Gluten-free Cinnamon Tea Cake

We all need inspiration. Initially, I began baking based on my cravings. This is what motivated me to whip up some recipes to share with everyone. But when you’re cravings are always chocolate ones, it can be a problem. I didn’t want to bore the gluten-free bakers out there with only chocolate-based recipes, so I took a little trip to the library and checked out some baking books that would hopefully inspire me.

I picked up a couple books, one of them entitled baking by Rachael Lane. I flipped through all the recipes until I found one that didn’t seem like it would take too much work. Of course, her recipes are not gluten-free, but I expected that. So I replaced and added some ingredients that I usually use in my other recipes. To make a long story short, it worked!

Gluten-free flour tends to be a bit denser than normal flour. So it gets a bit gooey in the center. Easy fix: add a bit of coconut flour. Coconut flour absorbs a lot of moisture and will result in a more balanced texture. Also, because of this, you may need to add a little more liquid to your batter so that it doesn’t become to dry.

The cake was beautiful! It almost (just almost) tasted like a cinnamon sugar donut, especially if you eat it fresh from the oven. The texture is light and goes perfectly with a cup of tea.

Ingredients:

(For the cake)

• 1 cup self-raising gluten-free flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup almond milk

(For the topping)

• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 170ºC. Lightly grease an 8-in round pan.
2. Sift flours and baking powder in a medium bowl.
3. Beat the sugar, butter, and vanilla until pale and creamy. Add the egg and beat until just combined.
4. Gradually beat the flour, alternating with the milk. Spoon batter into the prepared pan.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until center is set. Leave in pan and let cool for 10 minutes.
6. After the cake has cooled, flip cake onto plate or rack to proceed with topping.
7. Brush melted butter onto the cake and sprinkle evenly with cinnamon sugar.