Almond Streusel Coffee Cake
“I think this is the best thing you have ever made. Literally.”
— Terradon Iler
Wintertime is a delight with snow on the ground and cake on my plate!
The holidays are here and visions of sugar plums dance in our heads. A time for family, for eggnog, for sweet, sweet treats and for all the remorse that comes of eating them.
Who can resist the aroma wafting from the oven? If you are baker, can you resist making those aromas that you must then resist consuming?
Holiday baking is a joy, but it is also a lot of work. It takes time to makes all those goodies, and the idea of making two batches does not appeal. But, what if your family has split needs? Do you make vegan goodies that the conventional folks will avoid? Do you make conventional treats and suffer the consequences of eating gluten and dairy?
I have a solution for you that will knock your fuzzy slippers off. Coffee cake. Sweet, glorious coffee cake. Perfect for brunches, for parties, or just because you want it, dang it! Easy to make, fabulous to eat, and sure to please even the most picky conventional eater.
I love baking. I have made cakes, breads, cookies and bars. I especially love making sweet treats, and I have shared many with my sister over the years, to our mournful delight. This cake is a high quality treat that meets all my personal standards. It is light, moist, and smooth. There are no off flavors to apologize for and I would have no qualms choosing this over the original recipe, even if fats and carbs were a non-issue. Terradon says the same about the gluten and vegan aspects of the cake. It is just wonderful and needs no explanations.
Making this cake was an adventure, and one I will happily repeat. We are using both bananas and flax to replace the eggs. I used regular brown sugar and powdered sugar this time, but next time I will make my own using the Lakota Monk Fruit blend.
There is a story to making this cake, which I will share after the recipe, so you can get right to it!
You can find the recipe here: http://wp.me/p5RWWQ-7P
Almond Streusel Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- ~Streusel~
- 1 C brown sugar
- 1 C sliced almonds
- 1/4 C 30 g Maninis Gluten-Free Flour Blend
- 3 TBSP Earth Balance Baking Stick melted
- 1 TSP grated orange zest
- ~Cake~
- 1/2 C 1 stick Earth Balance Baking Stick, softened
- 1/2 C Lakanto Monk Fruit Blend
- 1/2 C 180 g Mashed Banana
- 1 TBSP Ground Flax
- 3 TBSP Water
- TSP Orange Zest
- 1/2 TSP Vanilla Extract
- 2 C 240 g Maninis Gluten Free Flour Blend
- 1 TSP Baking Powder
- 1 TSP Baking Soda
- 2/3 C Orange Juice
- ~Glaze~
- 1/2 C Powdered Sugar
- 2 1/2 TSP Orange Juice
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350º and grease a 9 or 10 inch tube pan.
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Prepare streusel. Mix brown sugar, nut, and flour in a medium bowl. Stir in butter and orange zest. Set aside.
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Prepare flax egg replacement. In a cup, combine the ground flax and the 3 TBSP of water, then stir and set aside.
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Beat butter and sugar until fluffy, add eggs (bananas, then flax) a bit at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in zest and vanilla.
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In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and baking soda together. Add flour mixture and the orange juice to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour and alternating between them. You will get a sticky batter that can be spooned, not poured.
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Spoon half of the batter into the prepared tube pan, then sprinkle with half of the streusel. Add the rest of the batter and cover with the remaining streusel.
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Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
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Prepare the glaze. In a cup, stir together the powdered sugar and the orange juice until smooth. Once the cake is cool, drizzle with the glaze.
Recipe Notes
I greased my pan with a coconut baking spray. You can use anything you wish, ranging from solid fats (butter, coconut oil, etc) to liquid fats (olive oil, avocado oil, etc.) so long as you get good coverage.
I am calling the Earth Balance Baking Stick butter in the instructions because the full name is too long, and saying "stir in the melted baking stick" is just weird. I trust you will forgive me. The same is true with other ingredients. Flour, Butter, Sugar - they are all substituted. I was more specific for the eggs, of course.
Be sure to use a tablespoon of ground flax. A tablespoon of unground flax will yield more once ground, so measure after you grind. I use a spice-dedicated coffee grinder for all my grinding needs.
When making the flax egg, it needs some time to set up. It should thicken before you use it. If it is too watery, add a little more ground flax and give it more time, a minute or two should be all you need.
Any bananas will do for this recipe, but think about it like banana bread - the riper the banana, the moister and creamier it will be. It will also combine better.
This dough is really sticky. Once I got in the first half, I spread it around with a silicon spatula as best I could, but when I added the streusel, I was able to use it to smooth it out. I did the same on the top.
Note: I do not suggest making brown sugar with Lakanto and molasses for this cake. I have had the best results with conventional brown sugar.
Adapted from Great American Home Baking
The trouble, I was fairly certain, was the egg substitute. I had used pumpkin, which has worked very well in other dishes, but I feared that it was the wrong choice for coffee cake. So, I called in the experts. King Arthur Flour has a baking hotline. Just call the number and ask for help. Whether you are using their recipe or not, they will give you a free advice. And, I have never been placed on hold or had to contend with an IVR. They also have a chat line. (Can you tell I really love them? They also have great recipes!)
Why did it fail? What, I asked, does egg do in a coffee cake? I knew that pumpkin adds moisture, but eggs also bind, emulsify, and leven. What was I missing? My expert told me that, in coffee cake, eggs do moisture and binding. So, I formulated a new plan.
This recipe calls for three eggs, which gave me some room to experiment. We settled on one part flax and two part banana. Banana adds moisture, but it also binds, whereas the flax is a great binder. I used my usual Maninis flour blend, and an Earth Balance baking stick. I decided to use real brown sugar, but replaced the granulated sugar with the Lakanto blend.
I don’t currently own a tube pan, and the DIY substitutes were clever, but too short for my purposes. My dad loaned me a decorative bundt pan, and I was off! It was 10:30 pm when I got started, and I was in high energy mode, having just come home from the movies, (Moana is amazing!) and my night owl nature kicked into high gear.
When I pulled it from the oven, I was afraid I would have trouble removing it from the pan, but it slid out clean and easy. The top was a little wider than the bottom, because bundt cakes are meant to be served upside down. I was concerned that the cake would collapse, but I when placed on the platter, my fears were allayed.
Upon waking the next day, I was surprised that it was untouched. I expected folks to eat it for breakfast, but it was still pristine and beautiful. So, I took knife in hand and and gave it a try.
Oh! Oh, yes!
Could it be any more festive?
This cake is delightful. It is moist, delicate, and delicious. And, it was worth every minute of prep. I might try it again with lemon instead of orange, and I might try to make it straight up almond flavored. But, I am simply delighted with this cake, and I hope you will love it just as much as we do.
It is now 12:51 pm and I have covered the remaining two slices of coffee cake for Cameron (my hubby) and Jason (Terradon’s squeeze.) With the holidays approaching, we have decided to make it again. Terradon and I are hosting Christmas Eve here at Rookhaven, and this coffee cake will make an appearance. I may have to impose rationing! And, I think it just became a new tradition in our Christmas Smorgasbord.
I love tradition, and I love finding something that makes tradition even better. This cake deserves a place. So, thank you, Terradon, for the coffee cake craving that started it all!