The Gluten-Free Homemaker

Last Friday I was shopping at BJ’s and saw a big bag of beautiful cranberries.  I almost picked them up, then decided not to, then picked them up.  I didn’t know what I was going to do with them, but they were calling to me.  A couple of days later I was wondering what the theme was for this week’s Friday Foodie Fix, so I stopped by The W.H.O.L.E. Gang and saw that it was….cranberries!

I was excited about trying some new cranberry recipes this week until I realized that I had a very busy week with little time to go to the grocery store or do any baking.  I had to make something, though.  I’ll tell up front that my first “something” was a flop.  Yes, I do have flops.  I decided to make muffins and saw another recipe that paired cranberries with pumpkin.  That sounded good so I quickly went about throwing together a muffin recipe.  Unfortunately, I didn’t take into account the moisture in the pumpkin when I decided on the amount of milk I would use.  They were way too wet and heavy.  They never cooked completely on the inside and ended up in the trash.

The next day I went to the grocery store and picked up some oranges thinking to use them in a cranberry recipe.  This time I took my time putting together something I would like, and here is what I came up with.  It is delicious.  I love the flavor combination, and it’s easy to make.

Coffee cakes are generally a little sweeter than I like to eat for breakfast, especially with a topping, but this one has enough whole grain, nut, and berry goodness that I even ate it for breakfast.

Gluten-Free Cranberry-Orange Coffee Cake

Ingredients

• 4 Tb. butter, softened
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 c. brown rice flour
• 3/4 c. millet flour
• 1/2 c. potato starch
• 1 tsp. xanthan gum
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. orange juice
• zest of one orange
• 1 1/2 c. cranberries
• 1 c. chopped pecans, toasted

Topping

• 1/2 c. gluten-free flour mix
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 3 Tb. butter, cold

Instructions
In the bowl of your mixer, cream together the butter and sugar.  Add the eggs and beat until light and fluffy.  Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl.  Add them to the egg mixture alternately with the orange juice, beginning and ending with the flour.  Stir in the zest, cranberries, and pecans.  Spread the batter in a greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan. 

Combine the topping ingredients with  a pastry blender and sprinkle on top of the batter.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

Note:  My nuts were closer to being ground than chopped because my food processor was dirty and I decided to use my Magic Bullet.

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This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Mondays at Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free.

Labels: breakfast recipes, cake, dessert recipes