The Best Coffee Cake

This is a crowd pleaser!  My family begs for this every now & then, but I try to only make it on special occasions.  It's not a "low sugar" breakfast, so I try to make it a special treat.  Enjoy this special recipe that I adapted from a recipe passed down from my mom.



INGREDIENTS:

-2 1/2 cups gluten free flour*
-1 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
-2 cups brown sugar or coconut sugar
-1/2 tsp sea salt
-2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil or butter (I use Earth Balance)

DIRECTIONS:

mix til crumbly
take out 1/2 cup of mixture & set aside
To what's left over, add:

REMAINING INGREDIENTS:

-2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 baking soda
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1 cup curdled milk substitute (coconut milk or sub with 1 tbsp of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar - let it set for 5 minutes)
-2 flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flaxseed + 6 tbsp water.  Mix & let gel for a few minutes.)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix remaning ingredients.  Beat at medium high speed for 1-2 minutes or until light & fluffy.
2. Prepare a 9x11 pan.  Spread mixture out evenly.  Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.  Next, take cake out of oven & sprinkle the 1/2 cup crumbly mixture over the top.  Bake for 10-15 more minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.


* For a LIGHTER flour blend, use 1 cup sweet white rice flour, 1 cup tapioca starch, and 1/2 cup sorghum flour.
For a HEALTHIER flour blend, use 1 cup brown rice flour, 1 cup sorghum flour, 1/2 cup millet flour.

Allergy Free Foods We Use Regularly

Here are some of the products we regularly buy that are gluten free, dairy free, etc.  I will try to keep the list updated as I think of more things.  I hope this helps even just one person!  When we were first starting out, I had a few people come along side of me (thanks Alicia & Tom Moore & Mary Lou Hom!!!) who were able to point me to certain products that were helpful in starting our overwhelming journey of changing the entire way we eat.  Yes, at first it is overwhelming, especially if you have never shopped at, say, Whole Foods, but after a while things get easier, you know where things are in the stores and you find yourself experimenting with all sorts of crazy ingredients you may never have even heard of until recently!  We have been on this food journey less than two years as of now, and I am still learning new stuff almost every day.  But, I hope what I have learned can help those of you who might be just starting out.  I remember those first months and how helpless I felt.  Anyhow, the Lord has really taken me by the hand and led me and given me much peace.  I still struggle at times (esp lately when we seemed to have regressed in our progress or to have developed some NEW allergies) but I am confident that the Lord will see us through it.  Take the Lord by the hand and let him lead you in this journey.  He will carry you and comfort you and he will show you that you are NOT alone in this.  HE is always with you and will give you the strength you need moment by moment!  I have learned to lean on him much more than I ever have had to before in our journey with food, and I thank him that he has used this for his glory.   

Products We Use That Are:

Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Peanut, Egg, Almond, Garlic, Amaranth, Lentil, Shellfish FREE

-         OrganicVille Organic Ketchup

-         Daiya Cheddar and Mozzarella style shreds

-     Daiya Cheddar Style Wedge (you can slice the cheese for sandwiches!)

-         Earth Balance Butter (we use the soy free in the red container)

-         Once again Organic Sunflower Seed Butter (it is contaminated, so Silas can't have it...I make his myself)

-     Cashew Butter (I can't find an uncontaminated brand for Silas to have, but I make my own)

-     Kettle Brand Hazelnut Butter (can't have this anymore, as Si is allergic)

-         Glutino Gluten Free Pretzels (YUM!)

-         Enjoy Life soft baked cookies (they have all sorts of flavors!)

-         Enjoy Life Chewy on the go Bars

-     Lara Bars (If you can have nuts)

-         EnerG breads (make sure to toast them before you eat it!)  We like the tapioca loafs & brown rice loaf the best

-         Edward & Sons Baked Organic Brown Rice Snaps

-    Quaker Rice Cakes (plain & salted) are a new gluten free addition to the list!

-         Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (use it to bake, fry, use it as butter, etc!)

-         Bob’s Gluten Free Red Mill Oats

-         Chex cereals (rice, cinnamon, and corn, & now chocolate which are newly dairy free)

-         Envirokids Organic cereals (Panda Puffs, Koala Crisp, Amazon Frosted Flakes, and Gorilla Munch)

-     Enjoy Life Cereals:  Very Berry Crunch Granola & Cinnamon Raisin Crunch Granola

-         Kix

-         Real Foods Corn Thinks (organic, original)

-         So Delicious Coconut yogurt

-         So Delicious Coconut Milk (I like unsweetened best)

-         So Delicious Coconut Ice Cream  (We usually buy plain Vanilla, chocolate, or Mint Chip)

-Luna & Larry's Organic Coconut Bliss

-         Organic Rice Milk  (I like unsweetened best)

-         Premium Gold Organic Golden Omega Flaxseed (for use instead of eggs in baking & I buy the preground stuff at costco)

-         Spectrum Organic All Vegetable Shortening (palm oil) (for use instead of Crisco soybean shortening)

-         Coconut Secret Raw Coconut Aminos Soy Free Seasoning Sauce (as a substitute for soy sauce)

-     Guittard Chocolate Chips (regular chocolate chip or dark chocolate chip, although these DO CONTAIN SOY LECITHIN and were manufactured on equipment that once had dairy on it.)

-     Bob's Red Mill flours for baking - Tapioca Starch, Rice Flours (white, sweet white, brown), Potato Starch, Sorghum Flour

-    Bob's Red Mill GF pancake mix

-    Bob's Red Mill GF brownie mix


-    Bob's Red Mill GF pizza crust mix


-    Bob's Red Mill GF cornbread mix

-    Edward & Sons:  Let's Do Gluten Free Sugar Cones or Ice Cream Cones

-   Oscar Mayer Selects hot dogs

-   Garden Veggie Crisps

-    Kettle & Lays plain potato chips (not made with soybean oil)

-    Brown, Batsami, & Jasmine rice, quinoa, buckwheat groats, millet

Banana Oat Pancakes

So, on the rotation diet, one day the only grain Silas can eat is oats.  Silas happens to HATE oatmeal and honestly, I am not very creative when it comes to cooking.  We have had a very difficult time working around this dreaded day (day two in the rotation, shudder!)  I am FORCING myself to learn and forge a path through this undiscovered territory.  My mom & I discussed different ways we could make a pancake type bread that could be used as a pancake or in the form of a sandwich.  Mom mom created the recipe & I tweaked it & discovered what works & what doesn't work.  Now, I wouldn't say this is perfect, but if you want to try it & let me know what you think (and how to possibly improve it), I would be delighted!

I did NOT use egg replacer in this recipe, rather I used banana as the agent which holds the masterpiece together.  Feel free to experiment with that.  On our oat day (in our 4 day rotation diet), we need to stay away from the ingredients in egg replacer, that is why I opted for the simple ingredients in this recipe.  Another thing worth mentioning is that I tried both baking soda and baking powder in different combinations and neither of them works in this recipe.  They do make the texture fluffier, but the banana's properties which hold the pancake together seem to become pointless when these ingredients are added.  Turning the pancake becomes nearly impossible! 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups Oat Flour (I ground up Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Oats in my blender)
1 banana
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp gluten free vanilla
3/4 cup rice or coconut milk*
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Blend up one banana until it is light & frothy in the blender (or mush it with a fork until it is as mushed as you can get it.)  Add all ingredients & stir until well mixed.  Heat a pan & make sure to spray it so the pancake won't stick (spray it again when you flip the pancake.)  Pour a small scoop (six inches or less when it settles).  Spread it out more with a spatula or spoon if it needs to be thinned a bit.  Flip & cook the other side, then when both sides are done, enjoy!  This is mighty tasty with some earth balance dairy & soy free butter topping it, by itself, with jam, etc.  Makes "Oat Day" something for us to look forward to!!!

*If the first pancake seems too thick & has a hard time cooking all the way through, add more milk to the batter for the rest of the batch.