Grain-free Coffee Cake made with Love and Gratitude

I read Jennie’s story on Friday night while I sat relaxing on the couch with Kevin after a ridiculously long day.

Halfway through, tears started trickling down my cheeks.

Upon leaving a comment and looking over at Kevin with eyes of adoration, I closed my laptop and cuddled up to him.

Instead of running around the city alone, spending the weekend in the kitchen, or remaining locked in my office for hours on end, I decided to spend the weekend with the man that I love.

Although we weren’t able to show our support with a peanut butter pie [allergies], we did enjoy Kevin’s favorite cake last night over a fresh pot of tea and a warm, loving conversation.

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Grain-free Coffee Cake

Gluten free, Dairy free, Refined sugar free, Yeast free, Corn free

An extremely moist and delicious grain-free coffee cake made with love.

Adapted from Joy of Baking

Yield: one – 9 inch cake

Ingredients

Coffee Cake Topping

• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp finely ground, blanched almond flour

Coffee Cake

• 2 cups finely ground, blanched almond flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp Himalayan rock salt
• 1/2 cup non-dairy milk – I used unsweetened original almond milk
• 1 medjool date, pitted
• 1/4 cup raw cashews
• 6 tbsp coconut oil at room temperature
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 170F and place rack in center of oven. Place the coffee cake topping nuts on a baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes or until fragrant and lightly brown. Let cool and then coarsely chop. Set aside.
2. Set oven to 350F.
3. In a small bowl, stir together the coconut sugar, roasted nuts, ground cinnamon and flour. Set aside.
4. Oil a 9-inch spring form pan with a dab of coconut oil. Line the bottom of the pan with a circle of parchment paper.
5. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
6. In a food processor or blender, combine the milk, date, and cashews and blend until smooth. Set aside.
7. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the coconut oil until softened (about 30 seconds). Add the sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and milk mixture. Mix only until combined.
8. Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Sprinkle about half of the nut topping on top of the batter. Cover with the remaining batter and then sprinkle with the remaining nut topping. Bake for about 30- 40 minutes (mine took 40 but was a bit crispy and burned at the edges), or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let rest for about 10 minutes before releasing the sides of the pan.
9. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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If there’s anything I should be more conscious of, it’s to constantly be thankful for the moments we share and to always remind Kevin just how much he means to me.

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Tagged as: almond flour, cinnamon, coffee cake