Scherzo Cardamom Spice Cake with Chai Frosting (Gluten Free!)

Well... having never before attempted a recipe both vegan and gluten free, I was perhaps a little too confident when starting. My confidence was very quickly humbled after I accidentally dumped half of the cake batter on the floor and had to restart my project. After a huge mess to clean up, some major nail biting, and one very big leap of faith, I managed to conquer what really is not a very hard recipe... believe me.

Ingredients

cake

4 cups brown rice flour

2 cups garbanzo bean flour, sifted

1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsps ground cardamom

1 1/3 cups canola oil

3 cups water

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups agave syrup

icing

2 cups peanut oil

6 2/3 cups powdered organic cane sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp ground cardamom

1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp ground cloves

3/4 cup hot, strongly steeped chai tea

1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp vanilla extract

Cake Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease two large cake pans. Set aside.

Combine all dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Combine all wet ingredients in a large bowl. Gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Your batter will look pretty wet and runny but don't worry, this is correct.

Bake the cake for about 40-50 minutes or until the center feels springy when you touch it. Allow to cool completely before icing the cake.

Icing Directions

With an electric mixer, whisk the powdered sugar and peanut oil until fluffy. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Spread over the cakes, stack them to create two layers and enjoy!

Music suggestions:

• A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op. 61 Incidental Music: No. 1 Scherzo- Felix Mendelssohn
• Danse Macabre, Op. 40- Camille Saint-Saens