It's been too long since we introduced almond flour to this family. I want to make it clear that we have NOT forgotten about almond flour. We've been making cakes and cookies with it here and there. We just haven't bothered to brag/blog about it mostly because, well, almond flour is so perfect, like that high achiever star child in your family-everybody knows how awesome it is and you need to say no more about it!
Until now, another perfectly awesome star comes along...
THE COCONUT FLOUR!
Nope, not the shredded coconut! The FLOUR! The fine ground powder form of coconut that has the same sweet smell and rich buttery texture as the coconut milk.
Like a cousin of almond flour, the coconut flour is gluten free, protein rich, low carb and full of great nutrients (sounds familiar?). It has the same nutty flavor as the almond flour (hello, coco-NUT!), and can absorb even more liquid in baking. It has a finer texture than almond flour, so fine it almost resembles that of a rice flour. Indeed, I've begun to mix in the coconut flour when I make rice cakes these days. Why not introduce more flavor and nutrients AND cut down the carb!
I have to admit, coconut flour is occupying my top shelf in the pantry these days!
All right all right, this post is about almond flour after all! Let's get back on the topic shall we? How about some simple and delicious almond-coconut cake that we can eat as breakfast, snack and dessert every day!
Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter, softened under room temperature
1/3 cup sugar (adjust the amount to the level of sweetness you prefer)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11/2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Steps:
Preheat the oven to 350 degree F; butter a 9 inch cake pan or line with parchment paper;
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the butter and sugar until it appears lighter in color and creamy in texture;
Into the mixture of 2, add one egg at a time, continue to whisk until everything is mixed. It's Okay to have those droplets of egg/oil mixture!
Add milk and vanilla, and continue to mix;
In another mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: almond flour, coconut flour and baking powder;
Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in 4, use a spatula to mix everything together. The batter appears thick and grainy;
Pour the batter into the cake pan, use the spatula to flatten the top, bake for 35~40 minutes;
Take out the cake pan and let it cool down for at least 10 minutes. Turn the cake pan upside down onto a big plate and let the cake gently fall onto the plate. Warning! It's critical to let the cake cool down as this is a very fluffy and crumbly cake, and it WILL fall apart if you try to get it out of the pan while it's hot!
Now enjoy the cake with some fresh fruits and/or whipped cream!
