Apple and Raspberry teacake - gluten free

It must have been the cold rainy weather we had this morning that made me crave this kind of cake!
And who doesn't love a teacake?!
Memories of Mum and I making apple teacakes with caramelised sliced apple laying delicately on top flooded my mind today, as my own son and I pieced together this little beauty!  But if I'm to be honest with you, Jake was far more interested in pinching the raspberries from the middle and licking the bowl!  Well, who can blame him really?!
As most of you know me quite well by now, you would be reading this waiting patiently to discover which injections of nutrients I have snuck into the mix!  Weeeellllll, it was almost a case of my hands working independently of my mind!  Before I even knew it, chia seeds were being soaked in a cup of brewed tea, almonds were being ground into a meal, and yogurt was dolloped into the bowl!  How did that happen??!!! ( ;



Yep, I refuse to say this is a treat, but instead a celebration of an afternoon.  A special afternoon?  Maybe, maybe not.  But a slice of this cake with a cuppa will definitely improve the afternoon either way, and afterwards you can tick off your list fruit, seeds, protein and soul warming goodness!

Don't avoid the cake if you can't eat nuts, just substitute with sunflower seeds.  And if dairy isn't your thing, coconut cream or silken tofu would work just as well as yogurt, although obviously the flavour will change!

Enjoy......  

Gluten Free Apple & Raspberry Teacake

 

Ingredients

3 teabags (or equivalent of loose tea leaves)
2 tbs chia seeds
1/4 c coconut sugar (rapadura, raw or brown would also work)
1 large granny smith apple, thinly sliced
1/4 c raspberries (I used frozen)
120g raw almonds (or almond meal if not using TMX)
150g greek yogurt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
90g rapadura sugar (coconut, raw or brown would also work)
130g gluten free SR flour
1 tsp cinnamon

Method - Conventional

1. Place teabags in a mug and add 1 cup of boiling water.  Leave to steep for 10 minutes.
2. Squeeze and remove teabags from mug.  Stir through chia seeds and leave for a further 10 minutes for chia seeds to absorb the tea.  This will create a gel.
3. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.  Line a 20cm round baking tin with baking paper.
4. Sprinkle 1/4c sugar evenly over base of tin.  Cover with apple slices and place raspberries in the middle.  If you love raspberries, you could sprinkle another 1/4 c over the top of the apples.
5. Place almond meal, sugar, flour and cinnamon in a large bowl and stir to combine.  In a separate bowl whisk together the chia/tea mix, eggs, yogurt and vanilla together.  Pour into the dry ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined.
6. Pour mix on top of the apples and bake for 35-40 minutes - until a skewer comes out clean from the middle of the cake.
7. Allow cake to cool for 5 minutes before turning out onto cooling rack.  Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream, yogurt or a dollop of cream and some fresh raspberries!

Method - Thermomix

1. Follow steps 1-4 above.
2. Place almonds in the TM bowl and grind on speed 8 for 10 seconds.  Set aside.
3. Place chia/tea mix, eggs, yogurt and vanilla in TM bowl and blend on speed 5 for 1 minute.
4. Add ground almonds, sugar, flour and cinnamon and blend for a further 30 seconds on speed 5.
5. Follow steps 6-7 above.