*ALMOST* Paleo Chocolate Cake! and Birthday WOD

Leah had a birthday WOD set for this past Saturday, so I thought it would be the perfect oppurtunity to try out making a Paleo Chocolate cake! I call it *ALMOST* paleo cake because I had to use regular butter since I couldn't find Vegan Butter, but really butter is from animal fat right?

Here's the original recipe from Cinda Lou's Kitchen Blues - a GREAT SITE!
I made additions and substitutions also.
Chocolate Espresso Heaven by the Slice
1 12 oz bag Sunspire unsweetened dark chocolate chips (or your favorite dark chocolate bar)* I used 1 72% Dark Chocolate bar from Trader Joe's
1/4 c. hot fresh espresso I used 1/2 c.
~1 T. fresh espresso grinds (optional, but man its good)
1 T. organic vanilla
1 T. cinnamon
4 heaping T of unsweetened baking cocoa powder I actually used about 5-5 1/2 T
1/4 c. (powdered) Stevia My Trader Joe's didn't have this so I bought some Coconut Sugar from Whole Foods - It worked just fine
1 T. organic brown sugar
1/4 c. unsweetened pineapple juice
6 free range organic eggs, room temperature
2 sticks Earth Balance Vegan light butter, room temperature Couldn't find vegan - used regualr unsalted butter.
1 T. Almond Flour

My first remark is that I used a blender for the whole grinding and mixing process. You can use a food processor or your blender if you prefer.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and coat either two cake pans or preferably a large springform pan with nonstick spray. First, add the Stevia, brown sugar, cinnamon, espresso grinds, and chocolate chips to the blender. Grind the chips and dry ingredients up for about 10-15 seconds as shown below.

Add the pineapple juice and hot espresso. Blend for ~5 seconds until creamy. Add the cocoa powder, vanilla, eggs, and (vegan) butter. You may wish to scrape off the sides with a spatula before you start blending again to make sure no dry powder is stuck. I just cracked the eggs and poured everything right into the blender. Your blender or food processor may not be large so be careful not to overflow it. I also added 1 T of Almond flour at this point because it looked a bit soupy. You can add more if you like depending on the consistency you prefer.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes (for 1 cake pan). You will need to shorten the time for 2 pans - I estimate about 30 minutes or so. I baked mine in a 9 x 13 for about 30 minutes. Bake until the middle is set and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and set aside to completely cool - hands off (that's a reminder for me). Once cooled, cover and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours or longer so it is nice and firm, thick, and deliciously lip-smacking chewy (think fudge texture but better).

I took it to the gym for after our WOD and everyone seemed to LOVE IT! I served it chilled slightly with fresh blueberries and raspberries! Serving with fresh fruit is a MUST as the cake can be a bit overwhelmingly rich! Happy Baking!The Birthday WOD was RIDICULOUS.
Leah turned a young 32 so we did 4 rounds of 8 reps (= 32) of 7 different movements. I was dying through most of the workout... Somehow I made it through... It must have been the paleo cake and non paleo beer that drove me onward!