and then brought back to a warmer temperature before attempting to serve it again. But it was worth it, for us, so that we didn't have to buy additional specialty products just for this.
Spreadable strawberries. Plus fat. Makes exquisite toast.
Dead Simple Strawberry Chia Jam
1/2 lb fresh strawberries, trimmed and thinly sliced
1/4 cup apple syrup [see Note]
1 TBSP chia seeds
Bring the strawberries and apple syrup to a boil in a small sauce pan, then simmer over low to medium-low heat until the strawberries break down, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, grind the chia seeds to a powder in a coffee grinder.
When the berries are ready, remove the pan from heat and stir in the chia powder. Let sit at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick.
[Note: If you don't have apple syrup, try using 2-3 TBSP natural cane sugar and 1 TBSP fresh lemon or lime juice.]