Could we still call this breakfast? Perhaps brunch might be a more apt title. It was well after eleven this morning when I slid this loaf into the oven, and just before twelve when I sat down to a slice cut from the still- warm loaf. We had a long night on Saturday, celebrating a friend’s birthday, and a Sunday sleep-in session was most definitely required. The problem with sleeping in though is that I am not very good at it. I get up at five during the week, and I can make my body sleep until eight, but any time past that and I am a alert and awake. I feel sorry for my poor darling, who is talented in the art of hibernation, and has to deal with a girlfriend who wriggles around like a sack of jumping beans and can’t get back to sleep once she has decided to wake up and start the day.
A.A. Milne’s classic
Today was one of those mornings. I tried to snuggle. I tried to grasp onto the last remembered threads of sleep and wander back into dreamland again. But it was to no avail. I had already set my mind on another goal: breakfast. There were so many options: muesli with yoghurt and berries, gluten free toast with jam, cornflakes with strawberries. And then, I remembered the apples. Too soft to eat, too ripe and red and juicy to be thrown away – perfect for baking. Cloaked in a warmly spiced batter the apples were transformed from rejected snacks to a celebrated breakfast. Perfect for a nourishing Sunday meal whether you want to call it breakfast or brunch, or just a sweet treat.
Honey, Apple, and Spice Loaf (gluten free)
As always, if you do not require this to be gluten free please replace the buckwheat flour, brown rice flour, and almond meal with 230 grams of plain flour. You could use a mixture of wholemeal and white in this cake as it would hold up well with the breakfast attitude and homeliness of the apples and spices.
Ingredients:
- 100 grams buckwheat flour
- 80 grams brown rice flour
- 50 grams almond meal
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 3 tablespoon butter
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 apple cored and diced
- 2 tablespoons flaked almonds
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 190C (375F) and line a 9 x 4 inch loaf tin with baking paper.
- Melt butter in a microwave-safe bowl, this should only take about 20 seconds. Then stir in honey and set aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk together buckwheat flour, brown rice flour, almond meal, brown sugar, baking powder, and the spices. Ensure that there are no large lumps of brown sugar. You might have to break them up with your fingers.
- In a separate, small, bowl whisk together buttermilk, vanilla essence, and eggs.
- Add melted butter and buttermilk to the dry ingredients and mix well. Stir the chunks of apple through.
- Pour batter into prepared pan, sprinkle with flaked almonds, and slide into the oven.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes. You may have to cover this halfway through to stop the almonds from burning.
- Remove and allow to cool completely before slicing. Although, sliced warm and eaten plain, or with jam, it makes a lovely Sunday breakfast with a large mug of tea and a good newspaper.
Tell me dear reader, do you enjoy sleeping in? Or are you an up-and-at-em person? Also, weekend breakfast/brunch, what’s your favourite?
