Cococut Flour Cake

I tried my hand at the coconut flour today and am really pleased with the results.
Here's the original recipe from SCD_recipe_creators yahoo group:

Ellen's Coconut Flour cake (advanced food on SCD):

6 eggs

1 stick butter, melted

1 tbl. vanilla

1 cup coconut flour

1 cup honey

1.5 tsp. baking soda

Mix extremely well (I put in in my Kitchen Aid mixer for several minutes). Pour into well-greased cake pan, preferably lined with parchment on the bottom (can be hard to get out otherwise). Bake at 350 until lightly brown (I think it was about 30 minutes).


I replaced the butter with ghee, and I added some powdered cardamom to mask the taste of the coconut flour. I forgot about the parchment paper (I won't the next time!).

The tip about mixing extremely well in a Kitchen Aid mixer can't be understated. I beat the mixture for about 5-7 minutes.

The resulting batter looked like this:

As you can see, I am not using a cake pan, I don't have one (!).

I put this in the oven at 325F. At around 25 mins I got a little nervous, because the cake looked brown around the edges but didn't seem to be done yet in the center. So I reduced the heat to 275 F let it bake for 10 mins (at 275 F).
Turned the oven off and let the cake sit there till I got back from a kid-pickup-and-dropoff (about 20 mins).




And... Voila. Here's my perfect pound cake...that earns a high rating from S.
The coconut taste is reasonably masked by the cardamom (especially when its warm), but starts to make its presence felt when it is eaten cold.

I am sure that some coulis (without sugar) made from blueberries or raspberries would be perfect.

I can't wait to see if I can figure out how to layer some lemon curd (from yogurt cheese and lemon) or other fruit to dress this up to make it birthday party-worthy!

Coconut Flour muffins

Almond flour is an SCD staple, but is high in oxalate which isn't so great. This causes oxidative stress and increases inflammation.
I think SCD recommends no more than 4 almond flour muffins a day - I think S eats 4 a day for sure. His lunchbox always has a couple of almond muffins. They're yummy, high in protein and calories.
But from the oxalate point of view: Almonds have 303 oxalates per 1/2 cup, which makes it a high oxalate food. I think I need to start experimenting with other nut flours:
Peanuts - less at 119 per 1/2 cup.
Macadamias 27 oxalates per 1/2 cup
Walnuts 45 per 1/2 cup
Pistachios 32 per 1/2 cup

Coconut Flour is another great alternative, and here are a couple of recipes that I am going to try from: http://www.simplycoconut.com/coconut_flour_recipes.htm

Honey Muffins

This is a basic coconut four muffin recipe you can use to make a variety of muffins.

3 eggs

2 tablespoons ghee

2 tablespoons coconut milk [ I used almond milk]

3 tablespoons honey

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon vanilla

¼ cup sifted coconut flour [Bob's red mill coconut flour]

¼ teaspoon baking powder

Blend together eggs, butter, coconut milk, honey, salt, and vanilla. Combine coconut flour with baking powder and thoroughly mix into batter until there are no lumps. Pour batter into muffin cups. Bake at 400 degrees F (205C) for at least 15 minutes. Makes 6 muffins.

I tried this out this weekend. They turned out great. I added raisins to the batter.

Pecan Muffins

Make Honey Muffins as directed and add ½ cup of chopped pecans and ⅛ teaspoon almond extract.

Blueberry Muffins

Make Honey Muffins as directed and add ½ cup of fresh blueberries and ⅛ teaspoon almond extract. Blueberries should be dry. If rinsed, dry before adding to batter. Bake for 16-18 minutes.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Make Honey Muffins as directed but omit the vanilla and add 2 teaspoons of lemon extract. Sprinkle poppy seeds on top of muffins just before baking.

Update 10/15/07
This has now become the weekly staple. These muffins are so spongy and moist they taste like they are made of gluten. The taste of coconut is completely masked if you add a banana. I've also doubled the quantities to make 12 muffins with no problem.

Cranberry Walnut Bread

8 eggs

½ cup coconut oil or butter, melted

½ cup coconut milk

½ cup sucanat or sugar [ replace with honey]

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon lemon extract

½ teaspoon salt

⅔ cup sifted coconut flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup dried cranberries

½ cup walnuts, chopped

Blend together eggs, oil, coconut milk, sugar, vanilla, lemon extract, and salt. Combine coconut flour with baking powder and whisk thoroughly into batter until there are no lumps. Fold in cranberry sauce and nuts. Pour into greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees F (175 C) for 60 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on rack.

PB cookies

PB cookie recipe - 1/2 C butter, 1 C peanut butter, 1/2 C honey , 1 C nut flour, 2 eggs, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp vanilla . cream butter. add PB and mix, add rest. drop on greased cookie sheet and bake 325F for 10 minutes

From SCD_recipe_creators yahoo group.

Update 10/15/07
I tried this recipe out yesterday. The cookies were delicious, soft and the sweetness was just right, but is not great for the lunch box because it falls apart. Sanjay loved them.
I added about 1 tbs coconut flour and left the cookies in the oven after switching it off. This made them much more firm and lunch-boxable.

Single Guy's Baked Banana Dish

From
http://www.mealsforyou.com/cgi-bin/print?recipe.10170
For 4 servings:

• 8 firm bananas, cut into chunks
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup cinnamon sugar

Place banana chunks in a small baking dish. Top with melted butter and cinnamon sugar. Bake in the oven or in a toaster oven at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes.