This past weekend was spent up in the Carolina Mountains just on the outskirts of Asheville. I was visiting with the In-laws and their beautiful farm. They raise their own grass-fed beef, pastured pork, lambs, goats, and hens. They also run their own farmer’s market in Leicester, N.C. I guess you could say, we are kind of spoiled when it comes to eating some of the best meats and freshest eggs when they come down to Florida to visit. They also have quite the following here in Florida where their meats are featured in a market in Sarasota, and some of my family and friends exclusively buy from them.

While we were visiting, I decided to make a special dessert. My mother-in-law has recently gone gluten free and has been looking into the grain-free world, too. I asked her what cake she missed most and she instantly replied, pound cake. Ah, yes. The pound cake is quite notoriously known in my husband’s family as the cake of all cakes. GB, Ben’s grandmother, had a dynamite recipe that had been passed to my mother-in-law, and then passed to me. This one is tricky. Pound cake isn’t easily mimicked, due to its texture and dairy richness. Not to mention some of the techniques of whipping and folding certain ingredients to ensure the height and lift. But I was up for the challenge.

The results: no words spoken, some head bobbing, the clinging of forks hitting the plates and the wide eyed look of, “holy cow this is amazing.”

And look at the texture! Almond flour is the closest alternative grain-free flour that resembles the texture of wheat.

If you make this, you will end up with this.

Pound Cake Recipe
Serves: 8-10
adapted from Civilized Caveman Cooking

Ingredients:
2 cups almond flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
1/2 cup coconut flour (Bob’s)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tsp baking soda (3 grams)
2/3 cup raw honey, melted
2/3 cup coconut oil, melted
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened full-fat coconut milk
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest, optional

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
2. Prepare a loaf pan by coating the interior lightly with coconut
oil.
3. Cut parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan and place it
over the coconut oil.
4. Sift dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir with a whisk to
combine.
5. Place oil and honey in large bowl until honey dissolves or no longer sticks to the bottom of the bowl.
6. Add eggs, extract, lemon zest, and coconut milk and beat until well combined.
7. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients and thoroughly combine using a spatula until smooth.
8. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test.
9. Let cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes.
10. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely.