Almond Agave Muffins

We try to incorporate a lot of local products and organic products into our baked goods. Sometimes this is impossible. There are no local farmers growing bananas or coconut. When we aren't using organic cane sugar, we use honey from a local vendor and also agave nectar. Agave nectar has been used centuries and it is finally catching on and growing very popular in Western countries. The appeal to agave is due in part to its very low glycemic index. You get the sweetness but not the blood sugar spike that comes from other sugars. It can be used interchangeably with honey, thought agave nectar doesn't have quite the viscosity that honey does. 

We're in the process of making more items to showcase in the upcoming market season and be able to offer on-line through our store. I decided to use agave nectar in a recipe I had for almond muffins and liked it. There are a few things I would change next time, but I was very pleased with the first test batch.

Enjoy this recipe for a Superfood muffin that you can feel good about eating.

Ingredients: 1 c sliced almonds, .5 tsp cinnamon, 2 TBSP agave, 1.5 c whole wheat flour, 2 tsp baking powder, .5 tsp sea salt, 2 eggs, .75 c mashed ripe bananas, .5 c coconut oil*, .5 c agave, 1/3 c milk, .25 tsp pure almond extract

Ingredients:  (1) Preheat oven to 350 and prep a 12-c or 6-c muffin pan with cooking spray or liners. (2) In a small bowl, combine sliced almonds, cinnamon, and 2 Tbsp agave and toss until evenly coated. Set aside. (3) Whisk flour, sea salt, and powder in a large bowl. (4) In a med. bowl, whisk eggs, bananas, oil, agave, milk and extract until well blended. (5) Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until just blended. Divide batter amongst muffin cups and sprinkle topping on top. (6) Bake for 28 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes then transfer to a rack and cool completely.


*You can use canola oil instead of coconut oil.
*Adding blueberries or raspberries take these muffins up a notch.

Almond Pound Cake

The other day while grocery shopping, I passed the bakery section and saw a loaf of Almond Pound Cake and started salivating, you know, the whole Pavlov's dog thing. I haven't had baked goods since the week before Christmas; well, actually, I did break and have a cookie on Christmas day, but still. Lately, I'm starting to crave things like hot fudge sundae's or hot pretzels or a slice of pound cake with a nice lemon icing on top because of the certain foods I'm eating and those I can't eat. I haven't totally caved, but the cravings are still there. So to help overcome this carving for a slice of pound cake, I figured I would bake one. Hopefully just the smell of it baking and maybe, just maybe, a SMALL taste of leftover batter will put the beast to rest. I'm not totally confident that I won't have a piece so this pound cake will be taken to a gathering tonight so I'm not tempted to have a slice with my tea later this evening!

I'm trying out a new recipe I found for Almond Pound Cake. I usually use my Sour Cream Coffee Cake recipe and add things like pure almond extract, almond flour, and almond paste. I wanted to find something similar but doesn't use the sour cream.  I just did an internet search for Almond Pound Cake and read through several before finding one that has ingredients I was looking for. So this is a first time cake and my guinea pigs, I mean, taste testers will have to let me know what they think, since I WON'T be having a slice!

Ingredients: 1.5 c butter, 3 c sugar, 5 eggs*, 2.5 c flour, 2 tsp baking powder, .5 c almond meal*, .25 tsp sea salt, 2 tsp pure almond extract, 1 tsp pure vanilla extract, 2 c milk, .33 c almond slivered

Instructions: (1) Preheat oven to 350 and prepare pan* with either a cooking spray that has flour in it (Baking Joy) or grease and flour the pan. (2) Beat butter until cream them slowly add in sugar. Beat until fluffy. (3) Add eggs to the batter, one at a time. Beat mixture another 2 minutes. (4) In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder, salt and almond meal. (5) Add extracts to milk, set aside. (6) On low speed, add a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Beat until incorporated. Add half of the milk mixture to the mixing bowl and incorporate. Continue adding flour then milk then flour until all the flour and milk are incorporated into the mixing bowl. (7) Sprinkle slivered almonds on the bottom of the prepared pan (optional) and then pour batter into the pan. (8) Bake until done, about 55 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. (9) Cool slightly then invert on cooling rack or pan and cool completely. Frost/glaze after cake is completely cooled.


*Eggs are better at room temperature.
*Bob's Red Mill has an almond meal that can be used. We use it when we make our macarons. If you don't want to pay the price for the almond meal (can be around $11 per bag at a grocery store), you can ground up almonds in a food grinder.
*You can use a bundt pan, a loaf pan, a tube pan, or any pan you want.
*I might top this cake with a almond glaze or a dusting of powdered sugar or serve it plain. All depends on what I feel like doing after the cake cools.