Gluten Free Banana Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake Recipe, Vegan, too!

Hello?  Is anyone here?  I’m here!  My last post was exactly one year ago.  What in the world have I been doing?  Just being a busy mom of three teenagers and a ten year old.  That and I just felt like I needed a break.  Not sure why.  I have missed blogging terribly.  I started feeling like a part of who I am was missing.  I love baking and I love sharing it with others.  My health is great!  I cannot complain at all.  With my diet changes of going gluten free and refined sugar free (and my 15 year old deciding to be vegan!), I think I had just been in a rut on what to do, what to make, what to share and post here.  But I decided I really want to try again with this little part of me that was missing.  I’m not in it for hundreds of thousands of visitors.  I’m not going to be making videos.  My blog is WAY outdated.  But I don’t care.  I need to do it for me.  A lot of it is that I’ve just decided I need to keep documenting things I love somewhere else besides just scribbled in a notebook.

 

My idea the last couple months has been to take some of my favorite tried-and-true recipes, whether they be from here on my blog, or favorite blogs or cookbooks and make them gluten free, refined sugar free, and sometimes vegan and share them with you.  I’ve made a number of things already and am so happy with how they are turning out with simple changes like gluten free flours, unrefined sugars (coconut sugar, raw honey, agave, etc.).  I plan to share links to my favorite cookbooks, blogs and recipes as they were originally made, then post my changed results here.  Does that sound good?  I think so.  I’ve asked a few people and they think it’s a great idea.  So I’m here to try it!

 

Now, this cake—I first shared this cake not long after starting my blog in February 2008!  I saw it on a blog, who adapted it from Bon Appetit in a 2003 magazine article.  I adapted it enough that I’m leaving you the link to my post for this Absolutely Delicious Banana Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake.  I made this more times than I can count over the years.  Well, I’ve come up with a new, delicious favorite that everyone here loves, except it’s gluten free, vegan and refined sugar free.  The boys don’t care!  This is a good sign.  A lot of times, they won’t even try something when I tell them it’s gluten free.  This is gone so quickly every time I’ve made it recently, which is like three or four times. 

I made this again yesterday for dinner as we were having the LDS sister missionaries over and one of them has celiacs.  They both went crazy over how good it was and we let them take the leftover cake home.  There wasn’t a lot left, maybe two pieces, but it’s because they had seconds while we were eating it!  Win.  I love when someone is happy with something I’ve made, especially when there are changes that most would think would make something taste strange.  This one is good!  Try it!  It is our go-to when we have overripe bananas.

 

Gluten Free Banana Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake (vegan), by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

*Streusel topping:

1/4 cup coconut sugar**

1/2 tablespoons agave nectar

1/4 cup pecans, chopped

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips

 

Cake:

1 1/2 cups gluten free flour blend (xanthan gum included)

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1/4 cup agave nectar

1/2 cup (4 ounces) coconut oil

1 flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed, 2 1/2 tablespoons water, let sit for 5 minutes)

1 1/3 cup mashed banana (about 4 small/medium or 3 large bananas)

3 tablespoons almond milk (or non-dairy milk of your choice)

1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (I use Bragg’s)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Make the streusel topping.  Combine the coconut sugar with the agave, mix together with a fork until it is all moist like brown sugar.  Add the pecans, cinnamon and chocolate chips.  Stir together, set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line an 8x8 inch square pan (9x9 also works fine!) with nonstick foil and spray lightly with a non-propellant cooking spray (I like coconut oil).  In a small bowl, make the flax egg, let it sit while you prepare the rest.  In another small bowl, combine the almond milk and vinegar, let sit.  In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, whisk together and set aside.  In a large bowl, add the coconut sugar, agave and coconut oil.  Whisk until well combined.  Whisk in the flax egg and almond milk mixture and the vanilla.  Stir in mashed banana (sometimes I pulse it in a food processor, sometimes I just mash them with a fork).  Fold in the dry ingredients.  Pour into the prepared pan and spread evenly.  Evenly sprinkle the topping over the cake batter.  Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with just a few crumbs.  Let cool on a wire rack completely.  Remove pan using foil edges.  Carefully remove cake from the foil and put it on a serving plate.

*Note—The original Absolutely Delicious Banana Cake I linked above also has streusel in the middle.  I did make it that way once (photo above), but decided it’s not necessary.  Good, but not necessary.  So if you’d like you can double the topping able and put half of it on half the batter in the pan.  It’s all natural sugars, so no harm done!

**Make your own, all-natural brown sugar.  Combine coconut sugar with agave (use amounts posted above in the streusel for the correct consistency) until moist.  It’s perfect, in my opinion!

 

 

Make your own healthy, all-natural “brown sugar”.  Combine coconut sugar with a touch of agave, raw honey or molasses, mix with a fork until all moist.  Use about 1/2 cup coconut sugar and 1 tablespoon agave/honey/molasses.  I love it!

If I had some more overripe bananas right now, I’d make this again today.  Guess I’ll have to wait another couple days. 

You may be wondering what is going on with my family.  Quick update, Scott graduated school last year and is 19, has a girlfriend that he spends all his time with when he’s not working at Taco Bell.

Parker is almost 16, almost done with driver’s ed, aching for a job and will start his sophomore year of high school soon!  He’s currently having “fun” with hair colors.  He did purple and a pink for a while, but his hair is currently an orange color (MS awareness???).

Taylor is 13 and starts 8th grade soon.  He’s busy being a crazy 13 year old and doing his best trying not to drive me crazy.  He’s pretty funny and still likes lots of creative crafty things.

Sam is 10 and about to start 5th grade.  This is crazy!  When I started my blog, Scott was 10 and my baby was a baby!  Waaahhhh!  They aren’t supposed to grow up so fast!  Sam loves baseball and discovered this year that he loves being the catcher. 

Kevin and I celebrated our 20th Anniversary in June!  Twenty years—what????  Crazy.  He’s amazing and treats me like a queen.  I don’t deserve him.  He receives awards at UVU for being an outstanding educator.  He got to be in a spread in UVU’s magazine as Captain America.  He’s my hero.  He’s a great professor, just took over as department chair in the business school at UVU, he’s a wonderful dad and the best husband!  So there.

For our 20th, since we didn’t get to take a big trip or anything (he taught for the summer session of school), he surprised me with a bunch of my favorite concerts over the last month, including New Kids On The Block/Paula Abdul, David Archuleta, the Utah Symphony and GENTRI and we got to spend some time together in Salt Lake City.  I’m spoiled.  Love my life.  My health is good.  MS is 100% stable, nothing new.  Besides being tired more than I’d like, I’ve got this.  Glad to be back here and hopefully I’ll post again soon!

No Bake Coconut Almond Chocolate Chip Oat Bites

A perfect, easy, sweet treat!

 

These would be great for any Almond Joy lover, but someone looking for something a little more healthy.  Like me.

 

I know, it’s been a month since I posted anything.  I’ve been in a bit of a baking, sweet sharing slump.  I’ll never be gone for good, but seem to just be slowing down a bit with things I must share.  I whipped these super simple no bake bites up today and decided to get them posted for you. 

 

I will say, I got my inspiration for these from a blog, The Beaming Baker, when her No Bake Peanut Butter Coconut Bites showed up on Pinterest and Facebook.  I changed up her recipe since I’d just made some homemade almond butter and had finished off a jar of peanut butter.  These will sure be nice to have around for a snack as sometimes I can’t find anything I’m hankering for and it needs to be somewhat sweet.  Otherwise, I eat sugar snap peas like they are Lays potato chips and I can only eat so many of them before I’ll have pea sprouts coming out my ears or something. ; )

 

No Bake Coconut Almond Chocolate Chip Oat Bites, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!, Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free

 

3/4 cup almond butter (I made homemade with raw almonds, but you can use a purchased one also)

1/4 cup raw honey (I also added another tablespoon of honey after decided it needed a bit more, start with 1/4 cup)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut

3/4 cup gluten free old fashioned oats

1/4 cup ground flaxseed

1/4 cup chopped almonds

6 tablespoons Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips

 

In a medium sized bowl, combine the almond butter, honey and vanilla.  Stir together well.  Add the coconut, oats, flaxseed, almonds and chocolate chips.  Stir until all combined.  Decide if it needs a little more honey by making a ball of the mixture in your hands and squeezing it together.  When I make almond butter, it’s a little thicker than the store bought kind, so using a runnier one may make the mixture wet/sticky enough to combine.  Using your hands, form the mixture into about 1 inch balls, squeezing the mixture together so it stays in its shape.  Lay them on a waxed paper lined sheet.  Makes 16-20 depending on size.  Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

 

Easy peasy and yummy!

Salted Caramel Pecan Turtles Fudge

Do you like fudge?  Do you like the classic turtles candy, you know, chocolate, caramel and pecans?  I decided to combine them together and came up with this super easy, tasty fudge!  Decided to add a little salt on the top and think it’s a great addition if you like salted caramel. 

Do you have all your Christmas baking done?  I don’t.  But I never really do.  I always have things I run out of time to make or that I want to try for the first time.  I’ve made plenty of my “signature” Chocolate Chip Cookies, also made the same recipe and threw in a bunch of chopped up Andes Chocolate Mints.  Everyone has loved these, I probably haven’t made enough of them. 

Anyway, I whipped up the easy fudge that is just made with melted chocolate chips and a can of sweetened condensed milk, then decided to add the caramel and pecans.  A friend of mine gives us a nice square of real, homemade, cooked-like-grandma-used-to-make fudge every Christmas.  Even since I’ve been off gluten and refined sugar, I usually take a little taste.  It is divine!  My fudge is delicious, but much easier, and so I suppose I’m lazy.  Really I think it’s just because I’d rather bake cookies than spend time cooking fudge over the stove.

  Salted Caramel Pecan Turtles Fudge, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

12 ounce package semi sweet chocolate chips

14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

6 ounces caramel, chopped (or unwrapped caramel squares)

2 tablepoons heavy cream

3/4 cup pecans, lightly toasted, rough chopped

Flaked sea salt, optional*

Line an 8x8 inch square baking pan with non stick foil, leaving the edges overhanging a bit, spray it lightly with cooking spray.  Set aside.  In a glass microwave safe bowl, combine the caramel and cream.  Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between each.  It should only take 1-2 minutes.  Let the caramel cool to room temperature.  In a medium sized saucepan over medium low heat, combine the chocolate chips and condensed milk.  Stir until melted and smooth.  Add the vanilla and salt and stir until combined.  Add the pecans and stir well.  Take a few spoonfuls of the caramel and carefully stir it into the fudge, without combining it completely.  The fudge thickens quickly, so spread it evenly in the pan.  Pour or spoon the remaining caramel over the top, then swirl it in and around the caramel with a knife.  *Lightly sprinkle salt over the top.  Feel free to leave off the salt if you’d like.  I was out of course, flaked salt and just used a little sprinkle of sea salt.  Refrigerate the fudge for at least an hour.  Remove from the pan using the foil edges and peel the foil off the back.  Cut the fudge on a cutting board into squares. 

I think it has just the right amount of caramel and salt and again, tasted a little for quality control.  Christmas is almost here!  Are you ready?