Gluten-Free Banana Crumb Cake
A certain someone in our household has a sweet tooth. And- best of all- he not only likes to eat cake, he likes to bake it, too. Apparently baking can be a form of meditation for some folks- a calming, distracting respite from toiling away in one's head for hours, excavating the various thematic elements underpinning character motivation, conflict and story arcs. All those juicy, gnarly, invisible threads and knots we movie viewers take for granted when we settle in with our gluten-free popcorn to watch a screenplay come to life.
Something I've learned, living with a screenwriter (aside from the fact that baking is therapy)?
Don't judge the script by the movie.
Because chances are the script was good.
Chances are the script was tight and wry and sharp. And moving. And funny. Chances are the script made you leak a well-earned tear. Or two.
Then came the notes.
From the director. From the actor. From the producer. And the producer's girlfriend. Her dentist.
So the script gets whittled. And weakened. And tweaked. Scenes are added to make a character more likeable (How 'bout we give him a dog- or a koi pond?). Then locales get switched (apparently producers believe New Mexican Pueblo humor translates without a glitch to Australia's Gold-Coast). The language once precise gets watered down with unimaginative phrases you've heard before (not every actor can improvise like Robert De Niro I am sorry to tell you).
Sometimes the collaborative magic of film-making works.
And sometimes it doesn't.
And baking ensues.
Lately?
We always have cake in the freezer.
Karina xo
Ingredients:
1 cup almond or hazelnut flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (may omit)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/4 cups organic light brown sugar
3 large free-range organic eggs, beaten
1/3 cup organic coconut oil, melted
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tablespoon bourbon vanilla extract
Crumb topping:
1/4 cup organic light brown sugar
2 tablespoons chopped nuts (may omit)
2 tablespoons rice or almond flour
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Prepare a 10x12-inch baking pan by lining it with parchment.
Add the almond meal, gluten-free flours and starch, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, xanthan gum, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar to a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
Add the eggs, coconut oil, mashed bananas and vanilla. Beat for two minutes until the batter is smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
Make your crumb topping. Sprinkle it over the cake batter. Pat down gently.
Bake in the center of the oven for 33 to 35 minutes until done. Check the center for doneness with a wooden pick. The cake should appear slightly golden brown at the edge, firm to a light touch.
Note: If for some reason (you may have a smaller, or hotter, oven) the crumb topping begins to brown too much, loosely tent the top with foil.
Cool the cake on a wire rack.
Wrap, bag, and freeze leftover slices for easy on-the-go treats.
Makes 18 square pieces.
Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com
Note-- I'm now using less brown rice and brown rice flour, and eating fewer rice cakes, etc. Here's why- there is elevated arsenic in rice.
Something I've learned, living with a screenwriter (aside from the fact that baking is therapy)?
Don't judge the script by the movie.
Because chances are the script was good.
Chances are the script was tight and wry and sharp. And moving. And funny. Chances are the script made you leak a well-earned tear. Or two.
Then came the notes.
From the director. From the actor. From the producer. And the producer's girlfriend. Her dentist.
So the script gets whittled. And weakened. And tweaked. Scenes are added to make a character more likeable (How 'bout we give him a dog- or a koi pond?). Then locales get switched (apparently producers believe New Mexican Pueblo humor translates without a glitch to Australia's Gold-Coast). The language once precise gets watered down with unimaginative phrases you've heard before (not every actor can improvise like Robert De Niro I am sorry to tell you).
Sometimes the collaborative magic of film-making works.
And sometimes it doesn't.
And baking ensues.
Lately?
We always have cake in the freezer.
Karina xo
Gluten-Free Banana Crumb Cake
Recipe posted August 2012 by Karina Allrich.
This gently sweet coffee cake recipe has a soft crumb topping laced with cinnamon. For big banana flavor, use soft ripe bananas. Yep. Cake makes everything better.
This gently sweet coffee cake recipe has a soft crumb topping laced with cinnamon. For big banana flavor, use soft ripe bananas. Yep. Cake makes everything better.
Ingredients:
1 cup almond or hazelnut flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (may omit)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/4 cups organic light brown sugar
3 large free-range organic eggs, beaten
1/3 cup organic coconut oil, melted
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tablespoon bourbon vanilla extract
Crumb topping:
1/4 cup organic light brown sugar
2 tablespoons chopped nuts (may omit)
2 tablespoons rice or almond flour
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Prepare a 10x12-inch baking pan by lining it with parchment.
Add the almond meal, gluten-free flours and starch, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, xanthan gum, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar to a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
Add the eggs, coconut oil, mashed bananas and vanilla. Beat for two minutes until the batter is smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
Make your crumb topping. Sprinkle it over the cake batter. Pat down gently.
Bake in the center of the oven for 33 to 35 minutes until done. Check the center for doneness with a wooden pick. The cake should appear slightly golden brown at the edge, firm to a light touch.
Note: If for some reason (you may have a smaller, or hotter, oven) the crumb topping begins to brown too much, loosely tent the top with foil.
Cool the cake on a wire rack.
Wrap, bag, and freeze leftover slices for easy on-the-go treats.
Makes 18 square pieces.
Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com
All images & content are copyright protected, all rights reserved. Please do not use our images or content without prior permission. Thank you.
Note-- I'm now using less brown rice and brown rice flour, and eating fewer rice cakes, etc. Here's why- there is elevated arsenic in rice.
