Primal Palate

I am so thrilled to share with you the best holiday recipe I have come up with this year – Pumpkin Spice Cake with Gingersnap Crust! While I don’t endorse eating treats very often on the autoimmune protocol, I think that everyone needs a compliant dessert recipe they can share with their family and friends during the holidays. Since I have stopped eating sugar, I find that I am very sensitive to it, so in the development of this recipe my family and friends got to eat a lot of cake – and they all loved it! One of the things I have learned since writing my book and providing so many recipes here on my blog is how many people are sensitive to coconut! Last year, I posted my Coconut-Raspberry “Cheesecake” – and although it was a big hit in the blogosphere, I got a ton of emails from people requesting that I come up with a coconut-free recipe. Well, here it is, guys – and let me tell you, it is a good one! A couple of tips before you get started: Arrowroot powder is much cheaper if you can find it in 20oz bags instead of the little jars they sell in the spice department. You can purchase online here, or ask for it at your local grocery. Next, you can make the cake with fresh roasted pumpkin or the canned variety, just make sure that the cans are BPA-free and have no other ingredients (like thickeners or spices). To cook the pumpkin, slice in half, remove the seeds, and cook for 60-90 minutes at 400 degrees. I find that a 2 1/2 pound pie pumpkin yields about 3 cups of puree. Lastly, the secret ingredient here, instead of coconut is lard. I recommend rendering your own, from a pastured source of leaf lard – here is a tutorial if you have never done it before. I have made this cake using both coconut oil and lard, and it tastes good both ways – but my family and I both prefer the lard version. Enjoy, and please let me know if this allergy-friendly cake is a hit with your family this holiday season!