Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake
My mom recently decided she was going to throw caution to the wind, pack up her bags and go on a trip to Europe.
In all my realities (and there are many) my mom is this celestial chic being. Lover of travel, fashion, art, hearth, home, crafting, hippie-ing(is that a word?). Tho’ I don’t tell her often enough, she is EVERYTHING I want to be.
She listens when my kids talk to her.
She always, always, ALWAYS has on a cute outfit.
She’s as smart as a whip. Not a problem she can’t solve.
“It is, what it is.” Her life motto. Much to my chagrin.
Whenever people ask me about her, I say she reminds me of Sophia Lauren. Just chic. Plain and simple.
Anyway, she going on this trip. And she can’t find her passport. So for the last few days she’s been on the hunt. As a result, every few hours she sends me an old photograph that she’s found along her quest. Mostly pictures of her, my big sister and me smiling for the camera.
All of this, has really got me thinking. . . about genetics. Some people are just born with that certain something. That makes them cool, and beautiful, and just plain elegant.
My mom got that gene.
My stupid big sister got that gene.
Me. I got nothing.
Remember people! This is BEFORE the art of the selfie! How did they know to look at the camera as if there was a person on the other side? They look slightly perturbed, yet always transfixed. Perfectly, annoyed, yet oddly happy.
Me. Confused. And goofy.
Them. Runway models. Ever mod.
And the clothes. How come I look like I got dressed in the dark and they just came back from the House of Dior?
In case you didn’t know, I’m the one who is never quite looking at the camera, and ALWAYS has bad posture.
All things my mother mentioned quite a bit in my youth . . . but I never really thought she was telling the truth.
Even with bunny ears on, my mom shames me to no end.
So back to my philosophical bend to the passport hunt and trip down memory lane, and my tendencies. . .to share, and be real, and allow you guys too see me on my Instagram account pretty much everyday without ever even considering to comb my hair or put a slather of make up on.
Because it really won’t matter, will it?
I’ll still be me. Looking away from the camera shyly. Ever goofy.
My mother worries that I share too much. Act too much like me. I wonder if she worries that people won’t understand my odd quirks and sensibilities. I have those worries for my kids, but not for myself.
For I am 40 now. 43 to be exact. And my quest now is. . .TO CREATE AN ALTERNATE PERCEPTION OF REALITY of what it is to be someone like me.
A girl. Who likes to learn. Who yearns to write. Who cares to share. And loves her family.
That girl is not particularly sophisticated. But I think that her beauty lies in all of the things that make her unkept and gritty.
So here’s to all the women of the world who look good and smell good all the time without trying.
And to all those who are a little bit dirty and scraggly and would have it no other way.
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So.
I’m scraggly and dirty and I love it.
But.
I’m also a little bit chubby, and I ain’t really feeling that.
Which leads me to this here cake I made yesterday. A Keto-riffic Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake, that helped pull me back off the cliff that I almost jumped off because I just needed a piece of danish, or a cupcake, or even a slice of bread and jelly.
I’ve been on Keto since June of last year, and some months are easy and others are TORTURE. This month has been particularly rough. No real time to shop and focus on cooking and eating has made my endeavors a struggle. Anyway, I made this cake. And it was pretty good. I won’t lie, it doesn’t taste as good as it looks. The apples are INCREDIBLE, but the sweet comes from Stevia (Swerve) and I’m just not used to the taste yet. But I’m happy for this recipe, and it did satisfy my need for a yummy dessert.
I’m just keeping’ it real y’all.
It’s tasty. Just remember it’s low carb, to manage your expectations.
Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake
Adapted from ibreatheimhungry.com
Cake Batter:
6 TB butter
⅓ cup Swerve Sweetener
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1 cup Almond flour
⅓ cup coconut flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ cup almond-coconut milk
The Apple Streusel topping:
3 TB butter
1 cup Fuji apple, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
¼ cup Swerve Sweetener
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¾ cup almond flour
¼ cup sliced almonds
Pinch of salt
- Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 9X9 inch pan (I sprayed my pan with Coconut oil, and lined with parchment).
- In another medium sized bowl, combine the almond flour, coconut flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Mix thoroughly.
- Add half of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until fully incorporated. Add the second half and repeat the above step.
- Drop the batter into the bottom of your pre-greased pan. The batter will be like a wet dough, so you will need to spread it over the bottom of the pan as it will not spread out on its own. Set the pan aside.
- Make the Streusel. In a medium sized pan, heat 3 TB butter over medium heat on the stove. Add 1 cup of chopped apples, Swerve, and cinnamon. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
- To the apple mixture, add almond flour, salt, and sliced almonds. Stir well to combine.
- Drop the streusal mixture over the top of the cake batter in the greased pan. Be sure to evenly distribute the mixture over the batter.
- Place the cake into the pre-heated oven and bake for 35 minutes or until the cake is cooked through and golden brown on top. If the cake begins to brown too quickly, place foil over the top during the last 10 minutes of cooking. Remove from oven and cool. Enjoy!
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