Orange-infused coffee cake with walnut streusel topping

Every Saturday, I have a tradition. Instead of sleeping in and wasting the day, I wake up early and make my way, sleepy-eyed, to the kitchen, where I sip my lemon water while browsing my baking shelf. I put together a few ingredients- sometimes starting with almond flour, sometimes coconut, glance through my stash of fresh fruit, choose a natural sweetener (honey? maple syrup? coconut sugar?), take out my eggs and start whisking and pouring. Sometimes I have an idea in mind, sometimes it comes together as it goes. This recipe was inspired by Sondi, the newest intern at the Meghan Telpner Academy. I can already tell we are going to be good friends- this girl knows her flavors.

We were chatting away during a lull at the photo shoot last week, when I mentioned I was feeling uninspired for my Saturday morning baking session. I had done muffins, cookies, bars. But when she mentioned a breakfast cake, coffee cake came to mind. I hadn’t tackled  that one grain-free yet. We started brainstorming. Pecans? No, too similar to my previous recipe. Walnuts! Walnuts sounded good.She suggested citrus- and an orange-infused coffee cake with a crunchy walnut topping came to mind. I texted the hubby- buy me a big orange, please- just one?- yes, just one.

And on Saturday morning, my new favorite grain-free breakfast treat was created. Thanks so much Sondi, I can’t wait to see what we brainstorm up next!

This cake is quite sweet- even though I’ve significantly reduced the sweetener from the original version- it could definitely stand alone as a dessert, as well. It’s really just all-around good!

Orange-infused coffee cake with Walnut Struesel topping
Serves 6-8 (a little goes a long way with this rich cake!)

Cake-
3 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1.5 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
pinch cloves
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup orange juice
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
zest of 1 large orange

Topping (optional)-
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup coconut crystals (or sucanat)
1 tbsp arrowroot
1 tsp cinnamon
3 heaping tbsp coconut oil

To prepare topping:
Mix walnuts, coconut crystals, cinnamon and arrowroot. Add in coconut oil and stir until crumbly.

To make cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, sea salt, baking powder and spices. Set aside.

2. Melt honey and coconut oil together in a small pan. Set aside to cool slightly. Whisk together eggs, orange juice, orange zest and vanilla. When mostly cooled, whisk in honey/coconut oil mixture.

3. Pour wet into dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into a greased 8×8” pan. Sprinkle topping on cake and bake 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out dry.

When is your favorite time to bake? There is nothing like my early Saturday morning sessions, my baked goods rising with the sun. Baking at night is just not the same.

xo

Tagged as: citrus, coffee cake, gluten free, gluten-free baked good, gluten-free cake, gluten-free coffee cake, grain-free, grain-free baked good, grain-free cake, grain-free coffee cake, orange, orange dessert, orange-infused coffee cake, struesel, walnuts