When I found out that I had candida overgrowth and gluten intolerance, I had to make some pretty drastic changes to my diet, and many of my staple foods were suddenly on the forbidden list. One of the things I missed the most right away was baked goods, so I started experimenting with making bread using allowed flours, but not being much of a baker, the initial results were sad to say the least. But after a while, I eventually got the hang of it, and so far, one of my favorite things that has come out of this diet change is this coffee cake.
This slightly sweet, gluten, soy, nut, sugar and yeast-free coconut chai coffee cake is spicy, filling, and so good that I will keep making it forever! I eat as part of my breakfast, and I especially love it with together with my herbal chai; I think they go so well together because they contain many of the same health promoting spices (read more about why these spices are so good for you in the herbal chai post).
The cake is really easy to make and tastes best after it has been resting in the fridge overnight. I bake it in the evening and just leave it in the pan, covered with foil, until I eat breakfast the next day. I really encourage you to resist the temptation to try it warm right out of the oven – it’s just not as good, and it crumbles a lot if you cut it before it has cooled.
All the spices I use here are the dried, ground variety, and I always use organic. I buy mine at Mountain Rose Herbs – they are great quality, all organic, and a lot less expensive than in the grocery store.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup coconut flour
- ¾ cup oat bran (gluten free if needed)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tbsp cinnamon
- ¾ tsp cloves
- 1 ½ tsp ginger
- 1 ½ tsp cardamom
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp to 2 tsp stevia depending on brand
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup Kefir (my favorite brand is Wallaby)
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk (½ liquid, ½ thick part of a can)
- 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 1 ½ - 2 tbsp shredded coconut
Instructions
- Melt the coconut oil over low heat until it’s just melted (if needed - on warm days it’s naturally liquid, but in the colder months, it stays solid even at room temperature) and let it cool.
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Generously grease a loaf pan with coconut oil.
- Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and stir with a fork to blend. Coconut flour tends to clump a LOT, so be sure to sift it.
- With an electric mixer, beat the eggs until foamy. Stir in the kefir and coconut milk and last, with the mixer going, slowly add the cooled off coconut oil. Once blended, add the dry ingredients and stir just so that everything is blended well (do not overmix).
- Put half of the batter in the pan (it won’t be pourable, you’ll have to scoop it out), sprinkle over the shredded coconut and then add the rest of the batter on top.
- Bake for about 1 hour (everyone’s oven is different, but in mine, just under an hour is perfect), take it out and let it sit on the counter to cool. When it has cooled completely, place a piece of foil over the top and put in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.
- When ready, take the cake out of the pan, slice and enjoy!
Notes
A note about stevia The first stevia I ever tried were individual packets from Wholesome Sweeteners and I liked it. It tastes pretty much like sugar to me, and that’s what I have been using all along. Then I tried another, certified gluten free, variety. Yuck! I put the same amount of that in this cake (2 tsp) and it came out horrible! Way too sweet and there is a bitterness of that stevia that gives me a headache. So if you use stevia in this recipe, definitely adjust the amount accordingly. If I were to use that other brand in this, I would probably put in no more than ¼ tsp, at most. If I were to make this with sugar instead, I would use coconut sugar (I haven’t tried it, so I don’t know how much you would need).
Leave a Reply