Blood Orange Loaf Cake

One thing I love about winter is the abundance of citrus blessed upon us during this time of year.

This cake is delicious! It is sugar free but has a light touch of sweetness from the grated rind as well as a touch of maple syrup on the frosting. My baked goods are usually completely sugar free or have a tbsp or so here and there of a natural sweetener.

This is also paleo and grain free as well and can be made egg free with a gelatin egg.

Ingredients needed:

Almond Flour: Almond flour is made from blanched ground almonds. Do not confuse this for almond meal which includes grinding the skin. Almond meal is course and will not work the same in recipes. Look for fine ground blanched almond flour. If you are allergic to almonds, tiger nut flour is an excellent alternative to try. If you’re allergic to nuts or avoiding almonds while on the autoimmune protocol, you can substitute Tigernut flour in this recipe as a 1:1 sub. I usually purchase my almond flour from Trader Joe’s or Anthony’s on Amazon.

Cassava: Cassava is native to Brazil and South America. It’s similar in shape to a sweet potato but is longer and brown on the outside. Inside the flesh is white. Like sweet potatoes and yams, cassava is also a tuber that is often made into a flour or is eaten on it’s own just like a potato. This root vegetable can be use as a substitute for many potato based recipes. Its flour may also act as a 1:1 flour replace in some recipes as well. Cassava flour is a fantastic anti-inflammatory plant to use.

Tapioca starch: Tapioca starch comes from the cassava plant and is the starch of the cassava root. You’ll need tapioca starch in this recipe. If you can’t find any you may substitute with arrowroot flour.

Coconut milk: I find that full fat coconut milk gives the best flavor in most recipes. I either purchase mine from Trader Joe’s or buy it in bulk from Amazon in packs of 6-12. Brands I like and use regularly are Native Forest & Thai Kitchen’s Simple No Guar Coconut Milk.

Eggs: I use eggs in most of my recipe. But if you don’t you may substitute a gelatin egg here. Gelatin is one of the safest alternative for folks with allergies and gut health issues. I recommend using bovine gelatin to replace your egg. See notes below for how to make it. Alternately, you may use a flax seed egg but please note I have not tested flax eggs in this recipe.

How To Make A Gelatin Egg:

To make your gelatin egg, bring a small amount of water to a boil. About quarter to half a cup will do. Add 2 tbsp of the boiling water and 1 tbsp room temperature water to a small dish. Then slowly pour in 1 scoop or 10g of bovine gelatin to the mixture. As you pour, stir with a spoon or chopstick to ensure you get a smooth blend. Immediately pour this mixture directly into your bake. It will harden as you continue working. You want to add the gelatin egg in last as it will begin to club as it hardens making it harder to stir into the batter.

Apple cider vinegar:

If you do use a gelatin egg, please make sure to add in 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar to the batter before you pour it into molds.

Ingredients:

• 140g ripe banana

• 1 large egg

• 1 cup full fat coconut milk

• 1 cup almond flour (sub Tigernut)

• 1/2 cup tapioca flour (sub arrowroot)

• 1/2 cup cassava flour

• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp cinnamon or to taste

• 1 tsp baking powder (Otto’s Grain Free)

• Zest of one blood orange

Frosting:

• Juice of one blood orange

• 60g melted coconut butter

• 1 tbsp maple syrup

• 1 blood orange, sliced

If using a gelatin egg, add:

• 10g bovine gelatin

• 2 tbsp boiling water

• 1 tbsp room temp water

• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Preparations:

• Mash your banana in a large bowl until smooth. Then add in your egg. If using a gelatin egg wait to add it later.

• Best until combined. Then, add in a cup of full fat coconut milk. And stir again until smooth.

• Zest one blood orange directly into this batter. Set aside.

• In smaller dish, squeeze the juice out from the remaining orange. Set this aside for the frosting.

• In a separate bowl, combine the cassava flour, almond flour and tapioca flour. Add in the cinnamon, baking powder.

• If using Tigernut flour, sift it first to get out all the clumps. If you skip this step you’ll have a clumpy cake.

• Mix the dry flour into the wet and stir to combine.

• If using a gelatin egg make it now and add it into the batter immediately. Then add in the apple cider vinegar. See instructions above.

• Pour this into your baking dish. Set your oven to 350F and bake for 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Make your frosting:

• To make the frosting, melt coconut butter in a stove or in the microwave. Mix them together. Them, stir in the maple syrup. Set aside.

• Once the cake is cool the touch you can frost it.

• Slice the remaining orange and place it onto your cake.

• Consume immediately, store in the fridge or freeze for later.