Twisted Coffee Cake
If you've been following my recipe posts, you're sure to have noticed a butternut squash theme. Thanks to a neighbor giving us a monster squash. So far, I've made around 6 cups of hearty soup, 18 mock cornbread muffins and now this amazing coffee cake!
Yes, with butternut squash!
I've been pleased with how versatile this super veggie is at blending in. Kiddo is the sous chef & must approve of everything, so there is no sneaking veggies into things around here. Most of the time, it's not even really an issue. They love most foods! Just wish their body loved more of them.
Anyway - it's been entertaining to watch the looks of disgust and objections to a veggie being put into muffins and now a cake of all things! Keep in mind kiddo is 5. And willing to at least taste the new creations. We broke them in with black bean brownies awhile back & I think that helps keep an open mind. Getting to have cake for breakfast also didn't hurt.
I stayed up past my bedtime to make this in hopes that the element of surprise would work in my favor, avoiding kiddo knowing about the squash & being put off and hubby got the added bonus of skipping breakfast duty! Plus there's always the very real possibility that the creation wouldn't turn out. If others didn't know about it, then no harm done.
Fast forward to the morning...
I was doing my morning sprucing up when kiddo woke up. They came bursting through the bathroom door so quickly, I froze. Pause - take a deep breath. What injustice could have possibly happened already?
They looked like they were in shock. Yes, really!
Kiddo says to me, "MOM.... Dad said I'm having cake for breakfast! That's not true..... is it?"
Well, yes. The look of incredulity was priceless. It really was. Love it!
And just as quickly they were racing off down the hall, back to the kitchen whooping with pure delight. I got to the kitchen in time to see the cake being plated. It looked awesome!
Dense and moist with a thin crumble-style topping that was crunchy. Holding my breath as we dug in.
Hoping that discerning palates would approve. And, yes - success! Our taste buds were singing. My only complaint is that it's disappearing too fast! After kiddo devoured the first piece and was digging in to the second, I broke the news about the squash. Nose wrinkled & loudly Eww-ed! Then shrugged and kept eating. Too funny!
Ingredients
1 cup flour mix* & some for dusting dish
1 cup quinoa flakes, ground
1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed (potential to be corny)
1 tsp corn-free baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 salt
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup squash puree
1/2 cup whole milk or alternative
1/4 cup light EVOO & some for oiling dish
1 tsp pure maple syrup (grade B for more flavor)
Topping
2 Tbs flour mix*
2 Tbs dark brown sugar
3 Tbs cold butter
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Oil and dust 8" baking dish. Be sure to tap out the excess flour.
Mix dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. In separate bowl, mix wet ingredients. Combine wet & dry, stirring just enough to blend.
Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Then mix together topping ingredients with a pastry blender to get the butter into pea-size pieces. Sprinkle topping evenly over batter.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool for a few minutes and dig in!
By now you probably know the drill about my flour mix, but here it is just in case:
1 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
2/3 cup tapioca flour/starch
1/2 cup arrowroot flour
You'll have leftover flour mix. Throw it into your concoction jar to pull from other times. I usually let the jar build during the week and pull it out on weekends for things like this recipe. Or in a pinch trying to save time, it's handy to have a large batch of flour mix to just pull out. Notes: Next time, I'm going to tweak the topping just a bit. It needs just a smidge more butter and a pinch or two less flour and just more topping in general for a thicker layer. It tastes great, but left a little bit of a flour-y feel in my mouth. For the serious sweet tooth, like kiddo's, I'd do a little more maple syrup. I also saw a tip about whipping the egg whites for a more airy cake - may or may not try that. As always be sure to use safe for you ingredients. I'm no longer listing "safe" brands as they change and our reaction levels get more sensitive.
Another photo to drool over! Kiddo opted to drizzle some maple syrup on the first piece to sweeten it up just a tad more. And we still have about a cup of squash puree left from that monster squash! Finishing it off today with a turkey drumstick!