Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake with Pecan Streusel Base

I am a huge fan of Fall foods. Having grown up in the north, I am of the mindset that food, like produce, has its own season. Some of my favorites are greens (collard, mustard, kale, etc.), root vegetables, apples in any form, and copious amounts of pumpkin. What are some of your favorite fall flavors or foods? I'm always looking to try new foods! Since we have just officially started Fall, I can now eat the above foods to my heart's content!!!

I had a can of pure pumpkin that I needed to use, so I started tossing ingredients together in a bowl, and I was really pleased with the final result. This is surprisingly versatile too. If you would rather have a pumpkin gingerbread loaf, then omit the streusel base in the pan and bake just a few more minutes. This recipe is great by itself or topped with a dollop of spiced cashew cream or even a little apple butter.

Omitting the streusel base, cuts out sugar, but it does not take away from the final product. With or without added brown sugar, this recipe is fabulous and sure to be a new Fall staple.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake with Pecan Streusel Base



 

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes - 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour - 1 hour 15 minutes

Yields 24 pieces

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 15 oz. can 100% pure pumpkin
• 4 flax eggs (4 tbs ground flax and 8 tbs water)
• 1 cup white rice flour
• 1/3 cup buckwheat flour
• 3 tbs tapioca starch
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbs ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

Streusel Base (Optional)

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and line two 9x9 square baking pans or a 9x13 cake pan with parchment paper. If you are using the streusel base, then sprinkle 2 tbs brown sugar into the bottom of each lined pan. Sprinkle cinnamon evenly over the brown sugar, then sprinkle 2 tbs of the pecans over the cinnamon in each pan. In a measuring cup, whisk together the flax and water to form your flax eggs and let them set while you mix the cake together. 
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the molasses, maple syrup, and pumpkin. In a separate bowl, combine the flours, starch, salt, spices, baking soda and baking powder. 
3. Add the flax eggs to the pumpkin mixture and whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until just combined. 
4. Divide the batter between the two pans, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the pans from the oven and allow them to cool slightly before serving. You can serve the cake warm directly from the pan or cool completely and invert if you want to remove the cake from the pan. 

Peach Polenta Upside-Down Cake (With Vegan Option)

It's almost the end of peach season down south, but I couldn't let it pass without making this cake one last time. Whenever I try to explain this dessert to people, I usually get some pretty odd reactions, as if the idea of a cake/cornbread was a little too far fetched. Luckily, the people who have tried it, have loved it, so give it a try and make up your own mind...I'm sure you'll love it too!

The original recipe called for loads of butter, sugar, and cream. I've lightened it up and adapted it to be gluten free and I've offered a vegan option. I have made it following the vegan substitutions several times and it is superb!

Peach Polenta Upside-Down Cake (Vegan Option)

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup butter or apple sauce 
• 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup sugar
• 3-4 medium ripe peaches, skin on, pitted, and cut into 3/4" wedges
• 1 cup polenta or coarse yellow cornmeal
• 3/4 cup gluten free flour blend or all purpose flour(Bob's gluten-free, or your preferred blend, I used 1/2 cup white rice, 1/8 cup brown rice, and 1/8 cup tapioca starch) 
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/4 tsp salt (I prefer kosher for this recipe)
• 3 eggs or flax eggs (3 Tbs flax and 6 Tbs water, mix together and let rest 10 minutes)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup almond milk, or milk of your choice

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Melt 3 Tbs of the butter, or heat 3 Tbs apple sauce in a 10" iron-skillet over medium heat, making sure to brush it up the sides of the pan. Sprinkle 1/4 cup suger evenly across the bottom of the skillet and cook until the sugar starts to turn a golden brown, about 3 minutes. Arrange the peaches around the outside of the skillet, then fill in the center of the skillet with the remaining slices. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and continue to cook until the juices are bubbling and the peaches begin to soften 10-12 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
2. While the peaches are cooking, combine the polenta, flours, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Beat the remaining 8 Tbs butter or apple sauce and 1/2 cup sugar for 3 minutes. Add the eggs, scrape the bowl down, then mix in the vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture to the bowl and mix until just combined. 
3. Drizzle the batter over the peaches and smooth out the top with your spatula. Bake until golden, and a tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean 30 minutes. Let the skillet cool for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the pan. Quickly invert the pan onto a plate or cutting board and tap the bottom of the skillet to loosen the cake and peaches. Lift the skillet and reposition any renegade peaches. Cool slightly before serving. 

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Best-Ever Chocolate Quinoa Cake Revisited

I'm on the gluten free bandwagon. I do not have Celiacs disease, however I am gluten intolerant and since having quit gluten (nearly 2 years ago) my asthma is essentially nonexistent. That being said, before starting my gluten free lifestyle, I had been addicted to baked goods for two reasons; the carbs and the sugar. At the time, I was a Junior in college and a half and full marathon runner. Thus the love of carbs. I am very sensitive to caffeine and therefore required an alternate stimulus to stay up and study, thus the addiction to sugar. I realized that eating 4 cups of white rice followed by 3 servings of sugar coated cake was not a nutritious or sustainable diet, nor did I particularly enjoy my regular sugar-withdrawal headaches.
It was right after finals, having eaten gummy worms and ice cream for dinner all week that I realized this had to change. I gave gluten free a month-long trial period and substituted my unhealthy sugar cravings with peanut butter. After gaining 5lbs and realizing that my whole diet needed a tune-up, I recommitted to my health on January 1, 2013. Sure, new year resolutions are quaint and rarely followed through, however, in my mind if it's worth my time it's worth all of it. That being said, I've been gluten-free ever since and I don't regret it. I'm still learning to control my addiction to sugar and refined carbs, but I've made leaps and bounds in my progress to improve the overall health of my diet.

That being said, I can still go for a bit of chocolate cake every now and then. I am, and ever will be a chocoholic and have no intentions of changing that. Why? Because I don't care for Hershey bars and sugary treats. No, I love dark bitter chocolate and in moderation, not excessively.

Therefore, when I cam across a recipe for Chocolate Quinoa Cake (I love quinoa too!), I had to give it a go. Unfortunately, I don't care for excessive oils in my food, and I recently found out I'm slightly lactose intolerant as well. As this cake called for coconut oil and butter, I had to work around that.

So...I adapted the recipe and wasn't disappointed.

Best-Ever "Healthified" Chocolate Quinoa Cake

Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour

Serves 16

Ingredients:

Cake

• 2 cups cooked quinoa*(I prefer red quinoa)
• 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk (or preferred milk)
• 4 whole eggs (or 4 tablespoons ground flax and 1/2 cup water for vegan option)
• 3/4 cup plain applesauce (preferably no sugar added) 
• 1 cup organic evaporated cane juice or white sugar(or 1/2 cup honey)
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark) 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Chocolate Ganache

• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or 4 oz dark chocolate
• 1/8 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup almond milk

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and then line two round cake pans (or a 9x13” pan) with parchment paper.
2. In a food processor or blender, combine the eggs (or flax and water), almond milk (or preferred milk) and vanilla extract then blend for ten seconds to combine.
3. Add the cooked and cooled quinoa along with the apple sauce and blend until completely smooth, about thirty seconds to one minute.
4. With food processor running, add the dry ingredients (cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt) through the feed tube.
5. Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool 10 minutes. 
6. While the cakes cool, melt the chocolate chips over medium-low heat in a double boiler. As they melt, slowly stir in the cocoa powder and almond milk until incorporated. Remove ganache from heat and allow to cool slightly.
7. Cut around the cakes in the pans with a thin knife and invert one round onto intended final surface. The cake rounds are quite fragile, so avoid moving them around too much. Pour approximately 1/3 of the ganache onto the top of the cake.** Stack the second round on top of the first and pour remaining chocolate ganache on top of the stacked cake. Allow the chocolate sauce to cool, then cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Notes

* 3/4 cup dry quinoa will yield approximately 2 cups cooked quinoa. I rinse my quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer then add it to 1.5 cup boiling water. After adding the quinoa, I cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium low, allowing it to cook for 10-12 minutes or until all of the quinoa is fluffy and translucent, so as to avoid any uncooked crunchy pieces form being incorporated into the cake.

**Instead of icing the middle of the cake with chocolate, fresh fruit or fruit preserves can be layered between the two rounds. I like to blend about 4 tablespoons raspberry preserves with 1/2 cup raspberries and spread the mixture between the cake layers for a different approach. Thin strawberry slices are another great alternative.

Cake adapted from making thyme for health