Gluten-Free Zucchini Quinoa Breakfast Cake Recipe

Karina's Gluten-Free Zucchini Quinoa Breakfast Cake

Packing. Let's Eat Cake.

By Meet Karina 

From the L.A. archives- a personal favorite you may have missed... Remember those maple sweetened almond zucchini mini-muffins? I do. They've become one of our favorite grab-and-go gluten-free treats. I tuck a bag of them- fresh out of the freezer- into my bulging purse knapsack beach bag tote whenever we venture far afield. Like. The Valley. Because, well. You never know. It can get crazy. In L.A. you might end up jammed on the 405. Stuck as in four lanes = a parking lot stuck. Stuck as in, Dude that's my hunger growling louder than Kurt Cobain's rasp on the rattling radio speaker pleading, What else could I be? All apologies. 

I know this from experience. I learned the hard way (the way I learn most things in life). Driving in L.A. can lead to stop-n-go squatting in the baking sun. And a where is my nail file and why did I leave the apartment without food and water and ice in a cooler panic. Because the thirty-three minutes it took yesterday to get to Studio City is seventy-five minutes today.

That's when I started imagining a zucchini cake.

For breakfast.

On the 405.

Heading north (allegedly). To sign a lease. On a new apartment with an ample well planned kitchen and an open living room with a fireplace. And two balconies- one sunny for growing herbs, one shady in the afternoon, facing a quiet leafy green street lined with lavender gardens and rose bushes and honeysuckle and song birds. 

We'll be moving in two weeks.

Your intrepid Gluten-Free Goddess has some packing to do.

Good thing we baked a zucchini quinoa cake.

Warm from the oven gluten-free dairy-free zucchini quinoa breakfast cake

Maple sweetened gluten-free zucchini quinoa breakfast cake

 Gluten-Free Zucchini Quinoa Breakfast Cake Recipe

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Sweetened only with a half cup pure maple syrup, this cake is not overly sweet. Which makes it perfect for breakfast or a mid-afternoon snack. Almond meal, sorghum flour and quinoa flakes add protein and nutrition.

Ingredients:

2/3 cups almond meal
2/3 cup sorghum flour (or brown rice flour, if you must)
1/2 cup quinoa flakes (cereal flakes, not whole quinoa)
1/4 cup tapioca starch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup light melted coconut oil
3 organic free-range eggs, beaten
1-2 tablespoons coconut milk, soy or rice milk, as needed  
2 teaspoons bourbon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract 
1 packed cup shredded zucchini, patted dry

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line an 8-inch Springform pan with a circle of parchment.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the almond meal, quinoa flakes, sorghum flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, xanthan gum, sea salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

Add in the maple syrup, coconut oil, beaten eggs, and one tablespoon coconut milk. Beat to combine. If needed, add another tablespoon of coconut milk to loosen the batter. Add the vanilla and almond extract. Beat the batter until it is smooth and slightly sticky.

Add in the shredded zucchini and stir by hand to combine.

Spoon the cake batter evenly into the lined cake pan. Smooth the top with wet fingers. I add a few strands of grated zucchini to the top for flecks of green.

Bake in the center of a preheated oven for about 30 minutes, until the top is golden and springy-firm to the touch. A wooden pick inserted into the center should emerge clean.

Cool the cake pan on a wire rack for five minutes. Loosen the edges with a thin spatula or knife and release the clasp on the Springform pan. Move the cake to the wire rack and continue cooling.

This filling, satisfying cake is very moist and slices best when cooled. Wrap and freeze leftover slices for easy to-go treats. (Especially if heading out in mad traffic.)

Serves 8-10.

Recipe Notes:

I baked this moist and satisfying breakfast cake in a parchment lined 8-inch Springform pan. If you have only a 7-inch layer cake pan it will work. Line it with a circle of parchment paper. Keep an eye on the center- it may need an extra minute or two in a smaller pan (higher center).

And speaking of pans- I beg you, Darling. Do not bake gluten-free cakes and breads in those disposable aluminum foil pans. They are way too thin to bake gluten-free batter evenly. Foil pans cause over-browning on the outside, and gummy, undone centers.

If baking for a gluten-free friend- protect her from cross contamination and line your cake pan with clean foil or parchment paper. (And don't use your old wooden spoons- gluten protein is sticky, and tenacious.)

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