Oat & Buckwheat Breakfast Cake
Once upon a time, breakfast was my favorite meal of the day. A gluten allergy and an egg allergy later, not so much. It’s now something that I resent having to plan carefully each week, so I just recycle the same go-to recipes over and over. I also love a sweet breakfast. I’m not one of those heroes that’s eating dinner leftovers for breakfast. I can tell time, and in the morning it’s time for a runny, gooey egg on top of something savory. It’s not time for a chicken drumstick and roasted carrots. There are some lines I refuse to cross. Enter the world of gluten-free vegan baking. A world so dense with chemistry, it’s the circle of hell that Dante reserved for feeding people who can’t eat baked goods even more terrible baked goods. It’s been my mission to make an allergy-friendly baked good for breakfast that’s actually edible, and let me tell you, there have been a lot of failures along the way. However, this recipe isn’t one of them. It uses some of my favorite breakfast grains that I usually serve up in hot cereal and combines them with some juicy, ripe pears and dried apricots. Buckwheat is a more unconventional ingredient, and it lends a really unique nutty taste to this breakfast cake that works in concert with the fruit. Chia and applesauce act as great stand-ins for my beloved eggs, giving this bread a nice lift and crumb that you might expect from a cake that a totally normal person could eat. I can’t say for sure if breakfast has returned to my favorite meal, but this has definitely become my new favorite breakfast.
¼ c coconut oil, plus more
¼ c maple syrup
⅓ c unsweetened applesauce (can substitute an egg)
½ c unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp apple cider vinegar
½ c almond flour
½ c buckwheat flour*
½ c oat flour*
¼ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 c ripe pear, diced
½ c dried unsulfured apricots, diced
3 Tbsp chia seeds
*These ingredients can be bought pre-ground, or simply ground at home in a spice grinder, coffee grinder, or small food processor.
Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly grease an 8x8-inch pan with coconut oil. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine all wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients, leaving out the fruit and chia seeds. Stir well with a spatula until all ingredients are moistened.
Fold in pears, apricots, and chia seeds. Ensure that everything is well-distributed and pour until your prepared baking pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Enjoy with yogurt, walnuts, and a little drizzle of maple syrup.
Note: You can feel free to mix up the fruit in this recipe to your taste. Apples, figs, currants, and berries would all be worthwhile swaps. Just think about what you might put on your oatmeal in the morning and go from there!
