Continuing on with our attempt to answer the question we often run into "What kind of a woman is a BuDhaGirl?" we came up with this series- 'A BuDhaGirl in Action' to share with you the different types of women that we can proudly say are part of our tribe.  These women are all different but the common thread shared by them and what makes them BuDhaGirls is that they are all intelligent, aware, curious and compassionate. See our last post on our artist friend Stephanie Lessing here.

Today, we want to introduce you to another favorite BuDhaGirl friend, Paola Hilla of Unique Party, who is a fabulous baker. She was born in Venezuela and now lives in Dallas with her family. Paola is a very talented baker, cake designer and hard-working entrepreneur.  She easily transforms whatever theme you have in mind for your party into an amazing piece of edible art.  Paola is a wonderful loyal friend, an amazing mother, and a very creative cake designer. Her cakes are works of art and taste like heaven (my favorite is the vanilla cake with dulce de leche filling). She is a role model to all with her hard-working ethic and helpful personality. She has a beautiful aesthetic and  is the best mom to three sweet and handsome boys.

Her BuDhaGirl obsession are the Rajasthani friendship bracelets.  They are bright and peppy just like her. She even bakes with them, but makes sure to tie the strings into bows so they don't get in the frosting! She loves how these sparkle and dress up anything she is wearing. She is also newly obsessed with the Fuschia BuDhaBoy which she loves attaching to any of her colorful necklaces.

With this healthy baking trend Paola has created this healthy version of a Layered Chocolate Cake complete with zucchini and flax seeds!

HEALTHY LAYERED CHOCOLATE CAKE

Ingredients:
1 cup of all purpose flour
3/4 cup of wheat flour
2 eggs
1 cup of applesauce
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup of boiling water
3/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup of peeled and grated zucchini
1 tsp. Himalayan salt
1 Tsp. flaxseed
1 cup of turbinado sugar

Preparation:

Heat oven to 350 F
Sift all dry ingredients in to a large bowl. The turbinado sugar might not fully sift but you can add it in after.
Add eggs, applesauce, almond milk and vanilla to the bowl and mix well for 2 minutes. Then add the zucchini and mix until it is all well blended.
Lastly, add the boiling water to the mix.
Pour onto prepared baking pans and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out dry. Cooking time will also depend on the size of your pans.
After they are done let them cool before frosting.

HEALTHIER CHOCOLATE FROSTING

Ingredients:
1 can of regular coconut milk (no light version)
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sweetener to taste (sugar, sugar substitute, honey) your preference
Pinch of salt

Preparation:

Place your can of coconut milk on the fridge overnight, this will allow the milk to thicken. Once the milk has thickened, take it out of the fridge and without shaking it open it and scoop the thickened milk without the water.  This can be used for consistency or for a different recipe.
Mix well, stir in the rest of the ingredients until smooth.
Frost your cake and keep it in the fridge until 10-15 minutes before serving.

Let us know if you try it out! See Paola's beautiful cakes here.  Don't you wish you were friends with her?  We love that she is always a part of all the moments we celebrate....because, like Julia Child used to say "A party without cake is just a meeting".

If you know of some great BuDhagirls you admire and that we need to feature let us know!

[All photos by Albertina Cisneros]