Gluten Free Peach Crumble Cake

Every so often I try to go low carb or paleo in a fruitless attempt to shed some weight. It never works, because I always fail, BUT I do learn some pretty neat recipes. Also, I like avoiding the bloaty feeling that comes with eating too much glutenous stuff.

When it comes to baked goods, ESPECIALLY ones for breakfast, I actually really love using coconut and almond flour. I'd almost say I prefer it! It's just an added bonus that they're marginally "better" for you and have more fiber/vitamins and protein than traditional white flour. To be honest, whenever I'm breading meat for dinner I use almond flour. It just. tastes. better.

So, I'm not saying this is health food. It surely isn't, and the bourbon caramel I drizzled on top made any "paleo" claims fly right out the window. But I loved this cake. It was the perfect snack to munch on while I binge-watched The Great British Baking Show.

Anyone else addicted? I need to track down more episodes somehow, as I already devoured the ones on Netflix.

Anyways, if you have any sort of reservations about gluten free flours, I encourage you to seek out Paleo recipes. You're not going to get a fluffy, sugar-riddled birthday cake out of it, but you will find solid flavors and a bit more substance. And you'll avoid the weird aftertaste that some GF blends have. Bonus: many stores are creating their own in-house generic labels for these flours, so they aren't nearly as pricey as they used to be. If you have a Trader Joe's nearby, you can get a bag of either for well under $10. Score!

Gluten Free Peach Crumble Cake

(Adapted from Savory Lotus)

1/3 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp apple pie spice (or equal parts cinnamon, ginger, cardamom)
3 eggs
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 cup melted butter + 2tbs for topping (or sub with more coconut oil for dairy free)
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup coconut sugar (+ extra for sprinkling on top, ~2 tbs)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 egg whites
2 peaches, sliced
1/3 cup walnuts
optional: caramel for drizzling.

Preheat oven to 350F. Generously oil a 9" diameter cake pan and sprinkle with coconut flour.

In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients EXCEPT the egg whites. Be sure to let your melted fats cool so as not to scramble the eggs.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet.

In another large bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold the batter into the egg whites in quarters, being sure to lightly incorporate each.

Pour into the pan and arrange the peaches on top.

Mix together the walnuts and remaining coconut sugar with the remaining butter. Sprinkle in clumps on top of the peaches to get the crumble effect.

Bake for 28-30 minutes, until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Let cool to room temp, and sprinkle with caramel, if desired.