I grew up in a household with a chef-mother who specialized in a Russian coffee cake called “Babka.” It was a recipe handed down from generation to generation and was the talk of the town. This cake was a special treat because it wasn’t easy to make. To make the cake, cold rising yeast dough was rolled out to the size of the kitchen island. The dough was then covered with melted chocolate, merengue, and a cinnamon nut mixture before being rolled up, sliced, and baked in an angel food cake pan. We weren’t allowed to jump around or make a lot of noise while baking so as not to deflate the dough.
Healthy coffee cake is a new concept for me.
This healthy coffee cake recipe is not my mother’s babka recipe. This is a delicious alternative gluten-free, yeast-free healthy coffee cake that actually contains coffee. I never knew that coffee cake recipes call for coffee. It bakes up beautifully brown, and when it comes out of the oven, you cover it with candied nuts. I was surprised by this, as it’s a departure from the traditional crumble topping found on most coffee cakes.
A tip for baking with fresh berries: There is a solution to sinking fruit. Apparently, my idea of using a tablespoon or two of the dry ingredients on the blueberries before folding them into the batter didn’t work. The coffee cake was still good, and it would have fine without the berries altogether.
I love baking with coconut oil. It doesn’t burn at high temperatures. It bakes nicely. Coconut oil has had a bad rap lately, but don’t believe everything you hear or read on the internet. Coconut Oil is one great source of MCTs which turns into energy in your body if you are active.
How to make Healthy Coffee Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Sift all dry cake ingredients together, add ground coffee and shredded coconut, set aside.
- Mix honey, warm coffee, and melted coconut oil until honey is melted, set aside.
- Whisk eggs, add plant milk and vanilla.
- Add the honey, coconut oil, and coffee mixture (be sure it’s cool) to the wet ingredients.
- Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients.
- Fold dry fresh blueberries into the batter.
- Grease an 8×8 glass baking dish with coconut oil and fill with honey coffee cake batter.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until edges are browned and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
- While the honey coffee cake is baking, place a skillet on medium heat. Add coconut oil and then pecan pieces. Mix to coat.
- When the nuts begin to brown add the Eastern Shore Honey, cinnamon, vanilla and salt and mix thoroughly.
- When the cake is finished baking, top with the nut mixture and allow it to cool.
- Cut into slices and serve.
Adapting our Healthy Coffee Cake Recipe
Any recipe does not reach true perfection until you’ve added your own touch to it. At Waxing Kara Honey House we encourage you to play with your food. Change up this recipe. Here are some ideas:
- Replace the chopped pecans with sliced almonds, chopped walnuts, or chopped pistachio nuts.
- Leave off the nut topping. This cake will stand on its own without the candied nut topping.
- Remove the blueberries; either replace them with a fruit of your choice or make it without any fruit.
- Serve with a double latte made with almond milk!
Healthy Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 1/2 c all-purpose gluten-free flour
- 1 c almond flour
- 1 tbsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- pinch salt
- 2 tsp. fresh ground coffee
- 1/3 c unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 c Eastern Shore Honey
- 1/2 c coconut oil melted
- 1/2 c strong coffee hot
- 2 eggs whisked
- 1/2 c unsweetened plant milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 c blueberries
Topping
- 1 1/2 tbsp. coconut oil
- 1 1/2 c pecan pieces
- 2 tbsp. Eastern Shore Honey
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
- Sift all dry cake ingredients together, add ground coffee and shredded coconut, set aside
- Mix honey, warm coffee and melted coconut oil until honey is melted, set aside
- Whisk eggs, add plant milk and vanilla
- Add the honey, coconut oil and coffee mixture (be sure it’s cool) to wet ingredients
- Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients
- Fold dry fresh blueberries into batter
- Grease an 8×8 glass baking dish with coconut oil and fill with honey coffee cake batter
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until edges are browned and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
- While honey coffee cake is baking, place a skillet on medium heat. Add coconut oil and then pecan pieces. Mix to coat.
- When the nuts begin to brown add the Eastern Shore Honey, cinnamon, vanilla and salt and mix thoroughly.
- When the cake is finished baking, top with the nut mixture and allow to cool.
- Cut into slices and serve.
Nutrition
