Gluten Free Gingerbread Cake with Cranberry Glaze

If you want your house to smell like the holidays, this gluten free gingerbread is the recipe for you!  I considered making it Paleo, but most baked goods that are grain free turn out fairly crumbly.  I wanted this one to have more of a traditional cake-like texture!  My whole family loved it!  This cake is healthy enough for breakfast, but would be a fabulous dessert.

Although there is some refined gluten free flour in this gingerbread, I’ve replaced about half of it with almond flour.  That reduces the Glycemic Index number significantly, and the almond flour adds protein, healthy fats, and minerals.  If you need to lower the carbs even more, use the xylitol for sweetener, instead of coconut sugar.
Make sure to use blackstrap molasses for this gingerbread to maximize the health benefits!  Molasses is a great option for diabetics, because it helps control both weight and sugar!  One of the ways it helps with weight is that it lowers calorie absorption.  Regarding sugar, molasses has a low Glycemic number (55), and high levels of chromium, which helps regulate blood sugar levels.  Here’s a great article on the health benefits of molasses if you want more information.

---

Before we get to the recipe for the gluten free gingerbread, I want to invite you to join with others who are making healthy changes.  I’d love to walk alongside you in your journey towards wholeness and health! Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full!”  Freedom from food addictions is part of having a truly full life.  

Serves 10-12 (Makes 1 large bundt cake, or 6 small 8 oz ones)

 Dry Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Cups Fine Almond Meal
• 1 1/4 Cups All Purpose Gluten Free Flour Blend (Pamela’s is the best)
• 1 Tsp Gluten Free Baking Powder (this link is also aluminum free)
• 1 Tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 Tsp Sea Salt
• 2 Tsp Organic Cinnamon
• 1/4 Tsp Organic Cloves
• 2 Tsp Organic Ginger
• 1/2 Tsp Organic Nutmeg
• 1/2 Tsp Organic Cardamom
• 1 1/2 Cups Xylitol or Coconut Sugar

Wet Ingredients:

• 3 Extra Large Eggs
• 1/2 Cup Blackstrap Molasses
• 1 Tbsp Vanilla
• 2/3 Cup Melted Coconut Oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a bundt cake pan or mini bundt cake pan (1 cup each…this is more than enough batter for 6 minis, so you can use the extra for cupcakes) liberally.  I do not recommend using a pan with extensive ridges, or your cake will not come out of the pan…I can say this from experience!  The basic pan, with just a few ridges, will work fine.  Mix together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside (I did this the day before I was planning on baking it).

Mix together the wet ingredients in your stand mixer, using the whisk attachment.  Make sure that the coconut oil is melted, and add it last.  Otherwise it may become hard from the cold eggs.  Add in the dry ingredients and mix on low until everything is well incorporated.

Pour your gluten free gingerbread batter into the prepared bundt cake pan or miniature bundt cake pan.  For a large pan, bake for about 35-40 minutes, or until the center is set.  It should bounce back when you gently press down on the center of the cake.  Make sure to check your gluten free gingerbread after around 30 minutes, because the temperature of your ingredients when you bake this cake will affect how long you need to cook it!  Smaller bundt cakes will only take 20-25 minutes.

---

For the Glaze:

• 1/2 Cup Fresh Cranberries
• 1/4 Cup Coconut Oil
• 1/2 Cup Coconut Cream
• 1/4 Cup Raw Honey
• 1/2 Tsp Vanilla

Place all of the glaze ingredients in a small non-stick ceramic pot over medium heat.  Cook it, stirring frequently, until the mixture is bubbling and the cranberries pop and become very soft.  The mixture should be pink.

After it cools a bit run the mixture through a wire mesh strainer to remove the chunks.  Let the glaze sit in the refrigerator until it is just the right consistency to spoon onto your cake.  The coconut oil will try to separate from the other ingredients, so you’ll need to stir it every 10 minutes, or so, just until it sets up.  This part is admittedly a pain, but it helps to set a timer to check every 5-10 minutes, and keep yourself busy while you wait.

When the cranberry glaze is thick, but still in liquid form, drizzle it over your cooled gluten free gingerbread cake, then refrigerate the whole thing, until the glaze sets completely.  Serve at room temperature (coconut oil hardens if cold, which will make the cake seem dry, so don’t chill it!  The frosting shouldn’t melt at room temperature).  Enjoy!