All posts tagged GAPS

Recently I experimented with a traditional pound cake (which is equal parts butter, eggs, sugar, and flour).  I used sucanat and sprouted flour.  It was pretty darn yummy, and I really like that texture.  It is very high in sugar, though!

Then, several days later, I was inspired to bake something with almond flour.  The way I create recipes now is that I kind of get an idea, and I go by feel/inspiration.  I just have a ‘sense’ how many eggs I should use, or how much baking powder, or whatever.  So, I was inspired and I mixed some things together.  I knew I would get a cake (as opposed to blondies, another idea I’d had), but I wasn’t sure just how it would come out.

How it came out was delicious.

It is like a pound cake in texture — very dense, but with a very fine crumb.  Obviously it’s not real pound cake, just reminiscent.  It’s only lightly sweet so it’s actually made a very healthy breakfast for us.  It would be perfectly paired with my real buttercream frosting.  You could have a birthday party and serve this cake and frosting and no one would even know it was part of a special diet!  It’s that good.  Are you ready?

(And yes this sort of counts as part of my ‘lunch’ series…I would encourage you to make this and serve it for a quick breakfast or part of lunch because it really is so healthy.  You’ll see Cheeseballs and Philly Cheesesteak Pockets really soon though.)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. butter (could sub coconut oil)
• 1/4 c. raw honey
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/4 c. almond flour

Directions:

Melt the butter, then add the honey and stir together.

Add the eggs. I apparently I forgot to take a pic of adding the first three.  Beat this very well, because the texture largely comes from the eggs.  Add the sea salt.

Beat this well.  Then add your almond flour and vanilla.

Stir until combined.  It should be a thick batter, but not too thick.  Definitely still liquid.

Pour this into a cake pan.  8×8 would work, but I used 7×11 (I think).  I would probably double this if you wanted a “real” cake because this will be fairly thin when baked.

Bake at 350 for 30 – 35 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Allow to cool, then frost if desired and serve.

You could also choose to simply butter it, or cover it in nut butter, and it would really make an excellent on-the-go lunch.  It’s a great balance of fat-protein-carbs so despite it being a “cake” it could be a main dish.  Or dessert.  Whatever.

**This post has been entered in GAPS-Friendly Fridays, Homestead Barn Hop, Frugal Days and Sustainable Ways, Real Food Wednesdays.**

How do you serve pound cake?

I thought it might be interesting to see if I could use coconut flour to make a type of gingerbread.  Now, I don’t — unfortunately — really like the way coconut flour bakes.  Never have.  But my kids do, and my husband is back on GAPS, so… coconut flour it is.  These muffins are totally GAPS-friendly, and they’re a spicy, interesting flavor.  The kids couldn’t stop eating them.  Make them and see what you think!

Ingredients:

• ¾ c. coconut flour
• ½ tsp. sea salt
• ¾ tsp. ginger
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. nutmeg
• 1/3 c. coconut oil
• ½ c. raw honey
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 6 tbsp. milk (use coconut milk if you are on GAPS)

Directions:

Gather your ingredients.  Preheat your oven to 350.

Put the coconut oil and, if necessary, honey into a small pot to melt.  You can see that my honey, which is raw, is basically “creamed” now, so it doesn’t mix or dissolve well unless gently heated.  Do this over very low heat, as it really only needs to get to 76 to melt the coconut oil and not much hotter to melt the honey.

In a large glass bowl, add your coconut flour.

To this, add all your spices (including sea salt).

Add the now-melted honey and oil.

Add the eggs.  No, I didn’t beat mine first.  I forgot.  I beat them in the side of the bowl right after this picture, and it worked.  Can you tell which one my 4-year-old, who was helping, cracked all by herself?

Now, add the milk.  (Yes, stir the batter first.  It will be very thick still.)

Stir the batter until smooth.  It will still be kind of thick, but not too much.  Scoop the batter into greased or lined muffin trays.  Fill each muffin cup 1/2 to 2/3 full.  They won’t expand very much, as the eggs are the only “rising” agent they have.  That’s okay.

Pop them in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Now you have lovely grain-free muffins!

**This post has been entered in Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop.**

What’s your favorite grain-free treat?

Curious what the most popular recipes of 2011 were?  Maybe you’ve missed one, if you’re a newer reader!  Here are some yummy dishes to try!

1. White Bean Vanilla Cake
2. Almond Flour Muffins
3. Almond Flour Carrot Cake
4. Kombucha
5. Chicken and Potatoes
6. Coconut Chocolate Muffins
7. Chocolate Cake ( GAPS friendly)
8. Chocolate Fudge
9. Apple Upside Down Muffins
10. Chocolate Almond Coconut Candy

My readers really like their desserts…especially chocolate!

What are your favorite recipes?