Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Tea Cake

This gluten free chocolate chip cinnamon tea cake is my solution to the cake conundrum that always accompanied my teatime in Oxford, after my wheat allergy was diagnosed. Scones are one thing. I like scones, but I can certainly live without them, and if I want to make some, there are plenty of gluten-free scone recipes. What I really missed out on was the tea cake. You see, there were always little cakes served at teatime, ranging from custard and fruit tarts to Victoria sponge. And, most of all, the classic British tea cake, which is sort of like a sweet roll, but lighter and doughier all at once, and studded with currants or nuts. This was the cake I wanted, because it wasn’t dessert like the others. It was supremely meant for tea, hearty enough to tide you over until dinner or to toast up for breakfast the next morning.

 

 

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Sweet and Saucy Cinna-cakes

Pancakes. Flapjacks. Hotcakes.

Whatever you want to call them, good old-fashioned pancakes are delicious. My traditional birthday breakfast has always consisted of pancakes with strawberries and bananas, drizzled with maple syrup. Lately I’ve been experimenting with my own batter, because I like to use whole foods as much as possible and to try different combinations of flavors. I already have a favorite basic pancake recipe that uses oats, but after whipping up so many flourless oat muffins I got to wondering if I could do the same with pancakes. This morning, I landed on a winner…so good, I just had to share!

I started with rolled oats. Frequent readers will realize by now that I am obsessed with oats. I often use them as a base rather than gluten-free flours, simply because I’m not a big fan of rice flour and many of the others use nuts as a base or additive, and I’m also nut-free. The good news is, they work great as a base for pancakes. I almost called these oatcakes, but there is already a food called oatcakes (very popular in the UK!) and that would be confusing. So I decided on Saucy Cinna-cakes, because the next ingredients to go in the bowl were applesauce and cinnamon, one of my favorite flavors (similar to my Caramel Apple Cinnamuffins). From there, I figured out the rest, and after a failed first flip, the rest of the batch came out hot, creamy, cake-y and delicious!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats (here, I abandoned my usual Country Choice in favor of Chex quick-cook rolled oats, because I didn’t want to bust out a blender and the slightly broken-down consistency is better for the batter. Up to you to try your favorite brand!)

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup vanilla Greek yogurt (you can also use one of the seasonal apple flavors – Dannon Greek Caramel Apple is scrumptious, as is the Chobani 2% Apple Cinnamon)

1 large egg OR 2 egg whites

2-3 tsp cinnamon

1-2 tsp stevia or other sweetener (to taste)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup chopped apples

1-2 tbsp maple syrup

Olive oil, butter, or cooking spray (to grease the pan)

Optional: berries, powdered sugar, or any other preferred pancake toppings.

 

Batter = light and frothy and bubbly

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, mix the oats, applesauce, yogurt, egg, cinnamon, sweetener, and baking powder. Beat until batter is light and frothy.

2. Bring a nonstick pan to medium heat and coat well with oil or butter.

3. Measure out just under 1/4 cup of batter and pour into pan. You can usually fit two cinna-cakes in the pan at a time.

4. Let cook for 2 minutes, watching to ensure there is no burning. Carefully flip each cake (this can be tricky!) and let cook another 1-2 minutes.

5. Transfer cinna-cakes to plate and repeat with the rest of the batter. It should yield 4-5 small cinna-cakes.

Cinnacakes cooking (pre-flip!)

6. Chop 1/2 a small apple and toss with cinnamon. Ensure the pan is still greased well, and toss apples in to cook for 5-10 minutes (the exact time will vary based on how thoroughly you like your apples cooked, I like them with a little bit of crunch!)

7. Pour maple syrup over the cinna-cakes. Top with the apples and fresh berries.

8. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Saucy Cinna-cakes with scrambled eggs and fresh blueberries!

 

 

© 2015 Renaissance Runner Girl. All rights reserved.

Caramel Apple Cinnamuffins

It’s official: my kitchen is experiencing olfactory overload. So many new recipes to try, and only so much winter break in which to try them!

This latest batch of muffins may seem familiar, cousins of my Banana-Maple-Oat and Apple-Berry-Nana creations. But these include a delightful twist of caramel, invisible in their warm golden-brown tops while infusing the scrumptious first bite. Enjoy!

 

Caramel Apple Cinnamuffins

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups gluten-free rolled oats (I love Country Choice Organic Gluten Free Rolled Oats)

1/2 large apple

2 large eggs

1/3 cup brown sugar

4 oz unsweetened applesauce (you can also use sweetened and decrease the sugar)

6 oz 2% vanilla or apple Greek yogurt (I love using the seasonal flavors, like Chobani 2% Apple Cinnamon or Dannon Caramel Apple, but unfortunately yogurt makers think we only like these in the autumn – FALSE!)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup caramel sauce (you can make your own, of course – this is the next skill I’ll tackle, but for now I used Stonewall Kitchen Sea Salt Caramel Sauce)

2-3 tsp cinnamon (to taste)

Butter, oil, or cooking spray (for the muffin tin)

 

Instructions:

Cinnamuffin Batter

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with butter, oil or cooking spray.

3. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.

4. Chop up half an apple into small cubes and toss into bowl.

5. Add egg, yogurt, and applesauce.

6. Mix well until the batter is uniform. This should be about 12-15 good stirs.

7. Now, for the caramel! I simply put my caramel sauce in at this stage and mix 4-5 more times so it becomes part of the batter, because I like the flavor throughout the muffin. However, you can also keep the caramel separate and fill each muffin tin about 2/3 of the way, then place a dollop of the sauce on top before adding the last bit of batter. This gives you a caramel center for each muffin, which can be a scrumptious surprise! I just like to mix it in, and then pour the batter into the muffin tin.

8. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.

9. Let cool.

10. Enjoy!

 

 

Bursting with apples, cinnamon and caramel!

 

 

 

© 2014 Renaissance Runner Girl. All rights reserved.

Marvelous Muffins: Banana-Maple-Oat Edition

As promised in yesterday’s post, my recipe for the warming winter edition of Marvelous Muffins! I love the banana-maple-oat combination because it just tastes a little like the start of the holiday season, with hints of maple candy made with syrup and snow, and the cinnamon sugar scent that wafts from all Chrismukkah-cookie kitchens. They’re a perfect breakfast or dessert, and so convenient to grab and go if you’re on the move and have an oatmeal craving you just can’t shake but have no time to indulge! So, without further ado…

 

Banana-Maple-Oat Muffins

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups gluten-free rolled oats (I love Country Choice Organic Gluten Free Rolled Oats)

2 large bananas (roughly 8″ long)

2 large eggs

1/2 cup sweetener (I use my brown sugar and Stevia combination but feel free to experiment!)

6 oz 2% plain Greek yogurt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup maple syrup

2-3 tsp cinnamon (to taste)

Optional: sometimes I’ll throw in raisins or chocolate chips if I’m feeling decadent. I’m nut-free but if you’re lucky enough to be able to indulge, go right ahead with your favorite kind!

 

What the muffin batter should look like

 

Instructions:

1. Chop up bananas lengthwise (in half) and widthwise (into 1/2″ slices).

2. Place bananas in a large bowl with all the other ingredients except optional add-ins.

3. Mix well until the batter is uniform. This should be about 12-15 good stirs. Don’t worry about completely smashing all the banana chunks, just get a uniform consistency. And once the batter is pretty smooth with the exception of banana chunks and oats, stop stirring – overstirring can result in collapsed muffins!

4. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.

5. Let cool.

6. Enjoy!

 

Muffins in the pan – two of them are raisin-topped for a raising-loving friend!

 

 

 

© 2014 Renaissance Runner Girl. All rights reserved.