Foods Yes, you can have a heavenly piece of blueberry coffee cake and still be walking the healthy-eating walk. What’s more, you can enjoy it, even when baked with coconut flour!
I know many people have avoided baking with coconut flour because the results can end “eggy” tasting or too dry. The texture can be like “cardboard” and it can be a pain to work with. So let me relieve some of your worries by giving you a great recipe that’s sure to turn out (and few tips too).
Looking for more gluten-free recipes and resources? This Everything Gluten Free page is a library of everything gluten free we’ve worked on.
How to Work with Coconut Flour
Let me take some of the mystery out of working with coconut flour:
- Always, always mix your wet ingredients together before adding the dry ingredients.
- Be sure to use a whisk. Using stand mixers can leave you with over mixed batter. This batter is so easy to work with, you don’t need to bother with your stand mixer.
- Add the coconut flour slowly, resting between each addition. Each brand and batch of coconut flour can be different in consistency, which makes this a very important step.
- If you find the batter too thick after adding all the ingredients and allowing your batter to sit a few minutes, add some more liquid. This always helps get a nice lift and fluff in baked coconut flour goods.
If you follow these steps, you will be a coconut flour baker extraordinaire!
Why Use Coconut Flour?
I use coconut flour over other nut flours when grain free baking because of known hypothroidism issues. Gluten is a big no, no if you struggle with thyroid issues. So for years I focused on using nut flours, like almond flour.
But in recent years I’ve found nut flours can even aggravate my Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. I felt sluggish every time I ate baked goods made with nut flours. But I soon found, coconut flour products don’t make me feel this way.
Recipe Information:
- This is a dairy-free and grain-free recipe.
- It also fits *Trim Healthy Mama, paleo, gluten-free, GAPS, and Candida type diets.
- Tweak the recipe to suit your taste buds by changing out the berries.
- Prefer not to use sweeteners? Substitute honey if you like, although it may not fit some of the above categories. Just make sure to adjust the liquids.
- Any milk or oil may be substituted for dairy-based products, if you’re not dairy-free.
Remember how I mentioned that you may need to add some liquids to the batter? This is what the batter looked like just after adding all the coconut flour:
Here is what the batter looked like after a little longer rest:
Heavenly Blueberry Coconut Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 8 eggs free range organic or omega-3 are best
- 3/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon stevia extract powder I use Trim Healthy Mama brand stevia
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract gluten free is best
- 13.5 ounces coconut milk homemade or typically one can
- 1 cup coconut flour separated into thirds (do not pack)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- water
- 2 cups wild blueberries or berries of choice
Topping Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups almonds soaked is best or you may try my favorite Trail Mix Muesli as a topping
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 2 pinches stevia extract powder or to taste
- 3 tablespoons softened coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg optional
- pinch sea salt
- 1 cup wild blueberries
Instructions
- With a whisk mix eggs, coconut oil, vanilla, and milk.
- Add coconut flour 1/3 cup at a time mixing and letting it rest a little between additions.
- Add stevia, salt, baking soda and apple cider vinegar. Mix well.
- If at this point the batter is too thick after resting a little, add water. Start with 1/4 cup at a time. I have had to go to a full 3/4 cup of water. You want the consistency of a nice creamy, slightly thick cake batter.
- Fold in 2 cups of blueberries. Pour into greased 9X13 inch pyrex.
- Mix together nuts, stevia, salt, coconut and coconut oil for the topping with a fork in a bowl. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the cake.
- Lastly, sprinkle the blueberries evenly over the top.
- Place in the oven at 350 degrees. Bake for 45 minutes. Check at 40 minutes to be sure it is not over browning. If it is and needs a longer cooking time, cover with aluminum foil to keep the topping from burning. You may need to cook for another 10-15 minutes longer.
- To test cake for done-ness, make sure that the cake is not jiggling in the center when you pull it out. You may also test using a toothpick. It is best if you have a little crumb left on the toothpick.
- Let the cake cool for a few minutes before cutting or overnight. I haven't decided whether I like it better the day of or the day after.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
You can really do a lot with this recipe. Play with it and make it your own.
Would you like some more tasty, kid-friendly breakfast ideas?
Check out our cookbook Brainy Breakfasts – it’s filled with over 40 grain-free, brain-fueling breakfast recipes to keep things new and exciting! It’s available as a downloadable or softcover book. You won’t run out of healthy, tasty breakfast recipes anytime soon with this cookbook ?
Thanks for the baking tips!!
You’re welcome! 🙂
I’d love for you to share this at Savoring Saturdays this week. The linky will go live at 7pm this Friday. I can’t wait to try this! Yum! 🙂
I will do that Eva 🙂 Thanks for the invite!
That looks amazing! I just love anything with blueberries in it! 🙂
~ Christine
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do 🙂
This looks delicious! I love anything with blueberries 🙂 If you’re interested, I’d love to have you share this recipe at Naturally Sweet Tuesdays! Thanks for considering 🙂 ~Aubree
http://livingfree.aubreecherie.com/2014/06/naturally-sweet-tuesday-june-3-2014/
I will definitely share this there. Thank you for the invite! Blessings ~ Amanda
I threw it all out:(. It was oily and tasteless:(. Sorry. I really wanted it to be good! I love coconut and blueberries but NOPE:/
I’m so sorry it didn’t turn out for you!! Do you have any suggestions for improving the recipe?
Can you use honey instead of stevia? If so how much.
Absolutely! You can use honey. I would probably use about 1/2-1 cup of honey (depending on your taste). Then I would sub out some of the liquid. So make sure you add the liquid after you have added the honey, and make sure you that you let it set to soak for the consistency that I said in the post.
The link to the food lists for those struggling with thryoid doesn’t work – can you give a new link? Thanks, Ann
For the amount of stevia it says tsp. Is that of stevia extract? Thank you:)
Susan, I used an organic powdered stevia extract for this recipe. The recipe says 2 pinches for the topping and 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of the stevia for the cake. Thanks for asking! I will update that.
This looks delicious, Amanda! Thank you bunches for linking up and partying with us! Pinning this!
I’ve never heard of coconut flour. Thanks for posting this week at the #WWDParty.
We really enjoy a nice Coffee Cake and your Blueberry Coconut Coffee Cake looks delicious! Thanks so much for sharing this awesome recipe with Full Plate Thursday and come back soon!
Miz Helen
Its SO nice to see a grain free recipe that isn’t full of SUGAR in the form of honey…that’s my biggest pet peeve with “Paleo” recipes. I’m glad I found your site. Thanks!
Glad you’re enjoying our recipes! I do use honey sometimes, but for our every-day treats I try to keep our foods low-glycemic. For my kids birthdays, Christmas, and other special occasions sometimes I’ll make treats that are made with honey or other natural sugars though.
I have a child who is allergic to eggs. Is there a substitute that would work well for all of the eggs in this recipe? Everything that I’ve read seems to suggest that lots of eggs are necessary when working with coconut flour. I’m just wondering if you’ve had any success working with egg substitutes with this recipe or others. Thank you!
Venesa, when working with coconut flour one needs a lot of eggs 🙂 OR gelatin, flax, chia and nut butters. There are many combinations that you can create to help it out. But for this specific recipe I have not yet tried something egg free. This question gets my creative juices flowing! So if I can come up with a successful egg free coconut flour coffee cake, I will keep you in the loop. 🙂
Can I sub a liquid stevia extract for the powdered version? Would the amount convert exactly, do you know? Thank you!
You can! I honestly don’t know a reliable conversion for powder stevia to liquid, especially as each brand varies greatly. My recommendation: start with about 55 drops (this is what I have used at times) and taste to see after mixing well. You may need more. That amount usually works for me. How I know is by tasting. Everyone has a threshold for sweets, sugar or stevia sweetened. Blessings ~ Amanda
P.S. Make sure it’s drops too, not droppers full. 😉 Hope this helps!
Excuse my nativity, but how is this a coffee cake? I don’t see coffee listed in the ingredients. Also, I think you have to watch the amount of blueberries you can use for an S meal in THM too? More than 1/2 cup per serving and it’s heading into another zone? I see your recipe was for 15 servings though, so maybe it evened out ok?
Kathy, no problem! All coffee cakes are eaten with coffee… like a morning breakfast cake. Very few, if any, actually include coffee in the ingredients list. As far as THM goes, yes, you are correct in the fact that more than 1/2 cup serving of blueberries leads you out of S territory, but there is not even a full 1/4 cup of blueberries in one serving of the coffee cake. This recipe was Pearl approved at the time of posting.
I can’t do ACV – substitute? Looks amazing. Thank you!
Any other mildly flavored vinegar or lemon juice should work.