Gluten-Free Waffles

I love my new waffle maker!  Its a Black & Decker, with reversible non-stick plates (waffle on one side, smooth on the other).  We've made panini sandwiches several times with the smooth side, turns any sandwich into something special.  I've never owned a waffle iron before and initially became interested when I read somewhere of the idea of using waffles instead of bread for sandwiches and burgers - which I haven't tried yet, but what a great idea.  In the meantime, we are really enjoying waffles.

These waffles are so easy that we can be eating a lovely hot waffles in less then 30 minutes, which means waffles are possible almost any morning. 

I did some research on waffle irons before purchasing my Black & Decker.  I didn't want a  Belgium waffle maker and liked the idea of the reversible plates.  And I spent an evening reading all of the comments about waffle irons on amazon.com and based my decision mostly on what I read (I love amazon!). 

So, here's my recipe for a basic gluten-free waffle.  This is a very basic waffle, but you can top your waffles with anything you like.  You can also add flavor to the actual waffle, add vanilla or almond extract, add ground nuts (almond, hazelnut, etc) for part of the flour.  See other options at the end of this post. 

I've shared a link to this post at Slight Indulgent Tuesdays.

4 tablespoon ground flax meal
6 tablespoons coconut milk (or other non-dairy milk)
3/4 cup coconut milk yogurt
3 tablespoon melted coconut oil (or any other fat)
1 cup gluten-free flour mix
1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
extra coconut milk to thin out batter (I usually need about 1/2 cup)

Lightly brush both waffle plates with oil (I used an extra virgin olive oil spray).  Close the iron and preheat to the waffle setting (follow the directions for heating your waffle iron).

In a medium sized bowl, stir together ground flax meal and coconut milk and let sit for a few minutes.  Add yogurt and melted coconut oil and whisk to combine.  All dry ingredients and stir strongly with a whisk to combine.  Add additional coconut milk until you have a nice thick batter.

When you waffle iron has come up to heat, add the recommended amount of batter for your iron (mine is about 1 cup of batter).  Close the iron and bake until done (usually about 5 minutes).

In my iron this makes 3 very large waffles.

Top with your favorite toppings: maple syrup, fresh fruit, your favorite jam, etc.

Options:
- use a purchased gluten-free flour mix (such as Bob's Red Mill, especially if you are new to gluten free cooking)
- use butter in place of the coconut oil
- use 2 eggs in place of the ground flax meal and 6 tablespoons coconut milk
- instead of the coconut milk yogurt, use any yogurt you like, or try sour cream
- also, instead of the yogurt, use mashed bananas, pureed pumpkin or sweet potatoes
- for a savory option, leave out the sugar and add a bit of finely grated cheese

Hazelnut Cream Scones with Blackberry Jam (g-free & vegan)

I had a bit of trouble with scones this month.  I've made plenty of biscuits, but never scones.  I've not eaten too many scones either, the only scones I remember eating are the orange cranberry scones at Starbucks (which are very delish).  After reading some history about scones, I wanted to make a simple scone with no added bits, no nuts, no fruit.  A more traditional scone.  Because, I was really interested in making jam (which I've never made before either). 

(beautiful logo designed by Anile Prakash)

The theme of this month's Ratio Rally was Scones - scroll down to the end of this post for a complete list of the offerings.  Lauren at Celiac Teen has done a bang-up job at hosting the whole event this month. 

EZ PZ, biscuits with a bit of sugar...

I made several version of scones that were just okay to awful, awful in the sense of very dry and crumbly (upon removing one batch from the oven, the whole thing fell to crumbs).  I did make a pretty good chocolate scone with dried cherries, but the texture was more like a brownie, which was yummy, but I just didn't like the sound of 'brownie scone'.  I almost gave up, except the blackberry jam was so fabulous! 

(By the way, these are a few pictures of my garden, Spring has finally appeared in the last few days.)

The garden's looking beautiful, but what's to be done about these darn scones?  In desperation, I tried the cream scone method, more liquid, more fat - could work.  Since I was trying to keep it vegan, I used coconut cream in place of the traditional heavy cream.  Finally!  The scones were fabulous, they smelled wonderful and were moist and flavorful and held together.  The hazelnut flour gives a subtle, sweet flavor which goes beautifully with the tartness of the blackberry jam.

In the end, the scones were very good, (definitely best the first day) but the jam was the luscious star of this combination.  I am planning my next batch of jam already.  And, I'm looking forward to trying some of the other gluten-free scones in the ratio rally.  My journey with scones had just began and there are untold mysteries in the baking of scones which still elude me. 

And, one of those mysteries (at least about these particular scones) is the ratio.  I know this recipe was developed for the 'Ratio Rally' - but to be honest, the ratio escaped me.  I think the ratio is close to 3-2-1 (flour, liquid, fat) - to get to this ratio, I counted the coconut cream as liquid, although it was in a solid form, more like a fat instead of a liquid.  Was this correct?  If anyone knows - please let me know! 

I shared a link to this recipe at Amy Greene's Slight Indulgent Tuesdays.

Hazelnut Cream Scones
2 tablespoon golden flax meal
4 tablespoon coconut milk

3 oz hazelnut flour (about 1/2 cup)
2 oz sweet sorghum flour (about 1/2 cup)
2 oz sweet rice flour (about 1/2 cup)
2 oz arrowroot flour (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons coconut palm sugar (or brown sugar)
zest of 1 orange, very finely minced or use a microplane

2 oz cold earth balance buttery stick (4 tablespoons), cut into pieces

coconut cream from a 15 oz can full-fat coconut milk (just the solid part which sits on top when you open the can)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a sheet tray with parchment paper.

Combine flax meal and coconut milk in a small bowl and mix to combine.  Let this sit for a few minutes to thicken.

Place all dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine.  With machine running, add pieces of the vegan butter one at a time.  The mixture should look a bit like sand at this point.  Add the coconut cream (just the solid part, do not add the liquid at the bottom of the can of coconut milk) and process until mixture starts coming away from the sides of the bowl.  If this does not happen in about 20 - 30 seconds or so, add a bit more sorghum flour.

Spoon dough out of the food processor onto the prepared sheet tray to form a circle about an inch thick.  I just use a spatula (and my fingers) to form the round shape about an inch thick.  With a very sharp pizza wheel (or knife), cut thru the dough from side to side,  making 8 wedges.  The wet dough will immediately come back together, but that's okay.  When baked, the scones will be scored and easier to pull or cut apart.  This dough is too wet to use a biscuit cutter.  You will end up with lovely soft sides, just crunchy on the top.  It seems most people like crunchy all around - I do not!  I'm all about the soft, moist, tender interior (well, there it is, now you know my big secret...). 

Blackberry Jam
4 pound blackberries (or a mix of blackberries, raspberries, blueberries), fresh or frozen
1 pound sugar
2 tablespoon bourbon
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
juice of 2 small lemons (or 1 large lemon)
1 teaspoon butter

Place a small plate in the freezer.

Place everything in a large dutch oven or saucepan (not aluminum).  Bring slowly to a simmer, stirring with a wooden spoon.  You can smash the fruit against the side of the pan with the spoon - but there's really no need, all of the fruit will brake down.  Simmer for about 30 minutes.  If foam forms on the surface of the jam, skim it off.  After 30 minutes, the jam should have cooked down quiet a bit and be very thick and beautiful. 

Now, retrieve the small plate from the freezer (bet you were wondering about that!).  Use a small spoon to place a small amount of the jam on the plate.  Let sit for about 30 seconds, the jam will thicken on the cold plate - if this is the consistency you want for your jam - you are done.  If you'd like it thicker, simmer gently a few more minutes

Rinse your jars in very hot water (or run thru the dishwasher).  Spoon hot jam in the jars and place lid on (I use jars with rubber seals and clamps, see photo).  Because the jam is hot, this will make a pretty good seal.  However, this jam needs to be stored in the refrigerator. 

You'll notice that I did not strain the seeds out and blackberries do have rather a large amount of seeds - I've eaten lots of blackberries in my life and I like the seeds, they are an integral part of the blackberry experience.  You can smash up the fruit and strain before you start the cooking - entirely too much trouble for me.  If the seeds are going to bother you, try strawberries and raspberries for your jam. 

Amie of The Healthy Apple - http://thehealthyapple.com/2011/05/04/gluten-free-rice-crispy-scones/
Britt of GF in the City - http://www.gfinthecity.com/2011/05/gluten-free-ratio-rally-scones.html
Brooke of B & the Boy - http://bellwookie.blogspot.com/2011/05/coconut-scones.html
Caleigh of Gluten-Free[k] - http://gluten-freek.blogspot.com/2011/05/jam-on-top-or-cream-on-top.html
Caneel of Mama Me Gluten-Free - http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2011/05/savory-jalapeno-cheese-scones.html
Caroline of The G-Spot - http://thegspotrevolution.com/?p=3228
Charissa of Zest Bakery - http://www.zestbakery.com/ingredient/almond/amaretto-soaked-cherry-and-almond-scones/
Claire of Gluten Freedom - http://www.thisglutenfreelife.org/2011/05/ratio-rally-strawberry-banana-scones.html
Erin of the Sensitive Epicure - http://thesensitiveepicure.blogspot.com/2011/05/millet-scones-gfree-rally.html
Gretchen of Kumquat - http://kumquat-blog.blogspot.com/2011/05/gluten-free-ratio-rally-maple-oat-nut.html
Irvin of Eat the Love - http://www.eatthelove.com/2011/05/spotlight-on-savory-green-garlic-bacon-thyme-scones-with-white-pepper-maple-glaze-gluten-free-ratio-rally
Jeanette of Jeanette's Healthy Living - http://www.jeanetteshealthyliving.com/2011/05/glutendairyegg-free-coconut-pineapple.html
Jenn of Jenn Cuisine - http://jenncuisine.com/2011/05/banana-apple-and-currant-scones-gluten-free
Karen of Cooking Gluten-Free - http://cookingglutenfree.com/2011/05/gluten-free-ratio-rally-oat-scones-with-currants/
Kate of Katealice Cookbook - http://katealicecookbook.com/2011/05/04/cinnamon-fruit-scones/ 
Lauren of Celiac Teen - http://www.celiacteen.com/2011/scones-ratio-rally/
Lisa of Gluten-Free Canteen - http://glutenfreecanteen.com/2011/05/03/gf-ratio-rally-bisconies-actually/
Lisa of With Style and Grace - http://withstyle.me/2011/05/04/gf-lavender-earl-grey-lemon-scones
Marla of Family Fresh Cooking - http://www.familyfreshcooking.com/2011/05/02/avocado-scones-vegan-and-gluten-free-recipe/
Meaghan of Wicked Good Vegan - http://www.thewickedgoodvegan.com/2011/05/04/gf-scones/
Melanie of Mindful Food - http://mindfulfood.blogspot.com/2011/05/hazelnut-cream-scones-with-blackberry.html
Meredith of Gluten Free Betty - http://glutenfreebetty.blogspot.com/2011/05/cinnamon-raisin-scones-for-gluten-free.html

Morri of Meals with Morri - http://mealswithmorri.blogspot.com/2011/05/yerba-mate-chai-scones.html
Mrs. R of Honey from Flinty Rocks - http://honeyfromflintyrocks.wordpress.com/2011/05/04/classic-cream-scones-gluten-amp-dairy-free/
Mrs. R of Honey from Flinty Rocks - http://honeyfromflintyrocks.wordpress.com/2011/05/04/almond-fig-scones-gluten-amp-dairy-free/
Peter and Kelli of No Gluten No Problem - http://noglutennoproblem.blogspot.com/2011/05/gluten-free-ratio-rally-mesquite-scones.html
Sea of Book of Yum - http://www.bookofyum.com/blog/may-ratio-rally-gluten-free-classic-dairy-free-scone-recipe-6823.html
Shauna of Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef - http://glutenfreegirl.com/gluten-free-scones/
Silvana of Silvana's Kitchen - http://silvanaskitchen.com/2011/05/gluten-free-pecan-streusel-scones-with-cinnamon-drizzle
Tara of A Baking Life - http://abakinglife.blogspot.com/2011/05/gluten-free-ratio-rally-ginger-scones.html
TR of No One Likes Crumbley Cookies - http://tcrumbley.blogspot.com/2011/05/gluten-free-cinnamon-pecan-scones.html
Wendy of La Phemme Phoodie - http://laphemmephoodie.com/2011/05/red-velvet-scones-for-the-gluten-free-ratio-rally.html
Winnie of Healthy Green Kitchen - http://www.healthygreenkitchen.com/coconut-raisin-scones-gluten-free-and-vegan.html

David's Favorite Banana Bread

What is there to say about another banana bread recipe?  This one is gluten-free, vegan, and sugar-free.  That's pretty special.  I can take or leave banana bread myself, but David keeps asking for it and I feel badly about pitching the old, spotty (or worse) bananas in the food waste bin - so I keep making it.  This is David's current favorite:

Flax Meal Slurry:

4 tablespoons golden flax meal

6 tablespoons coconut milk (or other liquid)

Dry Ingredients:
1/2 cup sweet sorghum flour
1/2 cup quinoa flour

3/4 cup tapioca flour

3/4 cup blanched almond flour (ground super fine is best)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients:

3/4 cup coconut milk (or other non-dairy milk)

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 

1/2 cup agave

4 tablespoon coconut oil (or olive oil)

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups diced bananas (approximately 3 large bananas)

handful of chopped walnuts (optional)

handful of vegan chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare glass loaf pan by lining with parchment paper (or brush with oil).

Mix together flax meal and 6 tablespoons coconut milk and let sit. 

Whisk together all dry ingredients in a large bowl.  

In a second bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup coconut milk and the apple cider vinegar and let sit for a few minutes (this is a substitute for buttermilk).  Mix this mixture with the remaining wet ingredients and the flax meal slurry.  Whisk until thoroughly mixed.   Add the bananas, walnuts, and chocolate chips.  Stir the wet ingredients into the dry. 

Bake for 50 - 60 minutes.  Test for doneness with a toothpick.

Note:  if you over do it with the bananas (which I usually do), your bread will be part cakey and part pudding-like (because there is so much banana) - it will be very moist.  And, David says its very good this way. 

Quinoa Gluten-Free Vegan Pancakes

I haven't made pancakes for years, although I have wonderful memories of making light, fluffy pancakes (actually my memories are of eating the pancakes).  And I remember that they were easy to make - so why has it been so long?  And I think I may have issues about cooking in the morning.  So, pancakes for supper is the solution. 

Today, I won't be making the same pancakes as years ago, they need to be vegan (eggs and dairy are the biggest bad guys in our house) and we try to stay away from gluten when we can.  So, I could have made pancakes with wheat flour - but I get a kick out of using gluten-free flours, its an interesting challenge and flours other then wheat flour taste wonderful.

These pancakes are an adaptation of a recipe on Irwin Lin's blog Eat the Love  his Quinoa Cornmeal Lemon Honey Pancakes.  I veganized his recipe and left out the lemon and also his yummy sounding Rosemary infused Maple Syrup - I wanted a simple pancake.  I love the combination of quinoa and corn - so for my first gluten-free pancake, I tried this.  And, these pancakes were incredible!  First bite - heaven...


Flax Meal Slurry:
4 tablespoon golden flax meal
6 tablespoon coconut milk (or other non-dairy milk)

Dry Ingredients:

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons quinoa flour 
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons corn meal
1/4 cup play 2 tablespoons corn starch (non-GMO)
1/4 cup play 2 tablespoons tapioca starch
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons oat flour
1/4 cup almond flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt

Wet Ingredients:
1 cup non-dairy milk (I used coconut milk)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons coconut oil (melt before measuring) or olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons honey

Mix together the flax meal 6 tablespoons coconut milk in a small bowl and let sit (this is the substitute for 2 eggs).

Mix together the 1 cup of coconut milk and vinegar and let sit for a few minutes. 

Mix together the dry ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. 

In a larger bowl, mix together the flax meal slurry, milk and vinegar mixture, and the remaining wet ingredients.

Heat a large skillet or griddle on medium heat.  Film with oil.  When the pan is hot enough, add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix thoroughly.  When the wet and the dry ingredients are mixed together, the baking soda will immediately start reacting with the vinegar  - so get your griddle hot first.

Scoop batter up with a 1/4 cup measure and pour onto the griddle.  Cook until the sides begin to dry out (there may be bubbles on the top) and the bottom side is golden brown.  Flip the pancake over and brown on the other side.  Hold in a warm oven (150 - 200 degrees) until all of the pancakes have been cooked.

(Note: when I made these again, I think I will add a bit more coconut milk to the batter, so that its easier to pour and makes a thinner pancake.)

Serve with a pat of earth balance buttery stick and maple syrup. 

Yum!

almond joy gluten free muffins (vegan too!)

The more I learn about almond flour, the more there is to love.  Most importantly, it tastes sweet and rich.  The richness comes from the beautiful healthy oils of the almond and it's quite high in protein and fiber.  If you are interested in exploring almond flour further, check out Elana Amsterdam's web site (elanaspantry.com) or her book 'the Gluten-Free Almond Flour cookbook'.  She has a lot to say about it.

I was looking around web for ideas when I came across a recipe for Banana Bread with an Almond Joy Twist at mybakingaddiction.com.  I loved the idea of the Almond Joy combination (almonds, coconut, and chocolate) and thought it would be interesting to try with almond flour.  I took apart Jamie's recipe and put it back together, in the process removing the gluten and veganizing it (the bananas did not make the cut...). 

I was so fascinated last month reading the posts for the pancake ratio rally.  What a fun idea!  Because of my cookbook compulsion, I had purchased Michael Ruhlman's book (Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking) when it was published...  but had not put it to use.  (note: see a link to this book in my I Love Cookbooks to the right...)

I got Ruhlman's book because I loved the idea of understanding the hidden mechanics underlying the process of how food happens.   However, all of his baking ratios are based on weight rather than volume measurements - this means using a scale to weigh the ingredients.  The idea of getting a scale and measuring by weight seemed unnecessarily complicated to me at the time. 

Then I'd gotten seriously side-tracked about a year ago when I had to start baking gluten-free, egg-free, and dairy-free because of David's newly discovered food sensitivities. 

Gluten-free baking has the best chance of success with a combination of flours & starches.  Different flours and starches having the same volume, may not have the same weight.  Because of moisture content and other factors, a specific weight in my kitchen may not be the same in yours - although the volume is the same.  I have had pretty good success baking gluten-free using the old measuring by volume - but now that I've gotten used to the scale - its seems easier then my Mother's way of measuring.  Plus fewer things to clean up.  The Gluten-Free Girl's says it all much better in her post 'why we don't use cups in our recipes'. 

 

(beautiful logo designed by Anile Prakash)

Welcome to the gluten free ratio rally, a monthly collaborative blog party!  To find all of the offerings in this month's collaboration focused on Quick Breads and Muffins - visit Silvana's Kitchen.

Please make a point of visiting all the g-free blogs participating in this month's Ratio Rally. You will no doubt make many new discoveries.  And also take time to visit  Silvana's Kitchen, who is our host this month - she has posted a round-up of the whole shee-bang.

Mrs. R of honey from flinty rocks made Lemon Lavender Muffins with Lavender Sugar
Alisha Austin of gfmostlyvegetarian made Sweet Potato Breakfast Loaf
Amanda Schaefer of Gluten Free Maui made Classic Banana, Oat, Pecan Bread
Amie Valpone of  The Healthy Apple made Gluten-Free Agave Apricot Quick Bread
Britt Hodges of GF In The City made Date & Walnut Bread
Brooke Lippy of Bell Wookie made Double Chocolate Cherry Muffin
Caleigh of Gluten Free[k] made Cardamom Banana Bread
Caroline Karasik of The G Spot Revolution made Orange Spice Bread with a Vanilla Glaze
Claire Berman of Gluten Freedom made Piña Colada Muffins with Coconut-Rum Glaze and Toasted Coconut
Danna Owens of Sweet Dees Gluten Free made Blood Orange Cardamom Muffins
Erin Block of Mysteries Internal made Strawberry Yogurt Muffins
Erin Swing of The Sensitive Epicure made Chocolate Chip Walnut Muffins with Streusel
Flo of Makanaibio made 2 Recettes de Muffins ou de Gateau Rapides
Gretchen of kumquat made Gingerbread Fig Loaf
Irvin of Eat The Love made Gluten Free Glazed Meyer Lemon Muffins filled with Slow Roasted Balsamic Red Wine Strawberry Jam
Jenn of Jenn Cuisine made Chestnut and Chocolate Quickbread
Karen Robertson of Cooking Gluten Free made Muffins
Kate Brabon of Kate Alice Cookbook made Raspberry Banana Crumble-Top Muffins
Kate Chan of Gluten Free Gobsmacked made Mocha + Chocolate Chip Muffins/Quickbread
Lauren McMillan of Celiac Teen made Cocoa Quickbread
Lisa of Gluten Free Canteen made Almond Cherry Berry Banana Muffins, Gluten Free
Lisa of With Style and Grace made Rosemary Lemon Quick Bread
Marla Meridith of Family Fresh Cooking made Strawberry Snack Cakes
Mary Frances of Gluten Free Cooking School made Cranberry Orange Bread with Cream Cheese Icing
Meaghan Cassidy of The Wicked Good Vegan made Vegan Gluten-Free Apricot-Orange Bread
Nannette Minley of Nannette Raw made Chai Muffins
Robyn of Chocswirl made Brown Butter Apple Spice Muffins with Pecan Nut Streusel
Shauna of Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef made Lemon Poppyseed Bread with Ginger Glaze
Silvana of Silvana's Kitchen made Chocolate-Coated Marshmallow-Topped Vanilla Cupcakes
Danna at Sweet Dees Gluten Free made Blood Orange Cardamom Muffins
Tara of A Baking Life made Carmelized Banana Bread with Pecan Streusel
Wendy Kirby of La Phemme Phoodie made Cheesy Apple Butter Bread with Garlic Powder
Winnie Abramson of Healthy Green Kitchen made Brown Butter Banana Bread

... back to the scale. 

Just a week before reading about the pancake rally, I had purchased an OXO scale because I wanted to try a recipe for gluten-free pizza crust which was in ounces.  See my lovely OXO scale above (note:  I read many many reviews of several different scales on amazon - the OXO had the best reviews and more of them). 

So, I was excited that the ratio rally was happening at the exact moment that I felt ready (emotionally ready and hardware ready).

Here’s the quick bread / muffin ratio from Ruhlman’s book  (2 parts flour, 2 parts liquid, 1 part egg, 1 part fat).  Which for my purposes here translates roughly to the following:

8 oz flour

4 oz sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon baking powder

8 oz milk

4 oz eggs (2 large)

4 oz butter, melted

So, here's my recipe for:

Almond Joy Muffins - gluten-free, sugar-free & vegan

(inspired by Jamie at mybakingaddiction.com)

Flax Meal Slurry (sub for 2 eggs):
4 tablespoons golden flax meal
6 tablespoons coconut milk

Dry Ingredients:

4 oz blanched almond flour (finely ground)

2 oz tapioca flour

2 oz quinoa flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoon baking soda

Wet Ingredients:

4 oz coconut oil, melted (or olive oil)

4 oz agave
4 oz flax meal slurry    

1 teaspoon vanilla

8 oz coconut milk, warmed to room temperature

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

½ cup bittersweet chocolate, shaved (or dark chocolate chips)

½ cup unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup chopped sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a standard muffin tin with 12 muffin papers. 

Mix golden flax meal and 6 tablespoons coconut milk with a fork to make the slurry.  This mixture needs to sit for a few minutes to thicken.

Whisk together all dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. 

In a larger bowl, combine oil (the coconut oil needs to be mostly liquid to measure - I just warm up the jar in the microwave) and agave with a whisk, add 4 oz of the flax meal slurry.  Add vanilla and coconut milk (the coconut oil will begin to solidify as it comes in contact with the cold coconut oil – it will work just fine as long as the clumps of coconut oil are small - to avoid this issue, warm the coconut milk slightly)  Add vinegar.  Whisk vigorously to blend the wet ingredients completely. 

Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture in 3 additions, mixing well after each.  Gently fold in chocolate chips, coconut, and almonds.

Do not let this batter sit around, the vinegar will immediately start to react with baking soda causing bubbles - which is exactly what you want, but you will want it to be in the oven as its doing so.

Distribute batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups (the cups will be full to the top - don't worry about that, the batter will rise a bit, but not much).  Bake about 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway thru (in my oven, these muffins bake exactly 30 minutes).  Bake until muffins are deeply golden brown (almond flour batters brown beautifully!) and a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pan for 5 - 10 minutes before removing (carefully) to a wire rack to cool.

confession:  I originally intended this as a loaf, which I tried, but the high percentage of almond flour meant the cooked full-sized loaf was a bit fragile, especially warm - so the whole loaf fell apart!  We ate it anyway, just breaking off big chunks - because it was so good!  If you try this recipe as a loaf, be sure to let it cool, before attempting the de-pan maneuver.  If allowed to cool to room temperature, the coconut oil will hold the whole loaf together.  If you have mini-loaf pans, that would be fun also.

Options: 
- substitute butter (room temperature) for the coconut oil
- substitute 2 eggs for the flax meal slurry
- substitute any other non-dairy milk for the coconut milk (wouldn't almond milk be nice?)
- if you like the original idea of banana - substitute mashed banana for flax meal slurry
- for the tapioca flour, you can substitute arrowroot, cornstarch, or potato starch
- for the quinoa flour, substitute millet or sorghum flour
- substitute honey or maple syrup for the agave

Sour Cream Crumb Cake with Berries

I love rustic cakes such as the one below - to me a crumb cake does not have the fine texture of a yellow cake and usually has fruit or pureed vegetables (at least at our house) and, of course, includes a crumb topping.  And, its easy to slip whole grains into this sort of cake. 

If you do not need to make this gluten-free, substitute whole wheat pastry flour for the flour mix below (in this case, definitely leave out the xanthum gum).  Also, use eggs in place of the flax meal slurry.  But, honestly, once you start baking without eggs, you will wonder why the are so ubiquitous.  Especially in a cake like this, you will probably not miss the lift from the eggs.  The addition of the flax meal also brings some extra fiber and omega 3s.

Although agave is used in the cake itself, I like brown sugar in the topping.  Agave can probably be used in the topping, but the texture will be different.

Feel free to leave the xanthum gum out (or use less) - some folks are really bothered by it.  It does improve the texture of the cake and without it, the cake will tend to be a bit more crumbly - but it will still be good!

Flax seed slurry (substitute for 2 eggs)

4 tablespoons golden flax meal

6 tablespoons liquid (I use coconut milk)

Dry Ingredients:

350 gram whole grain gluten free baking mix (about 3 cups) - see below for the mix

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon xanthum gum (optional)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Wet Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil (melt before measuring) or olive oil

1 cup vegan sour cream

1/2 cup agave

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 - 2 cups mixed berries (can be frozen)

Topping:

4 tablespoons earth balance buttery stick

1/2 - 1 cup walnuts, chopped

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 - 1 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

Oil a 13" x 9" glass baking pan or muffin pan.  Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Mix together flax meal and coconut milk and set aside.

Mix together ingredients for the topping and set aside.

Sift dry ingredients together in a small bowl.  In a larger bowl, mix wet ingredients together along with flax meal slurry (or 2 eggs).  Add dry ingredients to the wet mix and combine well.  Add half of the berries and mix (batter will be stiff).  If your batter is without eggs, taste the batter to make sure you like the level of sweetness - add more if you like.

Press batter into the 13" x 9" pan or spoon into muffin cups.  Add the remaining berries to the top of the cake (or muffins) and gently press into the cake.  Crumble topping over top.

Bake about 50 - 60 minutes for the 13" x 9" pan (if using frozen berries, baking will take a few minutes longer).  Bake 20 - 25 minutes for muffins.  Test with a toothpick - baking times always vary depending on your oven, the type of flours you have used, even the humidity on that particular day.

Options:

- substitute applesauce or mashed banana for the sour cream

- add finely chopped apple or pear instead of berries

- substitute honey or maple syrup for the agave (or about 3/4 cup brown sugar)

- add pumpkin or sweet potato puree instead the berries

- substitute chocolate chips for the berries (now we're talking…)

- add chopped nuts to the cake

- leave out the topping above and simply sprinkle the unbaked cake with a cinnamon/sugar mixture

- substitute the baking mix I used with a purchased mix (such as Pamela's or Bob's Red Mill)

Gluten-Free Baking Mix:

300 grams superfine brown rice flour

100 grams almond meal / flour

200 grams quinoa flour

100 grams corn flour (non-GMO)

150 grams tapioca flour

150 arrowroot

Yes, I used a scale here.  And it makes about double what you need for the coffee cake recipe (store the rest in the frig).  But you can approximate this mix by using with the following formula:

3 cups of gluten free baking mix = 2 cups gluten-free flour and 1 cup starch

2 cups of any of the following flours in combination (use at least 2 different flours):

Almond

Amaranth

Brown Rice

Buckwheat

Corn

Millet

Oat

Quinoa

Sorghum

1 cup of any one of the following (or in combination):

Arrowroot

Cornstarch

Potato Starch

Tapioca Flour

White Rice Flour

Experiment with different flours and have fun!  The above cake recipe is very forgiving and will turn out pretty good so matter what you do.  Well almost...