you'll want a slice: chocolate birthday cake (oil-free, high protein!)

You've never had cake like this before!

A special cake for a special occasion. This weekend my husband, Bernard, turns 40!

He is not a cake person. Or at least he says so, until I leave a cake on the counter, and he works his way into it. Three slices later he declares he likes this one, but still is not a cake person.

What he means is that he doesn’t like overly sweet cakes, perhaps the kind he remembers from past birthdays. I understand because I feel the same way. My taste and tolerance for cakes and sweets made with white sugar and refined flour have changed dramatically. Just one bite is enough for me. The sugar overpowers any other flavor, and afterward, I feel like I’ve eaten a brick.

However, as you know, I didn’t give up on sweets and treats! Instead, I now have an entirely new way of making them.

This chocolate birthday cake, specifically the tahini-based icing, was chosen and created with my husband’s palette in mind.

The cake is rich and indulgent but also complex and earthy. It’s not too sweet and has a little edge — it’s different. Good different. The bitter and nutty tahini gives depth to the chocolate flavor making it more interesting and balanced.

The whole thing is also made without oil, eggs, dairy, white flour or sugar and is high in fiber and protein.