Recipe: Kyra's Almond Flour Citrus-Ginger Breakfast Cake

When Kyra (this Kyra!) sent me this recipe I immediately panicked and scanned the ingredients for obscure flours, gums, meals, etc. 'Oh great', I thought. This girl romps around on Food Network and bakes fricking gluten free cinnamon rolls for a living. There's no WAY she's going to make this easy on me.

But. But! There it was. Just one flour: almond flour. Could almond flour alone seriously make for a fluffy, spongy cake? Guys, it can! I was shocked. Kyra, I should've known you wouldn't steer me wrong. Bareburger's on me next time you're in in New York.

I've always been a fan of an easy cake recipe. Pulling a cake out of the oven makes me feel accomplished like no cupcake ever could. (And omg do I hate cleaning out cupcake tins they are the devil.) This one comes together pretty quickly, and doesn't require too many ingredients considering it is, you know, a cake. The sweetness is juuuust right to be called a breakfast cake, and you won't believe how light and moist (sorry!) it turns out. 

This would be PERFECT for, dare I say, Mother's Day brunch? Breakfast cake sounds like something moms would be totally into. Citrus and ginger, too. Just generalizing here. My mom would probably only like this more if there were wine and bacon-wrapped dates involved. But that just sounds like a tad too much? Maybe.. 

In addition to sharing this recipe which I probably butchered somehow, Kyra has gifted us all a FREE SHIPPING code for her Portland-based Bake Shop. Which is a kind of a big deal since shipping is usually in the ballpark of 40 bucks. (Dude, I know!) Also a big deal because her gluten free cinnamon rolls will conjure up all kinds of weepy emotions that you didn't think were possible in a post-gluten world. I teased them on my Instagram, and you guys all freaked the F out. Well, go order some for yourself and freak the F out for REAL this time.

Click Here to order from Kyra's Bake Shop

Enter code gfreeblondie4ever for Free Shipping

(code is good through 5/21/15)

P.S. if you don't like cinnamon rolls a) why are we friends and b) there is something called a 'chocolate caramel ecstasy' which sounds like something I told myself I would never ever do but might make an exception. 

Recipe: Almond Flour Citrus-Ginger Breakfast Cake 

[original recipe via Kyra Bussanich]

Notes
- For my citrus, I ended up using 1 large navel orange and 2 lemons. Feel free to play around with what citrus fruits you use! Next time I think I'll try grapefruit. 
- Don't be afraid of the ginger! It's a surprisingly subtle flavor once incorporated into the cake.

Ingredients
For the Cake:
5 large eggs, separated into whites and yolks
1.5 cups almond meal/flour
1/2 cup sugar, divided into two 1/4 cups 
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt 
2 tbsp finely chopped or grated ginger 
1/4 cup citrus juice (combo of lemon + orange)
1.5 tbsp citrus zest (combo of lemon + orange)

For the Topping:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 to 1.5 tbsp citrus juice
1/4 cup slivered almonds 

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9-inch baking pan with a circle of parchment, and spray the entire pan with cooking spray. 

In a clean, dry bowl, whip the egg whites on medium-high speed until foamy (about 1 minute). Slowly add 1/4 cup of the sugar, and whip on high until medium-stiff peaks form (about 1.5 minutes longer). 

In another bowl, whisk together the yolks, ginger, citrus juice and zest. Add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, salt, and baking powder and whisk to combine. Add the almond flour, and whisk until the batter is evenly mixed. 

Gently fold 1/3 of the whipped egg whites into the batter until mostly incorporated. Repeat with another 1/3 of the egg whites. Finally, add the remaining 1/3 of the egg whites until the batter is mostly uniform. (OK if there are some white patches.)

Pour the batter into the greased pan and gently smooth the top. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the cake is set and the top is golden brown. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan, and cool completely before adding the glaze. 

To make the glaze, whisk the powdered sugar with 1 tbsp of citrus juice until smooth. It should be the consistency of a smooth, flowing caramel. If needed, add another 1/2 tbsp juice. 

Transfer the glaze to a ziplock bag and snip of a tiny bit of one corner. Squeeze the glaze back and forth over the cake. Immediately sprinkle with the slivered almonds. 

If not eating that day, store the cake in the fridge.