Oat Flour Pumpkin Cake

After Thanksgiving I ended up with about 1/4 cup of leftover pumpkin puree which meant I had to find something to bake with it! Lara and I browsed a few options and ended up picking this oat flour cake. The original was baked in a loaf pan, but we wanted a round cake so we baked it in an 8-inch round cake pan instead without any issues. It just didn’t need to bake quite as long.

The cake itself is incredible tender. It is light and fragrant. Not overly sweet but just enough sweetness and richness (from the almond flour and coconut oil) to turn this simple cake into a satisfying, yet somewhat wholesome dessert. Perfect for a late fall night with a cup of coffee and a candle!

Oat Flour Pumpkin Cake
From Beaming Baker
Ingredients

• 1 cup pumpkin puree [I only had about 1/2 cup, 4 oz, pumpkin, so used 4 oz pumpkin + 4 oz Greek yogurt]

• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

• 6 tablespoons (120 grams) maple syrup

• 6 tablespoons coconut sugar [I used 4 Tbs brown sugar and it was just fine!]

• 1 flax egg [I used a real egg]

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 2 cup (180 grams) oat flour [I made my own in a blender, but you can also use store bought]

• 1/2 cup almond flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp salt

• cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch loaf pan with parchment paper or greased foil. Set aside. [I decided to turn this into a snacking cake so I used an 8x2 inch round cake pan instead]

Add the wet ingredients to a large bowl: pumpkin, coconut oil, maple syrup, sugar, flax egg, and vanilla. Whisk until well incorporated.

Add the dry ingredients to the same bowl: oat flour, almond meal, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt.

Whisk as long as you can—the batter will be thick. Switch to folding with a rubber spatula until no flour patches remain. Do not add additional liquids—the batter is meant to be very thick.

Transfer batter into the prepared loaf pan. Using a clean rubber spatula, smooth batter into an even layer, with a gentle rise down the center—mimicking the shape of a perfect loaf. It is important to follow this step for the perfect loaf shape, as the batter will bake up very close to how it looks raw.

Bake for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick into the center of the loaf comes out with a few moist crumbs. [Mine took about 35 minutes in an 8-inch round cake pan]

Glazed Lemon, Yogurt and Olive Oil Pound Cake

I made this cake last week on a whim. I’m almost positive I saw it on Bob’s Red Mill’s Instagram account, and know for a fact that’s where I got the recipe from, but now going back to find it on their website it appears to be gone! Thankfully I found it somewhere else online. And I plan to get my hands on the cookbook itself ASAP! If just came out a few weeks ago and sounds lovely!

The cake itself was lovely! It’s gluten free, and easily dairy free. I used homemade Greek yogurt, but the recipe also states you can use a home made coconut milk yogurt. It really was the easiest thing to make. It took 5 minutes to whisk everything together, then into the pan and into the oven. You can have the whole thing made before the oven is preheated!

I actually was looking for something a little less sweet so I reduced the sugar by 1/2 (dangerous I know…) and it turned out just fine! It didn’t seem to be lacking sugar at all, and the texture was lovely, didn’t seem any worse for the wear. I would definitely make it with less sugar again, and would have no problem serving it this way.

It baked up beautifully. Tender, soft, and not crumbly at all. It held together well without the gluten from traditional flour. I wouldn’t have even guessed it didn’t have wheat flour in it. A lovely cake all around.

Glazed Lemon, Yogurt and Olive Oil Pound Cake
From Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple by Aran Goyoaga
Ingredients

Cake

• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar [I used 1/2 cup, 100 g of sugar for a lower sugar option and felt that it turned out great! I would certainly do it with reduced sugar again!]

• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest (from 2 to 3 medium lemons)

• 1 cup (140g) superfine brown rice flour

• 1 cup (100g) almond flour

• 3 large eggs

• ½ cup (115g) whole-milk yogurt, or any dairy-free yogurt alternative you desire

• ½ cup (110g) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Glaze

• 2 cups (240g) powdered sugar

• 2 to 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped pistachios, for topping

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease the inside of an 8½-by-4½-inch loaf pan with a bit of olive oil.

MAKE THE CAKE: In a large bowl, rub together the sugar and lemon zest until fragrant. (This helps release the natural lemon oil.) Whisk in the remaining ingredients until the batter is smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack. Let the cake cool completely if you want the glaze to stay thick on top of the cake. If the cake is warm, the glaze will melt and run off.

MAKE THE GLAZE: In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth and lump-free. As you begin to whisk, it might seem too thick, but as the sugar absorbs the juice, the glaze will thin out. The glaze should be pourable but not too runny.

Put a tray or baking sheet under the wire rack and pour the glaze all over the cake, letting it run over the edges. Wait a few minutes for the glaze to set. Sprinkle the top with the pistachios, then serve. The cake will keep at room temperature for 3 days. (If you refrigerate it, the glaze will soften.)

Lemon Almond Flour Cake

BIG NEWS! After over 2 months I finally got my kitchen back! It’s not done yet, there are still a lot of things to get done (paint, tile, lighting, hardware, finish some trim) but I have appliances, and a sink which means I have a FUNCTIONING kitchen again!! I can cook and bake again after weeks and weeks of long, boring nights and weekends. It’s been wonderful!

Lara and I have slowly been moving pantry items, small appliances, dishes, and pans upstairs from the (very dusty) basement. It’s so much more fun to move stuff back upstairs than it was to move it all downstairs back in January.

To celebrate this weekend we made a cake for ourselves. Just because! This recipe had come across Lara’s Instagram feed earlier in the week and we both thought it looked simple and lovely. It’s a grain free, dairy free cake. I have fun experimenting with new types of recipes, different ingredients than the typical. This recipe uses all almond flour as the base, gets richness from coconut oil, and is sweetened with maple syrup. A couple of eggs hold it all together, and it is mildly flavored with lemon juice.

It’s a simple recipe, very easy to throw together without any special equipment. And although the recipe tells you to mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, I have no doubt you can do it all in one bowl.

As I was writing this post I realized that I accidentally used baking powder instead of baking soda. Not sure how big of a difference this might have made in the final product (I would like to try it again soon and use soda instead, but we’ll see if I get to that).

Despite that little snafu, this cake turned out excellently. The almond flour has quite an assertive flavor, so the lemon was not overpowering, I would add a little more if I really wanted lemon flavor, along with a little zest. The texture was “mooshy” but not underbaked, dense but not heavy. These are all good things in my book! I like a “mooshy” cake! I find different (ie more interesting) textures a lot of fun to eat. So many people tell me they have a “texture” thing, and can’t eat anything “weird” in texture. I’m the complete opposite! I like these different textures! I would make this cake again for sure. Recommended!

Lemon Almond Flour Cake
From Sweet Laurel
Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups (260 grams) almond flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 2 eggs

• 1/4 cup (56 grams) coconut oil, melted, plus extra for greasing

• 1/2 cup (156 grams) maple syrup

• 1/4 cup (56 grams) freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare one 8 inch pan by greasing it with coconut oil, then lining it with a circular piece of parchment paper, cut to fit.

In a bowl, mix together the almond flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a larger bowl, whisk together the eggs, coconut oil, maple syrup, lemon juice and zest. Slowly add the almond flour mixture and stir until batter is blended well.

Pour the batter into prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.

Using a sifter, sift powdered sugar over cooled cake.

Spiced Applesauce Cake

I made a delicious batch of applesauce last year. Unfortunately, I don’t eat applesauce all that much, so I put it in the freezer and just haven’t taken it out! Last week, Lara decided to use some of it to make this applesauce cake from Smitten Kitchen that she has been eyeing for quite some time. Even though she didn’t make the frosting to go with it (which would be amazing, cream cheese frosting is always amazing!) the cake was so delicious that I wanted to make it again right away.

Then, a few days later, I realized that I had some yogurt in the fridge that really needed to be used. I’ve been getting raw goat’s milk from a co-worker and making it into goat’s yogurt (which is so good!). But I had a container that was getting older than I liked so I was trying to find a way to use it up…

I decided to try a different take on the applesauce cake, and turn it into a yogurt cake instead! Would this work? Probably? It never hurts to try, so try I did! I kept everything the same (other than a few different spices, just for fun) other than replacing the applesauce with yogurt. The verdict? Turned out great! Yes, there is a little tang from the yogurt, but that’s not a bad thing. I do think the yogurt cake was a little more dense than the applesauce cake, but they both baked up very nicely! I would not hesitate to make either of these recipes again!

When Lara made the applesauce version she only used 3/4 cup sugar, instead of the 1 cup of sugar called for. This was perfectly fine, and I would probably do this again if using the applesauce. When I made the yogurt version I used the full cup of sugar since I was taking out all of the sugar naturally found in the applesauce.

[All the photos are of the yogurt version, I didn’t get any pics of the applesauce cake]

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Spiced Applesauce Cake
From Smitten Kitchen
Ingredients
For the cake

• 2 cups (8 3/4 ounces or 250 grams) all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1 stick (4 ounces or 113 grams) unsalted butter, softened

• 1 cup (6 7/8 ounces or 195 grams) packed light brown sugar (updated weight)

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 2 large eggs

• 1 1/2 cups (about 13 ounces or 365 grams) unsweetened applesauce

• 1/2 cup (about 1 3/4 ounces or 50 grams) walnuts (optional), toasted, cooled, and chopped

For the frosting

• 5 ounces (142 grams) cream cheese, softened

• 3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces or 42 grams) unsalted butter, softened

• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1 cup (4 ounces or 120 grams) confectioners sugar

• 1/2 (1 teaspoon) teaspoon cinnamon

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter an 8- or 9-inch square cake pan that has been lined with parchment paper.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Beat butter, brown sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in applesauce. At low speed, mix in flour mixture until just combined, then stir in walnuts (if using). The batter may look a little curdly and uneven, this is okay.

Spread batter evenly in pan and bake until golden-brown and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes.

Cool in pan 15 minutes. Then run a knife around edge of cake to loosen, then invert onto a plate. Reinvert cake onto a rack to cool completely.

Make frosting: Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed until fluffy. Sift confectioners sugar and cinnamon over cream cheese mixture, then beat at medium speed until incorporated. Spread frosting over top of cooled cake.

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For the Yogurt Version:
Replace all of the applesauce with 1 12/ cups (350 g) plain, whole milk or 2% yogurt (goat’s milk if you have it!). I also adjusted the spices and used 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon cardamom, 1/8 teaspoon allspice.

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

I have fallen off the posting train! But I’m trying to get back on board. It’s been a busy and fun fall, which means I have neglected this little hobby of mine. But this cake was too good not to share! I had a fun Oktober fest at a new friends house. It was outdoors on the perfect chilly, but lovely October night. They had grilled up two whole lambs, and brewed some homemade beer, and then invited a bunch of people over to share.

I decided to try out a new cake recipe. It’s pumpkin season and this cake did not disappoint. It has a mix of butter and oil for flavor and moisture with the perfect amount of fall spices. It baked up beautifully and came out of the pan easily. I topped with a simple yogurt glaze which had just enough tang to perfectly compliment the rich and sweet cake. Happy Fall!

The original recipe had a cream cheese glaze. I didn’t have any cream cheese so I ended up making something up on my own. I didn’t measure anything so I can’t tell you exactly, but I used melted butter, milk, powdered sugar and plain Greek yogurt. I turned out great, but if you’re looking for exact measurements, follow the link to the original recipe and try hers out, I’m sure it’s great!

Pumpkin Bundt Cake
From Style Sweet CA
Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon cardamom

• 1 teaspoon ginger

• ¼ teaspoon clove

• pinch black pepper

• ¾ cup Land O Lakes® European Style Unsalted Butter, softened

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 1 cup white sugar

• ¼ cup flavorless oil, like grapeseed or canola

• 3 large eggs

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• 1/3 cup buttermilk

• 14 ounces pumpkin puree

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Generously brush the inside of a Bundt pan with very soft butter, sprinkle with flour, and tap out the excess. Set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium-low speed with the paddle attachment until smooth. Add in both sugars and mix on medium until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the oil and vanilla. Mix until combined.

With the mixer on low, add in the eggs, one at a time. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

With the mixer on low, add in half of the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Add in the buttermilk and mix until combined. Add in the remaining half of the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated and few streaks of flour remain visible. Add in the pumpkin puree and mix until smooth. The batter will be thick.

Spoon the cake batter into the prepared pan. Tap the bottom of the filled pan on a hard work surface to release any air bubbles. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a long wooden skewer or thin paring knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for about 15 minutes. Gently loosen the edges of the cake with a flexible rubber spatula. Place a wire rack or cutting board on top of the cake. Holding on to the edges of the pan and rack, carefully invert everything. Remove the cake pan and continue to completely cool the cake before adding the glaze.

Peach Yogurt Cake

August is now officially over, which means peach season is going to be winding down soon. Excuse me while I shed a tear or two. While I try to eat most things only when in season, there are times when I bend this rule. However, with peaches I am very strict. I will not buy peaches at any other time of year except in late summer. There is nothing as disappointing as biting into a beautiful golden peach and hearing a crunch, and find yourself looking at a dry, hard and very sad piece of fruit. Peaches just don't do well at all out of season. 

To celebrate these golden beauties for a little longer, Lara whipped together a light and delicious peach cake to bring to a friends house this weekend. We enjoyed it after feasting on grilled pizzas, hot and bubbly right off the grill. It was the perfect way to end a late summer Saturday night. 

The original recipe called for figs instead of peaches, and then had you swirling mascarpone and jam into the batter before baking. This sounds absolutely divine, but unfortunately I had neither, and was not making another trip to the store so I ended up with a simpler version of the cake with only some chopped peaches. It was still absolutely wonderful, but if you're looking for something with just a bit more pizazz, I would definitely give the mascarpone and jam a try!

This cake baked up nice and tall, and had a lovely tender crumb. Nice and moist, and really not super sweet at all which I really like. It would be fantastic with some lightly whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream! Next time!

Peach Yogurt Cake
Adapted from Joy the Baker
Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 2 peaches, chopped

Directions
Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8-inch wide and 3-inch tall cake pan and lightly dust with flour.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, butter, eggs, and buttermilk. Whisk in the vanilla or almond extract.

Add the buttermilk mixture all at once to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined and no lumps remain. Spoon batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool to room temperature before slicing to serve. Serve plain or with sweetened whipped cream.

Buckwheat Applesauce Breakfast Cake

Cake for breakfast? Always a good idea in my book. While this recipe is not a cake in the traditional sense, light, airy and super rich, it kind of has an indulgent feel when topped with a yummy yogurt almond frosting. It's not a very sweet cake - dense and hearty in texture, yet still super moist thanks to the applesauce. The buckwheat flour really adds a unique dimension in both flavor and texture. There is a lovely bitterness to this cake from this flour which I love, but might take a little getting used to. And because buckwheat is not "wheat", it behaves differently in baking. It results in a cake that is almost a little sandy in texture, and more dense than a traditional baked good. 

I adapted the recipe (because I just can't help myself!). The original used almond flour in addition to the buckwheat, and coconut oil. I replace these with whole wheat flour and butter instead. This likely altered the texture somewhat but in the end I loved the results, so it doesn't really matter! I also used some liquid whey (leftover from homemade yogurt) instead of almond milk, but I'm sure buttermilk would also work Finally, I adjusted the spices somewhat based on my preferences, and the time of year and replaced the molasses with maple syrup along the same vein. Overall, this dense, somewhat bitter but very interesting "cake", topped with a healthy yogurt and almond butter frosting ticks all the right buttons for me. The most important thing being that it's delicious. In the end that's all that really matters!

Buckwheat Applesauce Breakfast Cake
Adapted from Edible Perspective
Ingredients

• 1 1/4 c buckwheat flour (150 grams)
• 1/2 cup (60 grams) whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons (25 grams) brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk or liquid whey
• 2/3 cup (170 grams) unsweetened applesauce, I used homemade (alternatively, can use several cups of grated apple, somewhere around 250 grams, the recipe is very forgiving)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 tablespoons (42 grams) butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons (60 grams) maple syrup (or honey)

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350* F and line a 9x9 pan with parchment, or grease thoroughly.  Stir the buckwheat flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl until well mixed.  In another bowl whisk the eggs together.  Then whisk in the milk, applesauce, vanilla, butter and maple syrup until fully combined.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Pour the batter into your pan and spread evenly.  Bake for 38-40 minutes, testing with a toothpick for doneness.  You want the toothpick to be slightly sticky, not gooey or dry.  Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing. Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar, or with almond butter frosting (recipe below). 

Almond Butter Frosting
From Delectably Mine
Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon almond butter
• 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup (optional)
• couple shakes of cinnamon
• Pinch of salt (optional)

Directions
Mix together the almond butter and Greek yogurt until well combined and smooth. Add in the maple syrup, cinnamon and salt and stir to combine. Taste and adjust flavorings if desired, adding a little more almond butter if it is too tangy, a little more yogurt if it is too thick, or a little extra maple syrup if you want it a little sweeter. Spoon frosting onto each slice of cake, or spread in an even layer over the top of each piece. 

Autumn Rose Wedding Cake

I had a fabulous night last night celebrating the wedding of my friend Corrie and her now (new) husband Jon. I have known Corrie for my entire life and am so glad that I still count her as a good friend. Our families have so made so many memories together, camping at Lake Michigan, swimming in her family's pool on many hot summer days, family vacations to Iowa, Kentucky and Florida together, and so much more. I was so excited when she asked if I would be willing to make a small cake for her and Jon to cut at their wedding. This was the perfect way for me to be a part of her special day!

It was so much fun to put this delicious cake together. If you've been following my blog, you might notice that this cake looks similar to the cake I made for my birthday last month. That was by design! On my birthday I decided to do a little test run of the cake I was thinking of making for her wedding. Happily my birthday cake turned out so well that I wasn't too nervous about how the wedding cake would turn out. I made the exact same recipe for the cake and frosting this time, but multiplied them both by 1.5 because I wanted three layers instead of two. It worked great! A beautiful triple layer chocolate cake covered it stunning fresh flowers. A fabulous cake to celebrate a fabulous couple!

Find the recipe for the cake and frosting HERE. If you want a triple layer cake like you see here, multiply all the ingredients by 1.5, use 3 cake pans instead of two and you'll be good to go!