I attribute my love of baking to my mother. She has an inherent knack for whipping up some sort of amazing bread or cake without any recipe. When she first taught me to bake, she introduced the process as a science. I learned the "laws" of baking and became adept at following a recipe. But, as our diets have evolved (we both avoid grains and dairy), we have individually adapted our baking styles and have shared our lessons and tips with one another along the way.
One of my favorite recipes that I ever made with my mom was far from grain-free and dairy free: A 6-layer coconut cake that called for 2 cans of heavy cream, 2lbs of butter and a lot of flour and sugar. Each layer was glazed, and between the layers was a thick coconut cream. It was one of our favorites. It was such a process to make, but it was worth every bit of work.
So, for Mother's Day this year I decided to try to reproduce this cake without the dairy, grains and refined sugar. I have a feeling it won't be quite the same, but I also know that it contains ingredients that won't leave me feeling sick.
I left out the cream filling between the layers this time, but I will undoubtedly try to make this cake again layers and all (stay tuned for that recipe!).
So, this one's for you, Mom. I love you.