Happy New Year (twelve days later)!
It was a gentle holiday this year…everyone was calm and happy. Time meandered. Things were simple. I did my best to coax that feeling well into the new year. Occasionally, a distant voice begged me to jump back into the speeding world. I ignored it.
Until now. We all know the real world can only be ignored for so long. Unless you move to some remote place. Alaska maybe. It’s a thought.
OK, get ready for a weird segue to six months ago when I abandoned the idea of Chocolate Crumb Cake. At that time I wondered if anyone had paired chocolate and crumb topping. I don’t know why I thought of it—probably just inspired by my love of all things chocolate. Unfortunately it didn’t go so well the first time. Or, the second. And, I became uninspired. Until Chocolate Crumb Cake came creeping back into consciousness sometime during my holiday hiatus from the real world.
Guess what? Third time=success! It’s rich. Really rich. And, really good. Sometimes you need to take a break from something only to come back and have it become better than you ever thought it could be.
Chocolate Crumb Cake
2 ½ cups GF flour
½ cup dutch processed cocoa
1 ¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup canola or grapeseed oil
½ ripe banana, mashed
1 faux egg
1 6-ounce container (coconut milk) yogurt
½ cup prepared coffee (or water)
2 tablespoons vanilla
A few handfuls of chocolate chips (optional)
Double recipe Crumb Topping
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Line a small cookie sheet (mine is 9 ¼” by 13 ¼”) or similar sized baking pan with parchment.
Make the double recipe of Crumb Topping.
Make the faux egg by mixing 1 1/2 teaspoons EnerG Egg Replacer with 2 tablespoons warm water. Whisk together and set aside. (If you don’t have EnerG Egg Replacer a flax egg should do the trick.)
In a large mixing bowl whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder and salt. I used Authentic Foods Gluten-Free Multi Blend Flour. If you don’t have that brand on hand substitute your favorite GF flour blend or try Jeanne’s Gluten Free Flour Mix from my good friend Jeanne over at FourChickens.
In a separate bowl whisk together the wet ingredients (oil, egg replacer, well mashed banana*, yogurt, vanilla, coffee—or equivalent amount water if you want to omit the coffee) until they are fully mixed together.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix together with a sturdy spoon. This will take a little elbow grease but only mix until all ingredients are fully incorporated. The consistency will be more like a cookie dough—not a batter—and is quite stiff.
Smooth the dough out onto the lined cookie sheet and spread to the edges.
Sprinkle with a few handfuls of chocolate chips (double chocolate!). Sprinkle the top evenly with the crumb topping and gently press it down with your hands.
Place in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool thoroughly before cutting into squares. This freezes well.
*If the banana is not ripe enough microwave it in 30-second intervals until just soft enough to mash effectively with a big fork. A good substitute for banana is ¼ cup applesauce.