strawberry almond breakfast cake

gluten free baking is becoming more familiar to me - fun actually.

once thought of as scary, not gonna go there territory, has now become a fun kitchen adventure full of new flavor, textures and methods.

my recent loves are almond meal, coconut flour and polenta.

just like vegan cooking & baking, gluten free vegan cooking & baking is amazing and 

not as hard as one would think.

as some of you know from my last post, i had my dad over for breakfast on fathers day. still with ample strawberries on hand just begging to be used some sort of breakfast cake was called for.

armed with homemade maple sugar, bright red berries, freshly ground almond meal and polenta, i was ready to tackle making the best breakfast cake my dad has ever eaten.

halved and quartered strawberries are tossed with maple sugar

my newest obsession has been 6" mini cake pans - they are awesome, allowing you to keep one cake for your self and give the other away.

then layered in the bottom of 2- greased 6" mini cake pans

a polenta almond batter is whipped up and poured over the berries

when baked, the berries become a jam like irresistible topping

sprinkled with powdered sugar brings this breakfast cake from "oh, that's nice" to "oh my word".

funny story. this cake wasn't even broken into during breakfast with my dad. I went a little overboard with everything else, no one had room for a slice of breakfast cake.

not to worry, cake doesn't go to waste at our house. later that same day i was heading over to my Pepe's house for a father's day BBQ - this cake came along with me.

it received a 10 - a score a bit higher than he gave my tourtiere!

the almond meal, polenta, olive oil and strawberries give this cake a just sweet enough taste.

for a dessert option, serve with freshly whipped coconut cream or your favorite vegan ice cream.

 a sprinkling of almonds on top also is a fantastic option

strawberry almond breakfast cake

makes (2) 6" cakes or (1) 8" cake

you will need:

pre heat oven to 350*

2 cups strawberries, hulled and quartered or halved

1/4 cup maple sugar

 (substitute coconut sugar or granulated sugar)

1 cup almond meal

1 cup polenta

2 tbsp cornstarch

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup agave

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup soygurt

1/4 cup good olive oil

juice of 1/2 lemon

vegan butter for greasing the pans

powdered sugar or additional sliced almonds for garnish

assembly:

in a medium bowl combine strawberries & maple sugar, mix to coat well and set aside

in a large mixing bowl stir together almond meal through salt

add agave, soygurt, olive oil & lemon to the dry mix and stir until moist

grease (2) 6" pans or (1) 8" pan, bottom and sides with vegan butter

divide strawberries between the 2 pans - pour half the batter in one pan and the remaining half of batter in the other pan. place the (2) 6" pans on a baking sheet. bake in the pre heated oven for 30-35 minutes until a cake tester, when tested in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.

remove from oven and cool for 20 minutes on a wire rack. invert pans on a serving platter and flip - like you would an upside cake. if some of the strawberries stick to the pan simply take a spatula or spoon, remove from pan and reapply to the cake.

sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving or top with slice almonds.

additional serving suggestions: your favorite vegan ice cream or coconut whipped cream

enjoy!