Apple Almond Coffeecake

This is another gluten-free, dairy-free recipe that I have created to help you have an alternative baked good treat that you can make at home. You will not settle for boxed gluten-free cookies and sweets after smelling this fill up your home. A main objective I have in my gluten-free baking is to make sure that I am also using the most nutritious ingredients I can get into the recipe. Many gluten-free mixes you can buy at the store often have more refined white flours like rice, corn and potato. It is not easy to find a whole grain gluten-free mix that you can also get more fiber with. I prefer to use gluten-free flours that are also nourishing your body as you enjoy them. This recipe though is not friendly to nut-allergies because the main ingredient is almonds, so I am sorry to those that cannot eat nuts (I will put out another recipe soon that you can use that does not have almonds in it). I have discovered that I love using ground almonds in baking. The almonds always give the bread or cake great texture and it is chewy and moist at the same time. You can even taste the crunch of the almond occasionally. You are eating more protein as well, and the almond oil is a much needed oil to help lower levels of bad fats in your body. So let me get started with the ingredients:

Dry mix:

3 cups ground almond meal ( I grind raw almonds in my coffee grinder until I get 3 cups full of ground almonds).

1/8 cup of arrowroot powder (this is a starch that you can find in the health store for sure).

1/4 cup of buckwheat flour

1/4 cup of sorghum flour

2 ts. of baking powder

1 ts of baking soda

2ts. of cinnamon

1 ts. of cardamon

1 ts. of nutmeg

1/2 ts. of ground cloves

1/2 ts. sea salt

Wet mix:

1/2 cup of almond milk (or rice milk)

1 cup of organic sucanat

1/4 cup of grapeseed oil

1/2 ts. of apple cider vinegar

juice of one lemon

3 free range cage free eggs

4 heaping cups of finely diced apples

1/4 cup of organic currants to top

1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans to top

1/4 cup of sucanat to top

Mix the dry ingredients together thoroughly and then add the wet ingredients. Mix well and then add the 4 cups of apples to the mix. You will notice that it binds well together because of the almond meal and is easy to mix up quickly. Pour into a well-greased 9x13 or 12x12 circle pan. I grease with organic palm shortening so that it is easy to get the cake out of the pan. I used a circle pan for this cake because I like the look of it, but it would fill up a 9x13 pan as well.

Top with the currants for flavor and looks, and if you want to top with an extra nut, I used walnuts, but pecans would taste good as well. I like to also save some sucanat to top to add a little crispy sugar coating to the final product. This cake is huge so it can serve many people.

Bake for 35-40 minutes on 350 degrees. You can tell when it is done because it is nicely browned and when you stick a pic in the middle of the cake it comes out dry.

Now, after smelling this sweet aroma fill the house you are going to want to cut into it before your guests arrive. Thats ok :) I did too, and I wanted to make sure it tasted ok :) It serves up well cut into pieces as a coffeecake, or breakfast bread, or even a dessert. So, make sure you take the time to make this one, it is well worth it and so enjoyable. I hope that you have a blessed easter holiday and remember what matters most in life. Enjoy and much love to you.