Paleo Pound Cake

Let me start this by saying it does taste quite a bit like coconut so if you don't like it, you're probably not going to like this. I, however, LOVE coconut so I got to eat it all because Gary doesn't. :D

You're going to need:
6 eggs
1 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla extract (use the real stuff people!)
1 tsp. orange extract *
1 cup coconut flour  **
1/4 tsp baking SODA (not POWDER)
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp sea salt
coconut oil for the pan

Start by preheating your oven to 350F (176C).

Grease your loaf pan very thoroughly. The recipe also says lightly flour, which I didn't do and didn't have any problems but I use the Pampered Chef stoneware loaf pan so I really don't need to. Just use a little coconut flour and you'll be good.

IF you have a food processor I'd recommend using it for this recipe. I use it for all my Paleo breads because it just gets the batter nice and smooth and you don't have to worry about lumps of anything in your bread.

Beat the eggs until they are smooth. Add in the remaining liquid ingredients (coconut milk, honey, vanilla extract and orange extract) and mix it up.

Add in the dry ingredients (coconut flour, baking soda, cinnamon, sea salt) and mix until smooth. The recipe says to sift the coconut flour but I didn't and never do in my recipes and it turned out just fine.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour. The recipe says 45 minutes but mine took close to an hour. Start checking it about 45 minutes in using the toothpick test.

Try and wait until it's cooled down a bit before diving in, believe it or not it comes out of the oven hot and even someone who's had a skin graft and should be skittish of hot things didn't wait and burnt her tongue.. idiot right?

* I didn't use orange extract. I don't have any on hand and didn't feel like going to the store. 

** The recipe says "or flour of choice" but I wouldn't recommend swapping out flours unless you know the exact conversions. For example, if you're using almond flour you need to use LOTS LOTS LOTS more (I don't know the exact conversions and I'm not going to pretend that I do). Coconut flour to almond flour does not measure equally. Just stick with the coconut flour. It's lighter, fluffier and tastes amazing. :D

Paleo (gluten free) Bread!

So, now that we can't eat your typical "buy from the grocery store" bread, I've been on the hunt for good bread recipes that I can keep on hand for my bread fiend.
I tried one 2 weeks ago, and while it was good, it was very, very dense/heavy. I had to drown it in honey and one tiny slice had me full for hours. It was HEAVY!
I was doing some hunting a last week for a new one to try and I came across this one and I feel really bad but I don't remember where I found it so I can't give credit. I also made a few changes for lack of ingredients.

You're going to need:
1 3/4 cups almond flour
2 Tbs coconut flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp baking SODA (not POWDER)
5 eggs
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 Tbs honey
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar

The best way to do this is with a food processor. The bread I made last week I hand mixed and it was kinda lumpy. The food processor got this as smooth as pancake batter and I think that made a difference.

Put the almond flour, coconut flour, salt and baking soda in the processor. Pulse it a few times to mix it all up.
Put in the eggs, oil, honey and vinegar and pulse it a few times to get it all nice and smooth.
Pour the batter into a loaf pan (about 7.5 x 3.5). You can grease it if you'd like. I use my Pampered Chef stoneware so I don't need to.
Bake at 350F  (176C) for 30 minutes. A knife should come out clean if you stick it into the bread.

I waited until the morning after to post this so I could know if it tastes as good the day after and it DOES. It doesn't harden up at all. I wouldn't hold on to it more than 2 days, but as tasty as it is, it probably won't last a whole day. ;)

Irish Soda Bread

You'd think, being married to an Irishman, I'd make this bread more but I really don't, and the last time I did he left half of it un-eaten. I made some today. It better be gone by Monday!!!

First off make this bread at least 5 hours before you'll actually need it. This is not a 'serve warm or hot' bread.

You're going to need:
3 cups all -purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups buttermilk ***
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 325 F (165 C). Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda. Blend the egg and buttermilk together separately then add all at once to the flour mixture. Mix until just moistened. Stir in the melted butter. Pour into the greased pan.

Bake for 65 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean blah blah blah. Cool for about 5 minutes on a wire rack. Wrap the bread loaf in foil for several hours UP TO overnight for the best flavor.

*** if you do not have buttermilk you can make your own with some milk and white vinegar. 4.5 teaspoons per cup of milk.

Enjoy!!!