The holiday season is special for so many reasons. Beautifully decorated Christmas trees dotted with ornament memories of past years, thoughtful gifts wrapped with love to surprise and delight on Christmas morn’, carols and christmas songs that magically bring cheer, snowflakes that tickle and create magnificent winter wonderlands, and of course, fireplaces that beckon a rest with a hot cuppa and slice of deliciously soothing cake .

Yes, I said the word “cake” AND I called it “soothing”. No point denying the fact that lingering over a slice of moist cake and a steaming cup of your favorite hot drink has the power to comfort – especially during the winter months. In an effort to hold onto these sweet moments of pleasure, while still caring for your health, here’s a scrumptious Spiced Banana Coffee Cake recipe that uses wholesome ingredients and is so perfect for the season. My dessert loving man lapped up the whole cake this week; and if you knew him, you’d know that gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free are words that are definitely not on his radar . It’s also effortless to make, so great for someone like me who is (sigh) still getting to know her oven.

So as the Danes would say, get “hygge” (pronounced HOO-gah) this holiday with a slice by the fireplace, while contemplating gifts of this past year and aspirations for 2017.

Ingredients:

Choose organic ingredients for your health and the health of the planet

• 1 ½ cups *almond flour (aka, finely ground almonds, preferably blanched)
• ¼ cup **coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon natural baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon natural mineral salt
• ½ teaspoon ceylon cinnamon
• 5 cardamom pods (peel and grind seeds using a mortar & pestle)
• 3-4 cloves (grind using a mortar & pestle)
• 3 large ripe bananas
• 4 pasture-raised eggs
• 2 tablespoons grass-fed melted ghee, butter or coconut oil
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup coconut milk

Topping:

• ½ cup pecans or walnuts, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons grass-fed ghee or butter
• ½ cup coconut crystals or powdered jaggery (1/4 cup if you prefer a mild sweet like me)
• ½ teaspoon ceylon cinnamon
• 2 cardamom pods (peel and grind seeds using a mortar & pestle)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Add the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground cardamom and ground cloves to a bowl and mix well.
3. Next, mash or puree the bananas if you haven’t already, then add this to the bowl along with the eggs, ghee, maple syrup and coconut milk. Mix using a hand mixer until well combined. Allow the batter to rest in the bowl while you prepare the topping.
4. Add the topping ingredients to a bowl and using your hands, mix well.
5. Pour the batter into a greased or parchment-lined 9-inch round pan then sprinkle the topping on top of the cake.
6. Bake at 350F for 50-60 min, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Allow the bread to cool, then slice and serve.

*I don’t recommend using almond flour regularly and in large quantities, but it’s definitely fine as a treat!

**To make coconut flour at home – use leftover coconut pulp after making coconut milk, spread on baking tray and heat in a 170 degree oven for 4 hours, cool and then blend for about 30 seconds in food processor or high-powered blender to make a fine powder.

Adapted from a recipe by Ashley Thomas of My Heart Beats.